LAS VEGAS -- Nevada continued to experience a sharp drop in foreclosure activity in November compared to a year ago but still had the nation's second highest rate of foreclosure filings, RealtyTrac reported Wednesday night.
The foreclosure-tracking company from Irvine, Calif., reported that one in every 390 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing last month, second only to Florida's one in every 304 rate.
Nationally, one in every 728 units received a foreclosure filing. Those filings include notices of default, notices of pending trustee sales and repossessions by lenders.
Among metro areas, Las Vegas ranked 16th with one filing per 336 housing units.
The 3,007 filings Nevada had in November -- 1,348 default notices, 893 trustee sale notices and 766 repossessions -- was 53.8 percent lower than the same month in 2011. Repossessions alone declined by 64.3 percent.
Foreclosure filings also declined 19 percent nationally in November compared to a year ago, marking the 26th consecutive month with an annual decrease in such activity.
"The drop in overall foreclosure activity in November was caused largely by a 71-month low in foreclosure starts for the month, more evidence that we are past the worst of the foreclosure problem brought about by the housing bubble bursting six years ago," RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist said.
"But foreclosures are continuing to hobble the U.S. housing market as lenders finally seize properties that started the process a year or two ago -- and much longer in some cases. We're likely not completely out of the woods when it comes to foreclosure starts, either, as lenders are still adjusting to new foreclosure ground rules set forth in the National Mortgage Settlement along with various state laws and court rulings."
