Report: Foreclosure crisis is winding down

• Foreclosure activity in November down 37%25 from a year ago
• Foreclosure starts in November fell to lowest level in eight years
• States with slower foreclosure processes have longer ways to go

The foreclosure crisis is nearing an end and won't derail the housing rebound underway in many parts of the country, real estate research firms say.

Foreclosure activity in November was down 37% from a year ago and 15% from October, RealtyTrac reports today.

November foreclosure starts fell to their lowest level since December 2005 — before the historic housing bust began. Starts offer an indication of future numbers of distressed homes on the market.

"The depth and breadth of the decrease provides strong evidence that we are entering the ninth inning of this foreclosure crisis," says Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president.

Foreclosures may stage a "weak rally" in some markets next year as the last of the distressed homes left over from the recession are dealt with, he says. A foreclosure comeback that poses any major threat to the housing recover is "highly unlikely," he says.

States with the highest foreclosure rates in November were Florida, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina and Illinois, RealtyTrac says. Rates are based on filings at every stage of the process — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — so some homes may be counted more than once.

Those states all require foreclosures to go through the courts, which typically means they take longer.

With the exception of Florida, other states hard hit by foreclosures, including California and Arizona, have cleared distressed homes from the market faster, largely because of speedier foreclosure processes and strong buying demand from investors, says Jed Kolko, chief economist of real estate website Trulia.

More than 7.7 million homes were lost to bank repossession via foreclosure, short sale or some other distressed sale since late 2006, RealtyTrac estimates.

The foreclosure crisis "is almost over in many parts of the country," Kolko says. While the crisis used to be most pronounced in states with steep home price declines, including Arizona and California, it's now concentrated in states with slow foreclosure processes, Kolko says.

Florida had both steep home price declines and a slow foreclosure process.

In November, that state was home to eight of the top 10 larger U.S. metropolitan regions with the highest foreclosure rates, led by Jacksonville, Miami and Port St. Lucie, RealtyTrac says.

While still leading in terms of foreclosure activity, those eight Florida metros nonetheless posted a year-over-year decline, the data show.

Overall, Florida foreclosure filings fell almost 23% in November year-over-year, less than the national average. They were down 61% in California, 59% in Arizona and 55% in Nevada.