Foreclosures Fall Again, But May Be Temporary

Irvine, CA, Dec. 10, 2009--The number of homeowners who received a foreclosure-related notice in November fell for the fourth straight month, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Nearly 307,000 households, or one in every 417 homes, received a  notice in November, down 8 percent from a month earlier, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. Banks repossessed about 77,000 homes last month, down slightly from October.

Millions of borrowers are still being evaluated for the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention effort. States are also trying to delay the foreclosure process, temporarily lowering foreclosure numbers.

"We don't really believe the underlying problems have been resolved," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at the Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing service. Many borrowers, he said, "simply aren't going to qualify" for help.

Foreclosure filings were still up 18 percent from a year ago, and a new wave is expected next year as unemployment remains high and borrowers fall out of loan modification programs.

Nevada's posted the nation's highest foreclosure rate, followed by Florida, California, Arizona and Idaho. Rounding out the top 10 were Michigan, Illinois, Utah, Maryland and New Jersey.