The number of completed foreclosures nationwide in August dropped 42% from a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by CoreLogic.
In total, there were 37,000 completed foreclosures in August, down from 64,000 the year before. The country's foreclosure inventory meanwhile posted its largest year-over-year decline since January 2015, according to CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft.
"Foreclosure inventory fell by 30% from the previous year, the largest year-over-year decline since January 2015," Nothaft said in a news release. "The large decline in the distressed inventory has been one of the drivers of steady home price growth which helps Americans increase their home equity to support increased spending or cushion future economic risk."
As of August, the national foreclosure inventory included approximately 351,000 properties, or 0.9% of all mortgaged homes. August's foreclosure inventory rate was the lowest recorded since July 2007.
CoreLogic also noted that the number of mortgages in serious delinquency, which it defines as 90 days or more past due including loans in foreclosure or REO, fell by 20.6% year-over-year in August 2016 to 1.1 million mortgages, or 2.8% of all mortgaged properties.
