Foreclosure Filings Hold Steady in August

Irvine, CA, Sept. 10, 2009--Foreclosure-related filings held steady last month, a sign that lenders' efforts to help distressed borrowers may be having a gradual impact, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

More than 358,000 filings were recorded in August, meaning one in 357 U.S. homes received a filing, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That number is up 18 percent from a year ago and includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

The company said bank repossessions dropped 13 percent from July.

More than 138,000 households received a default notice in August. Another 144,113 received a notice scheduling the house for public auction.

"The August report demonstrates that there is still an ample supply of properties filling the foreclosure pipeline," said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio.

Despite an 8 percent monthly decline in foreclosure activity in August, Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rate for the 32nd-straight month. Nearly 18,000 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing, down 8 percent from July but an increase of more than half from August last year.

Florida, California, Arizona, Michigan, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Georgia and Illinois completed the top 10 states for foreclosure filings.