The foreclosure crisis leveled off in May as the number of people facing foreclosure was nearly flat from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac, a private foreclosure listing service.
A third fewer people are receiving legal warnings that they could lose their homes. And foreclosures are receding in some of the hardest-hit cities, the report says.
Still, the number of foreclosures remains extraordinarily high. Experts caution that a big reason for the stabilization is that banks are letting delinquent borrowers stay longer in their homes rather than adding to the glut of foreclosed properties on the market. New consumer protection laws, which vary by state, have also meant borrowers can spend more time in their homes.
RealtyTrac reported Thursday that nearly 323,000 households, or one in every 400 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in May. That was up 0.5% from a year earlier and down 3% from April. The report tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions.
But in a sign that the crisis is far from over, the number of homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure hit a record of nearly 94,000 in May. That number may finally peak next year, as lenders try to work their way through millions of delinquent loans.
Among states, Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in May. One in every 79 households there received a foreclosure notice. However, foreclosures there are down 16% from a year earlier.
Arizona, Florida, California and Michigan were next among states with the highest foreclosure rates. Rounding out the top 10 were Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Maryland.
Las Vegas continued to be the city with the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, but activity there was down 18% from a year earlier. And nine out of the top 10 cities with the highest foreclosure rates posted annual declines.
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