Foreclosure inventory in the U.S. has declined 9 percent year-to-date, according to a CoreLogic report released Dec. 4. 

In October 2012, there were 58,000 completed foreclosures, down from 70,000 in October 2011, a year-to-year drop of 17 percent. Month-to-month, completed foreclosures decreased 25 percent from September 2012.

“As a result of completed foreclosures and alternative disposition methods, the foreclosure inventory has declined by 9 percent year-to-date,” Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a news release. “This is good news for housing markets as we look forward to 2013.”

Before the housing market decline started in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 a month from 2000-06. Since the start of the recession, there have been about 3.9 million completed foreclosures nationwide.

“A lower foreclosure inventory is a good indicator of improving housing markets,” Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, said in a news release. “The downward trend in foreclosure inventories over the past year is yet another signal that a recovery in housing is gaining traction.”

As of October 2012, the states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the previous 12 months were California (105,000), Florida (95,000), Michigan (68,000), Texas (59,000) and Georgia (54,000). Those five states accounted for 49 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally. The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2012 were South Dakota (19), District of Columbia (64), Hawaii (452), North Dakota (511) and Maine (643).