Dive Brief:
- April foreclosure filings rose 3% from March's rate and 9% from April 2014, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. That rate increase represents an 18-month high.
- The April 2015 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which tracks default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, found 125,875 properties had foreclosure filings during the month.
- The steep uptick was driven mainly by a higher number of bank repossessions — which occur at the final stage of a foreclosure. RealtyTrac points to that result as a lingering result of the previous housing market struggle, rather than cause for renewed concern.
Dive Insight:
On the positive side, RealtyTrac also reported foreclosure starts had declined for the fourth consecutive month — likely foretelling a future drop in foreclosure activity.
Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, hopes to focus attention on that decrease in foreclosure starts rather than on overall activity. "... we continue to see foreclosure starts decrease, and foreclosure starts nationwide are now running consistently below pre-crisis levels — indicating that the overall increase in foreclosure activity in April is a continuation of the clean-up phase of the last housing crisis, not the start of a new crisis," he said.
For homebuilders, a dip in foreclosures is music to their ears, as foreclosed properties nearby to where they build can often drag down prices for their new homes.
