CATHERINE REAGOR

Phoenix-area foreclosures continue to fall

Catherine Reagor
The Republic | azcentral.com

The number of metro Phoenix houses taken back by lenders through foreclosure fell to 405 in September, the lowest level since early 2007.

In September 2013, there were 684 residential foreclosures in the Valley, according to The Information Market, a division of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.

The number of metro Phoenix houses taken back by lenders through foreclosure dropped to 405 in September, the lowest level since early 2007.

Foreclosures have been falling pretty steadily since March 2011, when almost 5,000 houses were taken back by lenders.

During the housing crash, a glut of houses in the foreclosure process and other homes sitting empty after being taken back by lenders worked to drag down Phoenix-area home values. In October 2010, lenders held a record 20,000 Valley houses that had been taken back from borrowers.

Metro Phoenix's median resale home price bottomed out at $120,000 in September 2011. The median price since has rebounded to $210,000.

Currently, lenders own 2,281 metro Phoenix houses taken back by foreclosure.