Last week, the data and analytics firm CoreLogic released home foreclosure data for December 2011.  The figures show that Arkansas homeowners continue to fare better than the national average.  The percent of homeowners who were more than 90 days late on their mortgage payments (including those in foreclosure) was 7.3% nationwide.  In Arkansas the comparable figure was 5.2%.  Among the 50 states, Arkansas was ranked #31 on this particular statistic.

Source: CoreLogic

Relatively speaking, Arkansas fared even better on foreclosure inventories.  Across the nation, 3.4% of all homes with a mortgage were classified as being at some stage of the foreclosure process in December.  In Arkansas, only 1.4% of all homes with mortgages fell into this category.  Only 6 states had a lower inventory rate.

Compared to a year earlier, Arkansas’ foreclosure inventory was down 0.4%.  This was twice the size of the decline registered for the nation.

The CoreLogic press release quoted chief economist Mark Fleming as noting “the inventory of foreclosed properties has begun to shrink, and the pace at which properties are entering foreclosure is slowing.”  This is clearly good news, and Arkansas continues to fare better than many other parts of the country.