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Texas foreclosure improvement lags behind national progress, report shows

After years of consistent improvements, the national foreclosure rate is at its lowest level in nine years, according to CoreLogic’s July 2016 National Foreclosure Report.

Thanks to loan modifications, a healthy labor market and upward housing trends, just 0.9 percent of mortgaged homes are in some state of foreclosure – the lowest rate announced since August 2007.

“The U.S. Treasury’s Making Home Affordable program has contributed to the decline through permanent modifications, forbearance and foreclosure alternatives, which have assisted 2.5 million homeowners with first mortgages at risk of foreclosure since 2009,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said in a statement.

In July 2016, 34,000 homes completed the foreclosure process, down 16.5 percent year-over-year and 3.9 percent from the month prior. The serious delinquency rate in the U.S. sat at 2.9 percent, the lowest since May 2016, according to the report.

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National foreclosure inventory is down 29.1 percent year-over-year, reaching 355,000 homes in the U.S. July marked 57 consecutive months of annual foreclosure inventory declines, CoreLogic says, and the majority of states (29) posted a lower foreclosure inventory compared to the national rate.

Texas foreclosure completions remain high

The sum of completed Texas foreclosures was the third highest in the nation, CoreLogic says, at 26,865 homes. With a 19.7 percent year-over-year drop, foreclosure inventory progress in Texas paled in comparison to other states.

In July, Texas foreclosure inventory reached 0.5 percent of all mortgaged homes. Meanwhile, Texas’ serious delinquency rate reached 2.4 percent of mortgaged homes.

CoreLogic

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro posted a foreclosure inventory of 0.4 percent, down a modest 19.5 percent from the year prior. A total of 5,417 homes completed the foreclosure process over 12-month period ending in July. Houston’s serious delinquency rate was average compared to other major metros, at 2.4 percent of all mortgaged homes.

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