US foreclosures fall, but bank repossessions remain high

Property investors in the US may wish to hear about the latest foreclosure statistics from the country.

According to RealtyTrac, the amount of distressed property entering the market decreased in May, compared to the previous month.

However, despite the number of defaults and auctioned homes falling, bank repossessions in the country set a new monthly record.

James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said that the recent figures were a continuation of the trend which has been seen in previous months.

"Overall foreclosure activity [is] levelling off while lenders work through the backlog of distressed properties that have built up over the past 20 months," he explained.

"Lenders appear to be ramping up the pace of completing those forestalled foreclosures even while the inflow of delinquencies into the foreclosure process has slowed."

Individuals looking for Florida property may be interested to know that the region had the nation's third highest foreclosure rate over the period.

Earlier this year, Clear Capital reported that house prices in the US have increased by 6.8 per cent in the last 12 months, which represents the steepest annual growth in the sector since July 2006.

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