The number of homes at some stage in the foreclosure process dropped in March to its lowest level since October 2007, according to data released by CoreLogic.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company reported that the national foreclosure inventory in March was 427,000 or 1.1% of all homes with a mortgage, down 23% from a year ago. And completed foreclosures fell 15% year-over-year to 36,000 homes.
CoreLogic also found that the number of mortgages seriously delinquent had sunk 19.1% from March 2015 to 1.2 million loans. The seriously delinquent rate, which is now at 3.1% of all homes, is the lowest reported since November 2007.
An improved labor market and earnings growth have helped pull the serious delinquency rates down in most states, according to CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft. But serious delinquencies did increase in North Dakota and West Virginia, he noted, as a result of lower demand for fuel produced in those two states.
