State foreclosures down, 4.4 percent in ‘serious delinquency’

The number of foreclosed homes in Washington State is now down from 2.4 percent to 1.7 percent of the state’s total housing stock, according to the latest report from CoreLogic, a property research company.

Approximately 18,998 completed foreclosures occurred in Washington in the past 12 months with 4.4 percent of all owners still in “serious delinquency.”

The percentage is 0.5 percent less than the national average, CoreLogic reported. For the past three years, the shadow inventory has declined year-over-year and posted double-digit declines for the past 16 consecutive months as the housing market continues to heal.

Shadow inventory are properties that are either in foreclosure and have not yet been sold or homes that owners are delaying putting on the market until prices improve. Shadow inventory can create uncertainty about the best time to sell and when a local market can expect full recovery.

“Although there is good news that completed foreclosures are trending lower, the bigger news is the impressive decline in the foreclosure and shadow inventories,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Every state has had double-digit, year-over-year declines in foreclosure inventory, which is reflected in the $70 billion decline in the shadow inventory.”