One in every 849 homes received a foreclosure filing in February, down from a foreclosure rate of one in every 869 homes the previous month.
"The U.S. foreclosure inferno has been effectively contained," according to Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "But dangerous foreclosure flare-ups are still popping up in states where foreclosures have been delayed by a lengthy court process or by new legislation making it more difficult to foreclose outside of the court system."
Foreclosure flare-ups
In Washington for instance, foreclosure activity was up for the 10th straight month, rising two percent MoM, and up 123 percent from a year ago. It now has the nation's fifth-highest foreclosure rate, for the first time since RealtyTrac began reporting on foreclosures in 2005.
Maine saw an over 400 percent year-over-year (YoY) surge in foreclosure activity. Meanwhile, Maryland's foreclosure activity was up for the eighth straight month, rising 105 percent on the year and 49 percent on the month.
And the rise in Maryland's foreclosure activity was driven by a 319 percent jump in foreclosure starts – the pace at which mortgages enter the foreclosure process.
Overall, foreclosure starts were up 10 percent in February, rising for the first time in three months. They were however down 25 percent YoY.
Rising foreclosure starts are cause for concern, because the decline in inventory supported home prices, and in large part helped drive the housing recovery.
Housing analysts have been revising up their 2013 home price forecasts, with Bank of America Merill Lynch and Capital Economics calling for an eight percent rise in home prices.
For now, Florida, Nevada and Illinois continue to have the nation's highest foreclosure rates.