Total foreclosure filings up 27 percent from Q2; Up 33 percent from Q3 2008.

Maine reported 1,053 properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 27 percent from the previous quarter and 33 percent above the level reported in the third quarter of 2008, according to the latest RealtyTrac^® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. 

Foreclosure activity in Maine was up 30 percent in September from the previous month to 408 properties with foreclosure filings and up 26 percent from September 2008.

“The number of foreclosure filings increased in Maine over the third quarter of 2009, though the state continues to fair better than most of the nation,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Maine’s Unemployment dipped slightly to 8.5 percent in September, giving residents a glimmer of hope that the trend toward mounting foreclosures might begin to slow.”

One in every 662 Maine housing units received a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, ranking 42^nd among the 50 states.

Penobscot County tops state in foreclosure rate and activity in third quarter

Penobscot County posted the highest county foreclosure rate in the state for the third quarter, with one in every 222 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — three times the state average. Kennebec County had the second highest foreclosure rate in Maine, with one in every 291 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — 2.3 times the state average. York County posted the third highest foreclosure rate, where one in every 498 housing units received a foreclosure filing.

Penobscot County leads state in foreclosure activity in the third quarter

Penobscot County also led the state in foreclosure activity, reporting 318 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. York County had the second highest foreclosure total, reporting 209 properties with foreclosure filings. Kennebec County came in third, tallying 206 properties with foreclosure filings. Cumberland County posted the fourth highest foreclosure activity for the quarter, reporting 124 properties with foreclosure filings. Androscoggin County documented 55 properties with foreclosure filings, Maine’s fifth highest foreclosure total in the quarter.

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

Maine 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.

Maine Top Foreclosure Rates By County – Q3 2009

Maine Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Q3 2009

Maine Top Foreclosure Rates By County – Sept 2009

Maine Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Sept 2009