Foreclosures Hit Record in First Quarter

Irvine, CA, April 15, 2010--A record number of U.S. homes entered foreclosure in the first quarter, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.

The firm said that the number of U.S. homes taken over by banks increased 35 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. In addition, households facing foreclosure grew 16 percent in the same period and 7 percent from the last three months of 2009.

More homes were taken over by banks and scheduled for a foreclosure sale than in any quarter going back to at least January 2005, when RealtyTrac began reporting the data, the firm said.

"We're right now on pace to see more than 1 million bank repossessions this year," said Rick Sharga, a RealtyTrac senior vice president.

"We're finally seeing the banks start to process the inventory that has been in foreclosure, but delayed in processing. We expect the pace to accelerate as the year goes on."

In all, more than 900,000 households, or one in every 138 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, RealtyTrac said.