Processing delays slow foreclosures to 40-month low

Foreclosure filings were reported on 219,258 U.S. properties in April, a 9 percent decrease from March and a 34 percent decrease from April 2010, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace that follows bank repossessions, default notices and scheduled auctions.

“Foreclosure activity decreased on an annual basis for the seventh straight month in April, bringing foreclosure activity to a 40-month low,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This slowdown continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure.”

The report also shows one in every 593 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during April.

Nationwide, foreclosures completed in the first quarter of 2011 took an average of 400 days from the initial default notice to the REO (real estate owned), up from 340 days in the first quarter of 2010 and more than double the average 151 days it took to foreclose in the first quarter of 2007.

Nevada, Arizona, California post top state foreclosure rates. One in every 97 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in April were Utah, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Colorado and Oregon.