In yet another sign of an increasingly healthy real estate market, foreclosure rates declined by an incredible 27.4 percent this past May, according to the most recent data from CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report. Completed foreclosures – e.g. the home lost to foreclosure – also declined vastly, by 19.2 percent from the same time last year.

Moreover, the nationwide decline was reflected in absolute numbers, with a year-over-year fall from 51,000 in May 2014 to 41,000 this past year. Not only is this 10,000 fewer properties in distress, but it represents a plunge of 64.9 percent from the peak of completed foreclosures in September 2010.

When one looks at the foreclosure inventory relative to all homes with a mortgage, the rate is even smaller: as of this past May, 1.3 percent of all homes with a mortgage – around approximately 491,000 – were foreclosed, compared with 1.7 percent about (676,000 homes) in May of last year. This is the lowest rate in almost eight years.

Since the financial meltdown and subsequent housing bust of September 2008, there have been approximately 5.7 million completed foreclosures across the country. Home-ownership rates had actually peaked in the second quarter of 2004, and counting from that point, there have been around 7.8 million homes foreclosed upon.

Finally, CoreLogic reports that the number of mortgages in serious delinquency – that is, those that are 90 days or more past due, such as loans in foreclosure or REO – fell 22.7 percent between May 2014 and May 2015. With only 3.5 percent of mortgages in this category, this is the lowest rate of serious delinquency since January 2008.

Much of this improvement is attributed to a stronger economy, which includes higher job growth and easier borrowing. As of May 2015, Florida remains among the five states with the highest number of foreclosures, at 104,000 (along with Michigan, Texas, California, and Ohio, it accounts for nearly half of all completed foreclosures nationwide. With 2.9 percent of Florida mortgages in foreclosure, the importance of a Fort Lauderdale Bankruptcy Attorney cannot be understated. Be sure to get the best in Foreclosure Defense Fort Lauderdale to safeguard your financial and legal rights.