It’s time once again to expand on our preview of foreclosure activity with a more detailed look at July’s stats in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. First up, the Notice of Trustee Sale summary:
July 2011
King: 731 NTS, down 48% YOY
Snohomish: 407 NTS, down 41% YOY
Pierce: 423 NTS, down 52% YOY
Foreclosure notices continue to drop solidly across all three counties from last year’s levels. It still remains to be seen whether this is due to some sort of actual underlying improvement or if the legislature is just succeeding in making the foreclosure process more difficult for banks.
Here’s your interactive Tableau dashboard updated with the latest foreclosure data:
The percentage of households in the chart above is determined using OFM population estimates and household sizes from the 2000 Census. King County came in at 1 NTS per 1,129 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 670 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 757 households (higher is better).
According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate for June of one foreclosure for every 781 housing units was 16th hightest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Note that RealtyTrac’s definition of “in foreclosure” is much broader than what we are using, and includes Notice of Default, Lis Pendens, Notice of Trustee Sale, and Real Estate Owned.
Hit the jump for a larger version of the chart that shows the percentage of households in each county receiving a foreclosure notice each month:
Note: The graphs above are derived from monthly Notice of Trustee Sale counts gathered at King, Snohomish, and Pierce County records. For a longer-term picture of King County foreclosures back to 1979, hit this chart and drag the date slider to its full range. For the full legal definition of what a Notice of Trustee Sale is and how it fits into the foreclosure process, check out RCW 61.24.040. The short version is that it is the notice sent to delinquent borrowers that their home will be repossessed in 90 days.