Foreclosure Filings Climbed in March
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Thursday, April 16, 2009; 4:19 PM
Foreclosure filings spiked in March despite industry and government efforts to keep people in their homes, according to data from RealtyTrac released today.
The firm counted 341,180 filings nationally, which can range from default notices to bank repossessions. That was up 17 percent from February and 46 percent from March 2008. That is the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began collecting this data in 2005. RealtyTrac, a private firm, says its data include more than 90 percent of U.S. households.
The spike in filings probably was related to the expiration of several foreclosure moratoriums across the country, said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman. Many of the latest filings represented lenders starting the foreclosure process on delinquent homeowners, he said.
For the first quarter, foreclosure filings increased 9 percent compared with the previous quarter and were up 24 percent from the first quarter of 2008.
Nevada and Arizona had the highest foreclosure rates during the quarter. Foreclosure filings in the District and Maryland fell during the quarter, but they increased in Virginia.
This comes as a few lenders begin to implement the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program. Under the program, lenders are paid to reduce borrowers' payments to more affordable levels. Ocwen Financial Corp., a Florida mortgage servicer, for example, said earlier this week that it had begun offering the modifications to clients.
The administration has said it expects to be able to help up to 4 million homeowners under the program. But it could take months for the program to have a significant impact.
