It’s time once again to expand on our preview of foreclosure activity with a more detailed look at August’s stats in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. First up, the Notice of Trustee Sale summary:
August 2010
King: 1,214 NTS, up 97% YOY
Snohomish: 628 NTS, up 91% YOY
Pierce: 817 NTS, up 90% YOY
Here’s your interactive Tableau dashboard updated with the latest foreclosure data:
Foreclosure notices continue to post pretty massive year-over-year gains, since we’re still comparing to last year’s post-legislation dip. Month-to-month, all three counties dipped slightly, which doesn’t really tell us much since this data seems to regularly see-saw quite a bit.
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 672 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 430 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 388 households (higher is better).
According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate for August of one foreclosure for every 413 housing units was 14th worst among the 50 states and the District of Columbia (same as July). 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 still looks likely that we may hit new highs for all three counties before the end of the year. Especially now that sales have tapered off so dramatically.
As long as unemployment remains high, home sales are likely to remain low, and foreclosures will probably continue to increase. So far we still have yet to see any signs of easing in this trend here in the Seattle area.
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.