Total foreclosure filings up 29 percent from Q2; Up 141 percent from Q3 2008.

Hawaii reported 2,743 properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 29 percent from the previous quarter and 141 percent above the level reported in the third quarter of 2008, according to the latest RealtyTrac^® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. 

Foreclosure activity in Hawaii was up 12 percent in September from the previous month to 969 properties with foreclosure filings and up 63 percent from September 2008.

“Hawaii continued to ride the foreclosures wave in the third quarter of 2009, reporting more than double the level of activity seen at this time last year,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Unemployment within the state has remained steady at 7.2 percent in September, though that doesn’t seem to be keeping homeowners out of peril.”

One in every 185 Hawaii housing units received a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, ranking 14^th among the 50 states.

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

Kauai County posted the highest county foreclosure rate in the state for the third quarter, with one in every 84 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 2.2 times the state average. Maui County came in second, with one in every 111 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — 1.7 times the state average. Hawaii County posted the third highest foreclosure rate, where one in every 124 housing units received a foreclosure filing — and 1.5 times the state average.

Honolulu County leads state in foreclosure activity in the third quarter

Honolulu County led the state in foreclosure activity, reporting 1,186 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. Hawaii County had the second highest foreclosure total, reporting 625 properties with foreclosure filings. Maui County came in third, tallying 586 properties with foreclosure filings. Kauai County posted the fourth highest foreclosure activity for the quarter, reporting 346 properties with foreclosure filings.

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

Hawaii 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.

Hawaii Top Foreclosure Rates By County – Q3 2009

Hawaii Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Q3 2009

Hawaii Top Foreclosure Rates By County – Sept 2009

Hawaii Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Sept 2009