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Foreclosures Continue to Surge around Seattle

Posted on August 12, 2010August 12, 2010 by The Tim

Let’s 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 2009
King: 1,413 NTS, up 13.2% YOY
Snohomish: 690 NTS, up 11.3% YOY
Pierce: 872 NTS, up 8.6% YOY

Here’s your interactive Tableau dashboard updated with the latest foreclosure data:

Powered by Tableau

After a brief blip into negative year-over-year territory in June thanks to last year’s massive spike following a change in state law, foreclosures moved back into positive territory in July. Month-to-month, King and Pierce were up, but Snohomish fell slightly. King and Pierce both set new second-highest levels (only June of last year was higher).

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 577 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 391 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 364 households (higher is better).

According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate for June of one foreclosure for every 491 housing units was 14th worst among the 50 states and the District of Columbia (up from 25th in June). 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:

Powered by Tableau

If the rate of growth we’ve seen in foreclosures since February keeps up for much longer, we’ll bust through the June 2009 highs well before the end of the year.

Every month I think maybe “the worst is over” with respect to foreclosures, and yet every month I am continually surprised to see the number continue to rise. This is one area where we are clearly not seeing any “recovery” as of 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, 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.

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July Stats Preview: “Where did the buyers go?” Edition
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Redfin: Seattle Home Sales Deep Freeze in July

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