Dive Brief:
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Lenders started foreclosure proceedings on more homes in December than during any of the previous 17 months, according to RealtyTrac’s Year-End 2014 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
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Still, the number of foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, decreased during 2014 by 18%, and the year ended with the fewest properties in foreclosure since 2006.
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For the first time since 2011, the time it took to complete the foreclosure process got quicker in the fourth quarter, speeding up from an average of 615 days in the first quarter to 604 in the fourth.
Dive Insight:
The mixed bag indicates that the number of foreclosures—fewer than one in 118 homes had a foreclosure filing in 2014—is beginning to stabilize after ballooning in 2009 and 2010. Still, RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said the slight increase in new foreclosures in December could signal that “lenders are gearing up for a spring cleaning of deferred distress” as the new year gets started.