Total foreclosure filings down 5 percent from Q2; Down 2 percent from Q3 2008.

New Hampshire reported 1,944 properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2009, a decrease of 5 percent from the previous quarter and 2 percent below the level reported in the third quarter of 2008, according to the latest RealtyTrac^® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. 

Foreclosure activity in New Hampshire was down more than 32 percent in September from the previous month to 781 properties with foreclosure filings, but still up 52 percent from September 2008.

“New Hampshire welcomed a slight reprieve from mounting foreclosures in the third quarter of 2009, even reporting a decline in activity compared to this time last year,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “At 7.2 percent, New Hampshire’s unemployment rate remains well below the national jobless average of 9.8 percent, which has likely helped keep homeowners out of immediate peril.”

One in every 306 New Hampshire housing units received a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, ranking 27^th among the 50 states.

Belknap County posts state’s top foreclosure rate in third quarter

Belknap County posted the highest county foreclosure rate in the state for the third quarter, with one in every 234 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. Rockingham County was a close second, with one in every 271 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Strafford County posted the third highest foreclosure rate, where one in every 272 housing units received a foreclosure filing.

Hillsborough County leads state in foreclosure activity in the third quarter

Hillsborough County led the state, reporting 558 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. Rockingham County had the second highest foreclosure total, reporting 456 properties with foreclosure filings. Merrimack County came in third, tallying 202 properties with foreclosure filings. Strafford County posted the fourth highest foreclosure total for the quarter, reporting 185 properties with foreclosure filings. Belknap County documented 152 properties with foreclosure filings, the state’s fifth highest foreclosure total in the quarter.

State a minor contributor to nation’s foreclosure activity for quarter and month

New Hampshire accounted for less than 1 percent of the 937,840 properties with foreclosure filings reported nationwide for the third quarter and less than 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.

New Hampshire Top Foreclosure Rates By County – Q3 2009

New Hampshire Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Q3 2009

New Hampshire Top Foreclosure Rates By County – Sept 2009

New Hampshire Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Sept 2009