Total foreclosure filings up 4 percent from Q2, but down 9 percent from Q3 2008.

Tennessee reported 10,888 properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 4 percent from the previous quarter but 9 percent below the level reported in the third quarter of 2008, according to the latest RealtyTrac^® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

“Tennessee foreclosures were up during the third quarter,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The largest increase was in bank-owned properties, which climbed 40 percent for the quarter. This is not surprising as Tennessee’s 12.1 percent unemployment rate has been well above the national average for some time. However, home sales have begun to pick up this year and foreclosures are lower than they were this time last year.”

Tennessee ranked 19^th in the country in total foreclosures reported for the third quarter. With one in every 250 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, its foreclosure rate ranked 22^nd among the 50 states.

Foreclosure activity in the Volunteer State was down 16 percent in September from the previous month to 3,531 properties with foreclosure filings, and declined on a yearly basis, down 14 percent from September 2008. The state’s foreclosure rate was 28^th highest in the nation for the month — with one in every 772 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Shelby County posts state’s top foreclosure rate in the third quarter

Shelby County posted the highest county foreclosure rate in the state for the third quarter, with one in every 113 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 2.2 times the state average. Sevier County documented the second highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 130 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — 1.9 times the state average. Sequatchie County posted the third highest foreclosure rate, where one in every 186 housing units received a foreclosure filing — 1.4 times the state average.

Five counties accounted for 59 percent of foreclosure activity in the third quarter

Shelby County led the way, tallying 3,519 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. Davidson County came in second highest, reporting 1,156 properties with foreclosure filings. Knox County came in third, tallying 647 properties with foreclosure filings. Fourth highest for the quarter was Hamilton County, reporting 584 properties with foreclosure filings. Rutherford County documented 480 properties with foreclosure filings, the state’s fifth highest foreclosure total in the quarter.

State contributes 1 percent to nation’s foreclosure activity for quarter and month

Tennessee accounted for 1 percent of the 937,840 properties with foreclosure filings reported nationwide for the third quarter and 1 percent of the 343,638 properties with foreclosure filings reported for September. Total U.S. activity declined 5.4 percent between the second and third quarter of the year, but was up 23 percent from the third quarter of 2008. One in every 136 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, the highest quarterly foreclosure rate since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in 2005.

Report methodology

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the month — broken out by type of filing at the county, state and national level. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is filed against a property during the month — which is extremely rare — only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The report also checks if the same type of document was filed against a property in a previous month. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state the property is in, the report does not count the property in the current month.

For current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, check out our blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

Tennessee Top Foreclosure Rates by County – Q3 2009

Tennessee Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Q3 2009

Tennessee Top Foreclosure Rates by County – Sept 2009

Tennessee Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Sept 2009