Foreclosure market in Nevada remains steady, new report shows

California research firm RealtyTrac said Wednesday that the Silver State remained one of the nation’s top states for foreclosures, even as default activity fell.

Nevada ranked No. 3, with one in every 701 homes in some stage of foreclosure in March. That trailed Florida, at one in 407 homes, and Maryland, at one in 527 homes. The national rate was one in every 1,121 properties.

RealtyTrac also reported that Nevada’s foreclosure activity fell 56 percent year over year in March, and 48 percent year over year in the first quarter. Nationally, foreclosure activity declined 23 percent year to year in both March and the first quarter.

Nevada’s pace of defaults has fluctuated in lockstep with changes in state laws that govern the foreclosure process. Separate laws took effect in 2013 that both eliminated and put up roadblocks against banks looking to foreclose.

A June law removed a requirement that the banker signing default papers have personal knowledge of who owned the promissory note, a tall order when many mortgages were bundled and sold multiple times as financial derivatives.

But in October, another law took effect that gave homeowners new rights. It mandates that banks give homeowners 30 days’ notice before starting fore­closure, and tell owners about alternatives to default. The law also requires banks to assign a single contact person to a homeowner in default.

Banking industry officials say the legislative whiplash has caused headaches for banks looking to foreclose. It’s also forced a roller-coaster ride in Nevada’s delinquency activity. First-time filings surged to 3,700 in September, and plummeted to fewer than 200 in October.

Nevada saw 417 first-time filings, or notices of default, in March, and 1,028 first-time filings in the first quarter, according to RealtyTrac.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.