US foreclosures fall

Property investors in the US may be interested to hear that repossessions in the country reached a record high during April, while the number of foreclosures dropped for the first time in four years in the same period.

The statistics, released by RealtyTrac, show that the number of distressed properties entering the market decreased by nine per cent.

Monthly foreclosure filings are expected to remain high while unemployment is still at a high level and an increasing number of homeowners find themselves in negative equity.

Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's executive vice president, confirmed that the trend was expected to continue in future months.

"Right now it appears that the banks are focusing on processing the loans already in foreclosure and slowing down the initiation of new foreclosure proceedings as a way of managing inventory levels," he said.

Individuals looking at property in the country may be interested to hear that Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate for the 40th month in a row, while Arizona, Florida and California were also high on the list.

According to the Zillow Real Estate Market Report, US property recovery is likely to be stalled by rising negative equity and growing levels of distressed property.

Like this? Then share with your friends and colleagues!