A sharp increase in bank repossessions in May pushed overall foreclosure activity up marginally from a 75-month low that it hit in April, online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac reported.

There were 148,054 foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — in May, up 2 percent from April, but still down 28 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.

RealtyTrac said the slight increase was mostly a result of an 11 percent jump in bank repossessions. Repossessions were still 29 percent lower than they were a year ago, however, the company said.

“Foreclosure activity continued to bounce back in some markets where it may have appeared the foreclosure problem had been knocked out by an aggressive combination of foreclosure prevention efforts over the past two years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

“Places like Nevada, where foreclosure starts increased to a 20-month high, and Maryland, where overall foreclosure activity increased to a 33-month high. Still, the emerging housing recovery has strengthened most local markets enough to quickly shake off a few more blows from these nagging foreclosures.” Source: RealtyTrac

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