Foreclosure activity slows in Nevada and West

Foreclosure activity slowed significantly across the West in February with filings down in Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington, ForeclosureRadar reported Tuesday.

Default notices to Las Vegas homeowners fell by 28.7 percent in February from the previous month to 2,800. They are down 48.8 percent from a year ago, while notices of sale are down about 4 percent from January at 3,111, the foreclosure listing service found.

Trustee sale cancellations zoomed as more than 3,000 Las Vegas homeowners avoided the foreclosure process, an increase of 65.6 percent over January, and 47.7 percent fewer properties went back to the bank.

Inventories dropped slightly. Bank-owned homes, or REOs, fell by 6 percent and are only 18.6 percent above a year ago. Inventories of properties scheduled for sale fell 10.02 percent and are nearly 70 percent above a year ago.

Foreclosure sales saw a dramatic about-face from the surge in January, said Sean O’Toole, chief executive officer of ForeclosureRadar, based in Discovery Bay, Calif. Part of the drop was because of fewer filing days in the month, he said.

Clark County saw a similar decline in new foreclosure activity. Notices of default dropped 26.4 percent during the month to 4,186, while notices of sale fell 6.4 percent to 4,447.

“Foreclosure filings dropped to low levels not seen in quite awhile,” O’Toole said. “We will likely see more sluggish foreclosure activity in the months ahead while lenders continue to work through lingering concerns over foreclosure documentation and deal with process changes.”