Regions

U.S. foreclosure activity rises 5 percent in January: RealtyTrac

February 12
4:44 AM 2015

The number of U.S. properties in foreclosure upon rose 5 percent in January, driven by a jump in bank repossessions, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

A total of 37,292 homes were repossessed in January, a 15-month high. Overall, 119,888 properties were at some stage of the foreclosure process, still down 4 percent from a year earlier.

The unwinding of distressed housing assets, a multiyear legal process in many states, was gathering pace, RealtyTrac said.

A nationwide increase in scheduled foreclosure auctions in 21 states in January reflected that they were "coming off somewhat artificially low levels last year," RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a statement.

He said foreclosure filings would rise over the next several months as lenders ramp up "spring cleaning" in many states.

A total of 51,782 homes were set for foreclosure auctions last month, up 8 percent from December but down 7 percent from a year earlier.

Lenders began the foreclosure process on 48,838 homes, down 18 percent from a 17-month high in December and a drop of 15 percent year on year. That figures also includes scheduled foreclosure auctions in some states.

Despite a 21 percent decline from a year earlier, Florida still had the nation's highest foreclosure rate in January, followed by Nevada, Maryland, Illinois and New Jersey.

© 2023 VCPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tags
Share

Comments

Join the Conversation

Subscribe to VCpost newsletter

Sign up for our Deals of the Day newsletter.
We will not spam you!

Real Time Analytics