COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. is on track to end the year with the fewest homes repossessed by lenders in six years but the latest statistics reported by the listing firm RealtyTrac indicate the good news doesn’t extend all the way to the Buckeye State.
The tracking firm reports an overall improvement that should help limit the negative impact foreclosures have on home values.
Lenders repossessed 36,964 U.S. homes last month, down 31 percent from July last year.
Ohio’s foreclosure rate, however, has climbed all the way to third in the nation with one in every 639 housing units in the state with a foreclosure filing.
Year-to-year foreclosure activity has decreased for three consecutive months after hitting a 33-month high in April.
Foreclosure activity was down 18 percent from a year ago but bank repossessions were up 20 percent.
Foreclosure filings in Franklin County were 2 percent higher in July than one year earlier, according to Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy’s website.