Time for our August update on Foreclosure activity in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. First up, the Notice of Trustee Sale summary:
August 2009
King: 614 NTS, up 7% YOY
Snohomish: 329 NTS, up 20% YOY
Pierce: 430 NTS, down 7% YOY
As we predicted last month, Senate Bill 5810 seems to be resulting in a bit of a lull in foreclosure activity as the extra 30-day pipeline fills up. Keep in mind that the new law only applies to owner-occupied homes, with mortgages minted between 2003 and 2007. Still, I am surprised that there were as many foreclosures last month as there were.
Here’s a simple look at how August’s foreclosures compare to the same month last year in each of the three counties:
Next let’s look at the percentage of households that received a Notice of Trustee Sale (based on household data for each county from the American Community Survey, assuming linear household growth between surveys):
King County came in at 1 NTS per 1,282 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 800 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 692 households (higher is better).
According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate of one foreclosure for every 1,033 households was 30th worst among the 50 states and the District of Columbia (down from 13th last month thanks to SB 5810). Note that RealtyTrac’s definition of “in foreclosure” is much broader than what we are using.
Following are the usual charts of King, Pierce, and Snohomish County foreclosures from January 2000 through August 2009. Click below to continue…
Down dramatically from the peak, but still at elevated levels. Will be interesting to see how it shapes up the rest of the year.
Pretty much the same trend in Snohomish County.
Pierce actually dropped slightly below last year’s level.
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, refer to the final chart in this post. 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.