Still High Number of Foreclosed Homes for Sale in Illinois

The number of foreclosed homes for sale in Illinois in the first quarter was still relatively high despite the slowdown in foreclosure activity in March and during the quarter.

In March, the number of home foreclosures in Illinois dropped by 3.9 percent from 4,597 units in February to 4,424 in March, a still high number that can substantially increase the existing inventory of foreclosed homes for sale in the state.

In the entire first quarter, the total number of repossessed homes reached 14,989 units, accounting for 32.74 percent of total foreclosure filings in Illinois and comprising 5.81 percent of total REOs nationwide during the quarter.

In March, the share of REOs in total filings for the month was 31.2 percent, a jump from 26.55 percent in February but down from 33.1 percent in January.

The overall total of pre foreclosed homes and foreclosed homes for sale in Illinois reached 45,780 units in the first quarter, including 17,321 units in February and 14,199 units in March. The pace of filings during the quarter slowed by 4.6 percent from the prior quarter although it was still up by more than 27 percent from the first quarter last year.

Cook County, where Chicago is situated, posted the highest foreclosure total during the quarter, with 23,841 of its residential units in foreclosure, accounting for more than 52 percent of total filings statewide.

Lake County was a far second, with 3,678 of its homes in foreclosure, a little over 8 percent of total statewide filings.

Kendall County, however, posted the highest foreclosure rate in the state, with one foreclosure filing for every 45 homes in the county. The rate was more than three times the national rate and nearly three times the statewide rate. Kane County was second, with one filing for every 53 households.

In March, Illinois ranked tenth in the state foreclosure rate charts, down from its eighth-ranking in February. In the entire first quarter, the state ranked ninth.

Illinois still contributes heavily to the total nationwide foreclosure total, as the statewide total of 45,780 filings in the first quarter represented 4.91 percent of the total filings nationwide during the quarter. It was also the fourth highest quarterly total among the states.

Additionally, the total number of bank owned foreclosed homes for sale in Illinois in the first quarter accounted for almost 6 percent of the 257,944 units repossessed nationwide during the quarter.

Original Post: Still High Number of Foreclosed Homes for Sale in Illinois on BankForeclosuresSale.com.