Home foreclosure starts at lowest since housing bubble in 2006

As the nation’s housing market has made gradual improvement, the number of homes falling in to foreclosure have continued to decline. For the first time prior to the beginning of the recession, the industry shows foreclosures falling to a low in 2013 that has not been seen since the housing market was at full strength. In addition to the decrease in homes falling into foreclosure, lenders took back the fewest number of homes since 2007, according to foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.

While the number of foreclosures remain high in states such as California, New York and Florida, they have been continuously declining in recent years. This can be credited to the fact that as home prices have risen, and employment remains stable, homeowners are able to maintain their financial responsibilities, therefore fewer homes are entering foreclosure.

Foreclosures reported totaled 747,728 homes last year, which is a decrease of more than 30 percent that was reported by RealtyTrac in 2012. Additionally, banks reported taking possession of 462,970 homes in 2013 which is also more than a 30 percent decrease from the previous year.

As of December 2013, there were more than a million properties nationally that were in the process of foreclosure. While there has been a continual decline in the number of homes owned by banks, most of the homes that are being foreclosed upon are tied to mortgages that were processed between the height of the market from 2004 through 2008. The National Association of Realtors note that the market has recovered much of the equity that was lost during the housing crisis, leading to an overall market improvement.