US Foreclosures Continue to Slide

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The number of completed foreclosures in the United States was down 16 percent in April from a year earlier, as the market continues to work through the remains of the housing collapse.

There were 52,000 completed foreclosures in April, down from 62,000 a year earlier, according to CoreLogic. The number was essentially the same as March.

But the pace of foreclosures is still far above normal levels, the firm notes. From 2000 to 2006, there were an average of 21,000 foreclosures a month nationwide.

As of April, there were approximately 1.1 million homes in the U.S. in some stage of foreclosure, compared to 1.5 million in April 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 24 percent, CoreLogic reports. The foreclosure inventory as of April 2013 represented 2.8 percent of all homes with a mortgage compared to 3.5 percent in March 2013.

"The shadow of foreclosure and distress continues to fade, with the annualized sum of completed foreclosures having declined for 17 straight months," said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Six states have year-over-year declines in the foreclosure inventory of more than 40 percent, and in Arizona and California the year-over-year decline is more than 50 percent."

More highlights from the report:

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2013 were: Florida (102,000),California (79,000), Michigan (68,000), Texas (53,000) and Georgia (47,000).These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.

• The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2013 were: South Dakota (81), District of Columbia (100), North Dakota (461), Hawaii (466) and West Virginia (527).

• The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (9.5 percent), New Jersey (7.4 percent), New York (5.1 percent), Maine (4.4 percent) and Nevada (4.3 percent).

• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Wyoming (0.5 percent), Alaska (0.6 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent), Nebraska (0.8 percent) and Virginia (0.9 percent).