Foreclosures Decrease 4%

According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings still topped 300,000 in October for the 20th consecutive month, even with foreclosures on hold in all 50 states by some of the country’s largest lenders.The delay in foreclosures while lenders reviewed their processes resulted in a 4% monthly drop in foreclosure activity in October; home repossessions fell the most, with a 9% drop.In October, banks took back 93,236 homes, and although that’s down from the record high of 102,134 home seizures in September, lenders still foreclosed on 21% more properties than in October 2009. Although foreclosure auctions in October decreased 3% from their record high in September, the 138,361 homes auctioned in October were 6% more than in October 2009.In October, 332,172 properties received a foreclosure filing, which was almost identical to the total from October 2009.According to RealtyTrac, some of the states with the highest rates of foreclosures started to see year-over-year gains after months of declines.Year-over-year foreclosure activity increased in Nevada for the first time since September 2009, the state with the highest rate, where one in 79 households received a foreclosure filing in October. Activity was up 3%, despite decreasing 13% from September, including a 17% drop in default notices, compared with October 2009.Arizona and Florida, which had the next two highest rates of foreclosures, both saw year-over-year drops for the second straight month.In Florida, foreclosure activity was down 3% from September but up almost 10% from October 2009, the second-straight increase after five consecutive months of year-over-year drops.Filings were up 24% from October 2009, the second month in a row with a year-over-year increase after seven months of declines, although foreclosure activity in Arizona also was down 3% from September. Arizona has the country’s third-highest rate of foreclosure.Source: msn.com