Foreclosure Filings Fall Third Straight Month

Irvine, CA, Nov. 12, 2009--Foreclosure filings dipped in October, the third straight monthly decline, as foreclosure prevention programs helped more borrowers.

But filings are still up 19 percent from a year ago, RealtyTrac Inc. said, and rising job losses continue to threaten the stabilizing trend.

More than 332,000 households, or one in every 385 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in October, such as a notice of default or trustee's sale. That's down 3 percent from September.

Banks took back more than 77,000 homes last month, down from nearly 88,000 homes in September.

New state programs have helped stem foreclosure activity, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

Also, anecdotally, lenders are delaying foreclosure as they evaluate which borrowers might qualify for the federal loan modification program, he said.

"That's the reason there's been a buildup of homes that are seriously delinquent but not foreclosed," he said.