California based foreclosure listings company RealtyTrac Inc. reported today that the pace of foreclosure growth may finally be slowing down but cautioned that the crisis isn't over just yet.
The number of households facing foreclosure nationally grew 6 percent in February from year-ago levels which is the smallest annual increase in almost four years.
One in every 418 homes received a foreclosure-related notice, which is down more than 2 percent from this past January.
RealtyTrac senior vice president Rick Sharga said, "It's premature to declare victory just yet, but if this is the beginning of a slowdown in growth rates that would be a good thing."
Following an encouraging report last month from the Mortgage Bankers Association, RealtyTrac reported that the percentage of borrowers who had missed just one payment on their home loans fell to 3.6 percent in the October to December fourth quarter which is down from 3.8 percent in the third quarter.
The foreclosure crisis has forced not only the federal government but also several states as well to come up with plans to prolong the foreclosure process so delinquent borrowers can find help they need. Sadly, those efforts have hardly scratched the surface of the problem. As an example, the Obama administration's $75 billion foreclosure prevention program helped less than 120,000 homeowners in 2009.
Based on surveys around the nation, Nevada posted the countries highest foreclosure rate, although foreclosures were down 7 percent from January and down more than 30 percent from a year ago. Nevada was followed by Arizona, Florida, California and Michigan and rounding out the top 10 were Utah, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland respectively.
Topping the list of foreclosure "hot spots" were the California metro areas of Modesto, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario and Stockton.