Foreclosure Starts Driven Higher by Bank of America
Foreclosure filings and sales increased throughout most of our coverage area in August. Foreclosure starts jumped significantly, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months. Investors bought more properties on the courthouse steps in August than in July everywhere except in Washington. The number of properties Sold Back to Bank jumped significantly in Oregon, and also rose in California and Nevada. Foreclosure starts (the first notice filed, either a Notice of Default or Notice of Trustee Sale depending on the state) rose in every state. This appears to have been primarily driven by Bank of America and related entities, where we saw an overall 116 percent increase from July to August. Wells Fargo and US Bank also saw an increase in foreclosure start filings, while filings by JP Morgan Chase and Citibank were essentially flat. Key month over month trends for August include:
| State |
Notice of Default |
Notice of Sale |
Back to Bank |
Sold to 3rd Party |
| Arizona |
n/a |
+ 15.0% |
- 8.1% |
+ 4.9% |
| California |
+ 69.5% |
+ 6.1% |
+ 12.3% |
+ 9.9% |
| Nevada |
+ 44.2% |
+ 9.9% |
+ 1.2% |
+ 19.8% |
| Oregon |
+ 35.6% |
n/a |
+ 243.3% |
+ 46.0% |
| Washington |
n/a |
+ 3.9% |
- 29.4% |
+ 33.3% |
