It’s time once again to expand on our preview of foreclosure activity with a more detailed look at April’s stats in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. First up, the Notice of Trustee Sale summary:
April 2011
King: 912 NTS, down 30% YOY
Snohomish: 547 NTS, down 15% YOY
Pierce: 602 NTS, down 18% YOY
The YOY decline in foreclosure notices increased in all three counties in April. This might signal a beginning of easing in foreclosures, or it may have something to do with the new legislation that was recently passed in Olympia (HB 1362). It’s still too early to really know for sure.
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 902 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 497 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 531 households (higher is better).
According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate for April of one foreclosure for every 715 housing units was 20th 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 that the little dip in the end of the chart that represents April is pretty minor compared with how high we are above the historic 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, 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.