The pace of foreclosures continued to accelerate in October as large mortgage lenders corrected their foreclosure processing errors, according to RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosed and distressed properties.
“The October foreclosure numbers continue to show strong signs that foreclosure activity is coming out of the rain delay we’ve been in for the past year as lenders corrected foreclosure paperwork and processing problems,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
“However, recent state court rulings and new state laws keep changing the rules of the foreclosure game on the fly, creating more uncertainty in the housing market and threatening to prolong the road to a robust real estate recovery,” Saccacio added.
According to the firm's numbers, foreclosure activity rose 10% from September but remained 23% lower than October of last year, while some states saw double digit percentage increases in the numbers of home owners which received default notices, including Florida (28%), Pennsylvania (50%) and Indiana (61%).
Foreclosure auctions were scheduled on more than 85,000 properties in October, up 8% from the previous month, but still down 38% from October 2010.
Scheduled auctions increased more than 35% on a month-over-month basis in several states, including Florida (57%), Minnesota (43%) and Illinois (38%), although scheduled auctions in all three of those states were still down from October 2010.
Lenders repossessed more than 67,000 properties in October, a 4% increase from the previous month, but still a 27% drop from October 2010. Some states saw a more than 40% increase in property repossessed on a month-over-month basis including Michigan (40%), Oregon (45%), New Jersey (48%), and Indiana (73%).
