According to the firm RealtyTrac, national foreclosure filings fell to a six-year low in January. The report states that foreclosures dropped 7 percent in January from December 2012, with foreclosure activity down 28 percent from January 2012. It further found that U.S. bank repossessions dropped 5 percent from the previous month and were down 24 percent from January 2012 to the lowest level since February 2008.
One possible reason for the declines, according to RealtyTrac, was a steep drop in California notices of default issued in January, which fell 62 percent from December and were down 75 percent from January 2012 to the lowest level since October 2005.
Of course, areas of the country are still feeling the effects of the recession. RealtyTrac reported that 1 in 300 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing in January — more than twice the national average and the highest in the U.S. for the fifth consecutive month. Nevada posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate for the fourth consecutive month, with 1 in every 344 housing units filing a foreclosure in January. Other states topping the list for highest foreclosure rates in January include Arizona (1 in 501 housing units filing a foreclosure), Georgia (1 in 513 housing units) Ohio (1 in 612 housing units) and Washington (1 in 674 housing units).