June Foreclosure Starts Up Over Last Year

Irvine, CA, July 12, 2012 -- Foreclosure starts rose 4% in June compared with a year ago, according to tracking firm RealtyTrac.

That's the second consecutive month that foreclosure starts were up over last year.

However, month over month foreclosure starts fell 4% in June when compared with May.

Foreclosure starts rose 9% in the second quarter, compared with the first quarter, and rose 6% compared with the second quarter of 2011.

“Foreclosure starts began boiling over in more markets in the first half of the year, particularly in the second quarter, when rising foreclosure starts spread from primarily judicial foreclosure states in the first quarter to more than half of all non-judicial-foreclosure states in the second quarter,” said Brandon Moore, chief executive of RealtyTrac, in a news release.

“The increases in foreclosure starts in the first half of the year will likely translate into more short sales and bank repossessions in the second half of the year and into next year."

Overall foreclosure activity declined 3.96% in June, compared with May, and was down 11.18% year over year.