Nashville foreclosure rate climbs

Nashville Business Journal - by Eric Snyder Staff Writer

Home foreclosure rates in the Nashville area again ticked up in November, according to data released today by California-based First American CoreLogic.

In November, 1.36 percent of mortgages were in foreclosure, according to the company. That's compared to 1.27 percent in October, and compared to .59 percent in November 2008.

However, the November foreclosure rate in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin area remained under the national average of 3.09 percent, and under the statewide average of 1.46 percent.

According to First American CoreLogic, the percentage of mortgages that are more than 90 days delinquent in the area continued to increase, to 5.59 percent in November. That's up from 5.32 percent in October, but still lower than the national average of 8.14 percent and the statewide average of 6.53 percent.

For the year, Tennessee was one of just nine states and the District of Columbia where the total number of residential foreclosures fell, according to California-based RealtyTrac.

According to RealtyTrac’s Year-End 2009 Foreclosure Market Report, Tennessee had 40,733 foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — last year. That was a drop of 7.75 percent compared to 2008, but a 57.19 percent jump from 2007.

Tennessee ranked No. 17 nationally for its foreclosure rate. Nevada, Arizona and Florida rank No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

Washington, D.C.'s foreclosure rate fell between 2009 and 2008; other states that saw their rate fall include Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhodes Island.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 349,519 U.S. properties in December — an increase of nearly 14 percent from November and a 15 percent spike from December 2008.

James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, said in a statement that December was the 10th straight month where notices were over 300,000.