Time for our detailed look at foreclosure activity for February in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. First up, the Notice of Trustee Sale summary:
February 2009
King: 722 NTS, down 13.8% YOY
Snohomish: 472 NTS, down 6.5% YOY
Pierce: 455 NTS, down 21.3% YOY
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 1,062 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 636 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 592 households (higher is better).
According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate for February of one foreclosure for every 1,046 housing units was 33rd worst 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:
It’s a dip, but it’s still tough to say that things are anywhere near “normal” around here yet.
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.