Foreclosure activity slows in May, except in California

Foreclosure filing activity was down in May 2011, with fewer foreclosure filings in all states except California, where there was an increase in Notice of Trustee Sale filings, which may lead to more foreclosure sales in future months.  Activity on the courthouse steps was mixed, with California the only state to have increases in foreclosure sales both "Back to Bank" and "Sold to Third Party."  After an increase in foreclosure cancellations across the board in April 2011, there was a reversal of this trend in May, with cancellations declining significantly in California, Nevada, and Washington. Cancellations moderately declined in Arizona, but increased in Oregon.

Notice of Default filings fell in May 2011 with a 4 percent decline resulting in the fewest foreclosure starts since October 2008 when SB 1137 resulted in a temporary halt in the Notice of Default process. More foreclosures were scheduled for sale at the courthouse steps in May, with Notice of Trustee Sale filings up 16.6 percent from April, the first month-over-month increase this year.  Notice of Trustee sales remain down year-over-year, off by 9 percent.

Cancellations of foreclosure sales dropped 24.3 percent compared with April after rising 27 percent from March.  Foreclosure sales on the courthouse steps were up from the prior month, with 3.4 percent more sales Back to Bank and a 4.1 percent increase in foreclosed properties Sold to Third Parties.  The average Time to Foreclose continued a steady climb, increasing 10.3 percent to a new record of 344 days.  Third parties are reselling inventory more quickly, with the Time to Resell down 7.6 percent month-over-month to 134 days, the fewest number of days since September 2010 - likely due in part to a lack of inventory throughout much of California. From C.A.R. Newsline

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