Foreclosure rates are falling. According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, monthly foreclosure filings fell 2 percent in May to just under 215,000 filings nationwide. A foreclosure filing is defined as any one of the following: a default notice, a scheduled auction, or a bank repossession. On an annual basis, foreclosure counts have dropped over 16 consecutive months, dating back to January 2010. Like all things in real estate, though, foreclosures are local. 6 states accounted for more than half of the country's foreclosure filings in May. Those six states -- California, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas -- represent just 34% of the U.S. population. But even on a per household basis, the figures remain disproportionate.
- Top 10 Foreclosure States : 1 foreclosure per 357 households, on average
- Bottom 10 Foreclosure States : 1 foreclosure per 8,764 households, on average