The blistering pace of foreclosures this year will top 2010, when a record 1 million homes were lost, RealtyTrac said yesterday.
One in every 45 US households received a foreclosure filing last year, a record 2.9 million of them. That’s up 1.67 percent from 2009.
Freddie Mac reported yesterday that fixed mortgage rates dipped this week for the second straight time, extending a sliver of hope for some homeowners.
The average rate on the 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.71 percent from 4.77 percent the previous week. The rate on the 15-year loan, a popular refinance choice, slipped to 4.08 percent from 4.13 percent.
But both are a half-point higher than in November, when 30-year loan rate hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent and the 15-year mortgage rate fell to 3.57 percent, the lowest on records starting in 1991.
The dip has led more borrowers to apply for a refinance, but would-be buyers remain hesitant, according to Wednesday’s mortgage indexes from the Mortgage Bankers Association. It will take more than low mortgage rates to jumpstart a housing market plagued by high unemployment, falling prices, and tighter credit standards.
The glut of foreclosures has compounded the problem, and while the pace moderated in the final months of 2010, that isn’t expected to last.
Banks temporarily halted actions against borrowers severely behind on their payments after allegations of improper eviction surfaced in September.
However, most banks have since resumed foreclosures, and the first quarter will probably bear that out, Sharga said.
The pain is expected to be the most acute in states that have already suffered the worst. Largely, those are states that saw the biggest housing booms: Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and California. They will be joined by states hit hardest by the economic downturn, including Michigan and Illinois.
Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in 2010 for the fourth straight year: One in every 11 households received a foreclosure filing last year in the state.
One in every 17 Arizona households got a foreclosure filing last year, while one in 18 received a notice in Florida.
