Foreclosure starts hit new peak

The number of properties completing the foreclosure process and becoming bank-owned declined in August, but a record number of homes entered the foreclosure pipeline, data aggregator RealtyTrac said today.

The report shows there is still an "ample supply" of properties in the foreclosure pipeline, even as the outflow of real estate-owned (REO) properties onto the resale market is more carefully regulated, said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, in a press release.

The 76,134 properties that became bank-owned in August represented a 13 percent decline from the high for the year seen in July -- 87,258 -- and a 16 percent decline from a year ago.

But a record 138,224 properties entered the foreclosure process in August when they were subjected to notices of default or lis pendens, up 3 percent from July and a 16 percent increase from a year ago. The number of properties subjected to auction notices in August -- 144,113 -- was also a new record, rising 4 percent from July and 53 percent from a year ago.

Thanks to the decline in REO properties, the total number of homes RealtyTrac was following through the foreclosure process declined by 1 percent from July to August, to 358,471, although that number represents an 18 percent increase from a year ago.

Nevada had the highest rate of foreclosure-related filings in August (one for every 62 homes), followed by Florida (1 in 140), California (1 in 144), Arizona (1 in 150), Michigan (1 in 234), Idaho (1 in 241), Utah (1 in 282), Colorado (1 in 329), Georgia (1 in 332) and Illinois (1 in 401). By comparison, one in every 357 U.S. homes was subjected to a foreclosure-related filing in August.

In terms of raw numbers, California had the greatest number of foreclosure-related filings (92,326), followed by Florida (62,401), Michigan (19,359), Nevada (17,902), Arizona (17,807), Illinois (13,078), Georgia (11,947), Ohio (11,368), Texas (11,261) and New Jersey (8,316). ...CONTINUED

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