Foreclosures Soar in January Compared to Last Year

Irvine, CA, February 26, 2008--The number of homes facing foreclosure jumped 57 percent in January compared to a year ago, according to RealtyTrack.

In addition, lenders are increasingly being forced to take possession of homes they couldn't sell at auctions.

RealtyTrac said 233,001 homes received at least one foreclosure notice last month related to overdue payments, compared with 148,425 a year earlier.

The deteriorating situation came despite efforts by lenders to help borrowers manage their payments by modifying loan terms.

"You have more people going into default and a higher percentage of the properties going back to the banks," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing.

The foreclosure rate in January was one filing for every 534 homes.

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida posted the highest foreclosure rate with one of every 86 homes in some stage of foreclosure, RealtyTrac said.