Completed foreclosures drop 16% year-over-year, foreclosure inventory down to 2.5% of all homes

The number of completed foreclosures dropped to 55,000 in March 2013 from 66,000 in March 2012, a 16% drop year-over-year, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic.

The number of completed foreclosures dropped to 55,000 in March 2013 from 66,000 in March 2012, a 16% drop year-over-year, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic. 

There were approximately 1.1m homes, or about 2.8% of all homes, in some stage of foreclosure in March 2013 compared to about 1.5m (3.5%) the same time last year. 

Nationally, foreclosure activity is down 52% from its peak in 2010 and down in almost all metro areas around the US.  The reduction of completed foreclosures signals the ongoing reduction of distressed assets in the US. 

Florida foreclosed on 103,000 homes in the last 12 months, the greatest number of completed foreclosures as of March 2013. States to follow were California (83,000), Michigan (70,000), Texas (53,000) and Georgia (48,000).  The states account for about 50% of all foreclosures in the country. 

States with the lowest number of foreclosure inventory were West Virginia (554), North Dakota (487), Washington DC (101), and South Dakota (81)

Florida was also the highest ranked for percentage of foreclosure inventory. Florida comprises 9.7% of all foreclosure inventory, New Jersey (7.3%), New York (5%), Maine (4.4%) and Illinois (4.4%) follow.