Foreclosures Down, but More on the Way

Irvine, CA, March 15, 2012 -- Foreclosure activity fell 8% nationally in February, compared with a year ago, RealtyTrac said.

It also fell 2% on a nationwide basis compared with January.

“Although national foreclosure activity was pushed lower by decreases in a handful of larger states, 21 states posted annual increases in foreclosure activity, the most states with annual increases since November 2010,” said Brandon Moore, chief executive of RealtyTrac, in a news release.

Activity in the 26 states with a judicial foreclosure process rose 24% in February, compared with February 2011, while activity in 24 states with a non-judicial process decreased 23%.

“The foreclosure and mortgage settlement filed in court earlier this week will help pave the way to a properly functioning foreclosure process by providing a clear roadmap for necessary foreclosures,” Moore said.

“That should result in more states posting annual increases in the coming months. Not surprisingly, many of the biggest annual increases in February were in states with the more bureaucratic judicial foreclosure process, which resulted in a larger backlog of foreclosures built up over the last 18 months in those states.”