Distressed housing high in slow foreclosure states

States that require borrowers and lenders to go through court to finalize foreclosures are holding on to the highest percentages of distressed properties

States that require borrowers and lenders to go through court to finalize foreclosures are holding on to the highest percentages of distressed properties, a report has indicated. 
 
States like Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Maine that have judicial foreclosure processes are holding the highest percentage of loans that are in some stage of foreclosure, as compared to states like California, Texas and Georgia, which have very low percentages of homes in some stage of foreclosure. 
 
In Florida, for example, approximately 9.5% of all mortgages are in some stage of foreclosure, vs. California where only 1.2% of mortgages are in some stage of foreclosure, according to the most recent foreclosure report by CoreLogic. 
 
States with non-judicial proceedings, where foreclosures can be finalized outside of court, tend to have lower foreclosure inventories, the report showed. 
 
Despite Florida’s slow foreclosure timelines, it still completed 102,000 foreclosures over the last 12 months, higher than any other state, by far. (A completed foreclosure means that the foreclosed property was sold to a new buyer). 
 
California had the second highest number of completed foreclosures, 79,000, where Michigan, Texas, and Georgia completed 68,00, 53,000 and 47,000, respectively. 
 
Overall, the nation saw 52,000 completed foreclosures over the last year, down 16% from April 2012, the report said.