CoreLogic: R.I. saw increase in foreclosures in 2016, but total in process continues decline

WHILE RHODE ISLAND saw declines in the foreclosure inventory rate and the rate of loans in serious delinquency over 2016, the number of completed foreclosures over the year bucked the national trend by increasing. / COURTESY CORELOGIC
WHILE RHODE ISLAND saw declines in the foreclosure inventory rate and the rate of loans in serious delinquency over 2016, the number of completed foreclosures over the year bucked the national trend by increasing. / COURTESY CORELOGIC

IRVINE, Calif. – The number of completed foreclosures in Rhode Island saw a 22.1 percent increase from 2015 to 2016, posting 1,579 last year compared with 1,293 a year earlier, according to CoreLogic, one of three states and the District of Columbia with non-judicial foreclosure procedures that showed an increase year over year. Massachusetts also posted an increase in the number of completed foreclosures, rising 30.2 percent to 6,164 in 2016. As a whole, the United States saw a 24.1 percent decline in the number of completed foreclosures to 384,161, which represents the number of homes lost to foreclosure.

On a positive note, the total foreclosure inventory, that is the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process, declined 31.8 percent in the Ocean State over the year, compared with a nationwide decline of 29.5 percent. Massachusetts did not see as strong a decline in the foreclosure inventory, dropping 20.8 percent in 2016. Nationally, CoreLogic noted that at the end of the year, there were 329,000 homes in the nation’s foreclosure inventory, or 0.8 percent of all homes with a mortgage. A year earlier 1.2 percent, or 467,000 homes, were in some stage of the foreclosure process. Rhode Island showed a 1.2 percent foreclosure inventory rate at the end of the year, while the percentage in Massachusetts was 1 percent.

Rhode Island also saw a 25.9 percent decline in mortgages that are seriously delinquent, which CoreLogic defines as loans that are 90 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure or in control of a lender. Three-and-four-tenths percent of all mortgages in the Ocean State were considered seriously delinquent by the end of the year. Massachusetts registered a 24.5 percent decline in its serious delinquency rate, with 2.6 percent of all mortgages being behind in payments. The national serious delinquency rate at the end of 2016 was 2.6 percent, a decline over the year of 19.4 percent.

“Foreclosure and delinquency trends continue to head in the right direction powered principally by increasing employment levels, stringent underwriting standards and higher home prices over the past few years,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic. “We expect to see further declines in delinquency and foreclosure rates in 2017. … As the foreclosure inventory diminishes, we must look ahead and tackle tight housing supply and growing affordability issues which are keeping many potential homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, on the sidelines.”
Other state-by-state statistics for 2016 worth noting:

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  • Highest number of completed foreclosures were in, in order, Florida (45,000), Michigan (30,000), Texas (24,000), Ohio (21,000) and California (19,000).
  • Lowest number of completed foreclosures in 2016 were in North Dakota (182), District of Columbia (254), West Virginia (312), Montana (630) and Alaska (668).
  • Highest foreclosure inventory rates were in New Jersey (2.8 percent), New York (2.7 percent), Maine (1.8 percent), Hawaii (1.7 percent) and the District of Columbia (1.6 percent).
  • Lowest foreclosure inventory rates were registered in Colorado (0.2 percent), Minnesota (0.3 percent), Utah (0.3 percent), Arizona (0.3 percent) and California (0.3 percent).

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