HispanicBusiness

IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/17/13 -- RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Year-End 2012 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows a total of 2,304,941 foreclosure filings -- default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions -- were reported on 1,836,634 U.S. properties in 2012, down 3 percent from 2011 and down 36 percent from the peak of 2.9 million properties with foreclosure filings in 2010.

The report also shows that 1.39 percent of U.S. housing units (one in every 72) had at least one foreclosure filing during the year, down from 1.45 percent of housing units in 2011 and down from 2.23 percent of housing units in 2010.

Other high-level findings from the report:

•Foreclosure activity in 2012 increased from 2011 in 25 states -- 20 of which primarily use the longer judicial foreclosure process -- including New Jersey (55 percent increase), Florida (53 percent increase), Connecticut (48 percent increase), Indiana (46 percent increase), Illinois (33 percent increase) and New York (31 percent increase).

•Foreclosure activity in 2012 decreased from 2011 in 25 states -- 19 of which primarily use the more streamlined non-judicial foreclosure process -- including Nevada (57 percent decrease), Utah (40 percent decrease), Oregon (40 percent decrease), Arizona (33 percent decrease), California (25 percent decrease) and Michigan (23 percent decrease).

•Florida posted the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in 2012, with 3.11 percent of housing units (one in 32) receiving a foreclosure filing during the year. Other states with top 5 foreclosure rates were Nevada (2.70 percent), Arizona (2.69 percent), Georgia (2.58 percent), and Illinois (2.58 percent).

•December foreclosure activity dropped 10 percent from the previous month to the lowest level since April 2007, a 68-month low, and fourth quarter foreclosure activity was at the lowest quarterly level since the third quarter of 2007 despite a 9 percent quarterly increase in bank repossessions.

•The average time to complete a foreclosure nationwide in the fourth quarter increased 8 percent from the previous quarter to a record-high 414 days.

•Lower foreclosure inventory gave sellers the upper hand and helped median sales prices in the first 10 months of 2012 to increase from the same time period in 2011 in 25 states. Median sales prices nationwide during the first 10 months of 2012 on average were 99 percent of median list prices.

•In January 2013, 10.9 million homeowners nationwide -- representing 26 percent of all outstanding homes with a mortgage -- were seriously underwater, meaning they owed at least 25 percent more on their home than what it was worth. That was down from 12.5 million homeowners representing 28 percent of all homes with a mortgage a year earlier in January 2012.