Nearly 1.1 Million U.S. Properties With Foreclosure Filings in 2015, Down 3 Percent From 2014 to Nine-Year Low - Seite 3

"Foreclosures in the Seattle area are trending downward at a much faster pace than the rest of our state and the nation as a whole," said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market. "This is not all that surprising given Seattle's robust economy and thriving housing market. Also not surprising is that home repossessions by lenders rose precipitously in 2015. I expect this number to remain somewhat volatile throughout 2016, and likely into 2017, as banks continue to work through their backlog of foreclosures. This is an indication that at long last we are working through the tail end of the 2008 housing market crisis."

New Jersey, Florida, Maryland post top state foreclosure rates in 2015

States with the highest foreclosure rates in 2015 were New Jersey (1.91 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Florida (1.77 percent); Maryland (1.60 percent); Nevada (1.40 percent); and Illinois (1.26 percent).

Other states posting foreclosure rates in the top 10 highest in 2015 were Delaware at No. 6 (1.05 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Ohio at No. 7 (1.01 percent); South Carolina at No. 8 (1.01 percent); Indiana at No. 9 (0.91 percent); and Tennessee at No. 10 (0.89 percent).

Atlantic City, Trenton, Tampa post top metro foreclosure rates in 2015

Metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates in 2015 were Atlantic City, New Jersey (3.43 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Trenton, New Jersey (2.14 percent); Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida (2.03 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (2.02 percent); and Miami (1.98 percent).

"South Florida real estate has seen a strong turnaround from our 2008 bottom," said Mike Pappas, CEO and president of Keyes Company, covering the South Florida market. "Many properties have surpassed the peak valuation of 2005. Due to our judicial system we still have a remnant of foreclosures and short sales working through the system."

Other major metro areas with top 20 foreclosure rates in 2015 were Orlando at No. 9 (1.78 percent); Baltimore at No. 11 (1.63 percent); Chicago at No. 14 (1.58 percent); Las Vegas at No. 17 (1.48 percent); and Philadelphia at No. 19 (1.46 percent).

Average time to foreclose dips nationwide, more than 1,000 days in six states

U.S. properties foreclosed in the fourth quarter had been in the foreclosure process an average of 629 days, down slightly from 630 days in the third quarter but still up 4 percent from the average 604 days in the fourth quarter of 2014.