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The number of foreclosure filings in the nation has increased month-over-month but declined year-over-year, according to RealtyTrac's monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August 2014 released Thursday. The report showed that one in every 1,126 houses in the nation had a foreclosure filing during August, which represented an increase of 7 percent from July but a decrease of 9 percent from August 2013. Foreclosure filings include default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions.
For the second consecutive month, foreclosure starts increased month-over-month, making a 12 percent jump from July to August. The number stayed flat year-over-year, however. The state with the highest foreclosure rate in August for the 11th consecutive month was Florida, with one in every 400 housing units, almost three times the national average. Among metro areas with a population of more than 200,000, the area with the highest foreclosure rate in August was Macon, Georgia, with one filing in every 154 housing units.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, a ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would make sweeping changes to the way consumer credit is scored. Waters drafted her proposal, which is entitled "Fair Credit Reporting Improvement Act of 2014," in response to many recent cases and studies which have exposed flaws in the country's current consumer reporting system. Among the proposed changes are shortening the length of time adverse information remains on a consumer's credit report from seven years to four years, and removing adverse information from credit reports that is a result of deceptive, illegal, or fraudulent practices from predatory lenders.
