Foreclosure Sales Slow on West Coast

With the holiday season approaching, the research and tracking firm ForeclosureRadar is seeing declines in the number of completed foreclosures in four of the five states it monitors along the country's West Coast.ForeclosureRadar's coverage area includes Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Only Arizona saw foreclosure sales rise in November, up 25 percent from October. The company notes, however, that Arizona's increase last month simply offset the 20 percent drop seen in October and is still well below the state's average monthly sales for the year.

""It's great to see the banks slow down foreclosures and evictions for the holidays,"" said Sean O'Toole, CEO and founder of ForeclosureRadar. ""We expect that the numbers will drop even further in December.""

ForeclosureRadar says it's not unusual to see foreclosures slow for the holidays. Come January though, O'Toole says it will be back to business as usual with at least a small surge as banks play catch up after the delays.

Foreclosure starts were up slightly in Nevada (+6.4 percent) and Washington (+5.0 percent), but ForeclosureRadar described the increases as "insignificant" given the recent declines in those states due to legislative changes and legal challenges.

Notice of trustee sale filings rose 34.7 percent from October to November in California. ForeclosureRadar's data show the increase came primarily from filings by Bank of America, up 52 percent, and Wells Fargo, up 23 percent.