Total foreclosure filings down 13 percent from Q2, Down 18 percent from Q3 2008.

Indiana reported 12,101 properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2009, a decrease of 13 percent from the previous quarter and 16 percent below the level reported in the third quarter of 2008, according to the latest RealtyTrac^® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

“Indiana foreclosures are down during the third quarter,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The largest decrease was in default notices, which fell 50 percent during the quarter. Although on the rise, the state’s unemployment rate still remains below the national average, and home sales have begun to pick up this year. If these trends continue, we may see foreclosures continue to decline.”

Indiana ranked 17^th in the country in total foreclosures reported for the third quarter. With one in every 230 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, its foreclosure rate ranked 20^th among the 50 states.

Foreclosure activity in the Hoosier State was down 31 percent in September from the previous month to 4,453 properties with foreclosure filings, and declined on a yearly basis, down 22 percent from September 2008. The state’s foreclosure rate was 20^th highest in the nation for the month — with one in every 624 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Howard City posts state’s top foreclosure rate in the third quarter

Howard County posted the highest county foreclosure rate in the state for the third quarter, with one in every 80 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 1.7 times the national average and 2.9 times the state average. Marion County was second, with one in every 115 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — twice the state average. Madison County posted the third highest foreclosure rate, where one in every 116 housing units received a foreclosure filing — two times the state average.

Five counties accounted for 55 percent of foreclosure activity in the third quarter

Marion County led the way, tallying 3,628 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. Lake County came in second highest, reporting 1,178 properties with foreclosure filings. Allen County came in third, tallying 757 properties with foreclosure filings. Hamilton County posted the fourth highest foreclosure activity for the quarter, reporting 578 properties with foreclosure filings. Elkhart County documented 543 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

Indiana 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.

Indiana Top Foreclosure Rates by County – Q3 2009

Indiana Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Q3 2009

Indiana Top Foreclosure Rates by County – Sept 2009

Indiana Top Foreclosure Totals by County – Sept 2009