Foreclosures in 2014 Fall to Levels Before Housing Catastrophe

The strength of the economy is spilling over to the housing market. For the first time since last year, home foreclosures fell to levels not seen since before the housing bust. The number of homes repossessed by banks fell 29% last year to the lowest level since 2006, according to foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac. All told, more than 640,000 homes went into the foreclosure process last year. That represents a 70% drop from their 2009 peak - when foreclosures hit 2.1 million. When you look at homes that were actually taken back by lenders - also called completed foreclosures - the numbers fell to roughly 327,000. That's down about 70% from their peak five years ago. But not all states saw completed foreclosures decline last year. Nine states registered an increase from 2013, including Maryland, New York, Oregon and New Jersey.