WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the text of the RealtyTrac
year-end 2011 report on U.S. foreclosure activity, published Thursday:

RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for
foreclosure properties, today released its Year-End 2011 U.S.
Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 2,698,967 foreclosure
filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions –
were reported on 1,887,777 U.S. properties in 2011, a decrease of 34
percent in total properties from 2010. Foreclosure activity in 2011 was
33 percent below the 2009 total and 19 percent below the 2008 total.

The report also shows that 1.45 percent of U.S. housing units (one
in 69) had at least one foreclosure filing during the year, down from
2.23 percent in 2010, 2.21 percent in 2009, and 1.84 percent in 2008.
Total U.S. foreclosure activity and the U.S. foreclosure rate in 2011
were both at their lowest annual level since 2007.

“Foreclosures were in full delay mode in 2011, resulting in a
dramatic drop in foreclosure activity for the year,” said Brandon Moore,
chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The lack of clarity regarding
many of the documentation and legal issues plaguing the foreclosure
industry means that we are continuing to see a highly dysfunctional
foreclosure process that is inefficiently dealing with delinquent
mortgages – particularly in states with a judicial foreclosure process.

“There were strong signs in the second half of 2011 that lenders
are finally beginning to push through some of the delayed foreclosures
in select local markets. We expect that trend to continue this year,
boosting foreclosure activity for 2012 higher than it was in 2011,
though still below the peak of 2010.”

December activity hits 49-month low, scheduled auctions up in
fourth quarter

Foreclosure filings were reported on 205,024 U.S. properties in
December, a decrease of 9 percent from the previous month and down 20
percent from December 2010. December’s total was the lowest monthly
total since November 2007 – a 49-month low.

December Default notices (NOD, LIS) decreased 19 percent from the
previous month and were down 23 percent from December 2010; Scheduled
foreclosure auctions (NTS, NFS) decreased 12 percent from the previous
month and were down 24 percent from December 2010; and bank
repossessions (REO) increased 10 percent from the previous month but
were still down 12 percent from December 2010.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 586,133 U.S. properties in the
fourth quarter, a 4 percent decrease from the previous quarter and down
27 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter default
notices were down 6 percent from the previous quarter and down 22
percent from the fourth quarter of 2010; scheduled foreclosure auctions
increased 4 percent from the previous quarter but were still down 32
percent from the fourth quarter of 2010; and REOs decreased 11 percent
from the previous quarter and were down 24 percent from the fourth
quarter of 2010.

Nevada, Arizona, California post top state foreclosure rates for
year

More than 6 percent of Nevada housing units (one in 16) had at
least one foreclosure filing in 2011, giving it the nation’s highest
state foreclosure rate for the fifth consecutive year despite a 31
percent decrease in foreclosure activity from 2010. Nevada foreclosure
activity dropped 35 percent from the third quarter to the fourth
quarter, driven primarily by a 70 percent decrease in default notices –
the result of a new law (AB 284) that took effect in October requiring
lenders to file an additional affidavit before starting the foreclosure
process. The new law also increases the penalties for the use of
fraudulent documents in foreclosure.

Despite a 28 percent drop in foreclosure activity from November to
December – caused largely by a 41 percent drop in scheduled foreclosure
auctions – Arizona registered the nation’s second highest state
foreclosure rate for the third year in a row, with 4.14 percent of its
housing units (one in 24) with at least one foreclosure filing in 2011.

California also experienced a substantial month-over-month drop in
initial foreclosure notices in December – default notices there were
down 38 percent from the previous month – but the state still registered
the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate for all of 2011. One in
every 31 California housing units (3.19 percent) had at least one
foreclosure filing during the year, down from 4.08 percent in 2010 and
4.75 percent in 2009.

Georgia posted the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate,
with 2.71 percent of housing units (one in 37) with at least one
foreclosure filing in 2011, and Utah posted the nation’s fifth highest
state foreclosure rate, with 2.32 percent of its housing units (one in
43) with a foreclosure filing during the year.

Other states with 2011 foreclosure rates ranking among the nation’s
10 highest were Michigan (2.21 percent), Florida (2.06 percent),
Illinois (1.95 percent), Colorado (1.78 percent), and Idaho (1.77
percent).

Foreclosure processing timelines continue to increase

U.S. properties foreclosed in the fourth quarter took an average of
348 days to complete the foreclosure process, up from 336 days in the
third quarter and up from 305 days in the fourth quarter of 2010. The
length of the average foreclosure process has increased 24 percent from
281 days in the third quarter of 2010, when lenders began to re-evaluate
foreclosure procedures in earnest as the result of the so-called
robo-signing controversy.

The average foreclosure process in New York has increased 37
percent during the same time period, and New York properties foreclosed
in the fourth quarter took an average of 1,019 days to complete the
foreclosure process – the longest of any state.

New Jersey documented the nation’s second longest average
foreclosure process, at 964 days, and Florida documented the nation’s
third longest average foreclosure process, at 806 days. Foreclosure
activity in both these states dropped more than 60 percent from 2010 to
2011. All three states with the longest foreclosure timelines employ the
judicial foreclosure process.

Texas continued to register the shortest average foreclosure
process of any state, at 90 days – still an increase from 86 days in the
third quarter and from 81 days in the fourth quarter of 2010. Other
states with average foreclosure process among the nation’s shortest in
the fourth quarter were Delaware (106 days), Kentucky (108 days),
Virginia (132 days), and Louisiana (134 days).

Top metro foreclosure rates

With 7.38 percent of its housing units (one in 14) with at least
one foreclosure filing in 2011, Las Vegas posted the nation’s top
foreclosure rate for the year among metropolitan statistical areas with
a population of 200,000 or more.

Ten out of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates in 2011 were in
California cities, led by Stockton at No. 2, with 5.43 percent of
housing units (one in 18) with at least one foreclosure filing during
the year. Other California cities in the top 10 were Modesto at No. 3
(5.29 percent), Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 4 (5.20 percent), Riverside-San
Bernardino at No. 5 (5.16 percent), Merced at No. 7 (4.40 percent),
Bakersfield at No. 9 (4.31 percent), Sacramento at No. 10 (4.17
percent), Fresno at No. 11 (3.82 percent), Visalia at No. 13 (3.67
percent), and Ventura at No. 16 (3.27 percent).

Other metro areas with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 20
were Phoenix at No. 6 (5.10 percent); Reno, Nev., at No. 8 (4.37
percent); Atlanta at No. 12 (3.69 percent); Prescott, Ariz., at No. 14
(3.50 percent); Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 15 (3.29 percent);
Greeley, Colo., at No. 17 (2.97 percent); Detroit at No. 18 (2.94
percent); Boise, Idaho, at No. 19 (2.85 percent); and Salt Lake City at
No. 20 (2.81 percent).

All top 20 metro areas showed a decrease in foreclosure activity
from 2010, and all but Atlanta posted a decrease from 2009. Atlanta
metro foreclosure activity in 2011 was up 2 percent from 2009.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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