Foreclosure Filings Down 4% in October: RealtyTrac

Foreclosure filings - including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions - were reported on 332,172 properties during the month of October, according to data released by ""RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com Thursday.
[IMAGE] That tally represents a 4 percent decrease from the previous month and is almost exactly the same total reported in October 2009. One in every 389 homes received a foreclosure filing last month. October marks the 20th consecutive month in which over 300,000 U.S. homeowners received a foreclosure notice.

According to James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO, ""The numbers probably would have been higher except for the fallout from the recent 'robo-signing' controversy…which may result in further decreases in November.""

Saccacio says servicers' documentation deficiencies, which led to foreclosure freezes in certain states, are most likely the reason RealtyTrac's study shows a 9 percent drop in new REOs between September and October.

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Bank repossessions decreased month-over-month in 33 states and the District of Columbia, while 14 states posted year-over-year declines in REOs. In all, lenders seized 93,236 homes in October.

Both foreclosure sale notices and default notices also dropped last month.

RealtyTrac says foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on a total of 138,361 properties, a 3 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 6 percent increase from October 2009.

Scheduled auctions decreased month-over-month in 26 states and the District of Columbia, while 16 states posted year-over-year decreases in scheduled auctions.

A total of 100,575 properties received default notices in October, a 2 percent decrease from the previous month and a 19 percent decrease from a year earlier. It's the ninth straight month where default notices have decreased on a year-over-year basis.

Default notices were up on a monthly basis in Florida, Ohio, and Illinois, but down in California, Nevada, and Michigan.

Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in October, with one in every 79 homes receiving a filing during the month. It was followed by Florida, Arizona, and then California. Rounding out RealtyTrac's list of the 10 highest foreclosure rates are Michigan, Utah, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, and Colorado.