Foreclosures Up 68 Percent in November: Report

RealtyTrac’s latest foreclosure report is out today, and it shows that a total of 201,950 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported during the month, down 10 percent from the previous month but still up nearly 68 percent from November 2006. The ten percent monthly drop may be a ray of hope, said Realty Trac CEO James Saccacio. “This could indicate that foreclosure activity has topped out for the year, but the true test of whether this ceiling will hold will come at the beginning of next year — when we anticipate that a seasonal surge in foreclosure filings and another possible wave of resetting mortgages could place further pressure on the housing market,” Saccacio said. “But if the trend of flat or decreasing foreclosure activity we’ve seen over the past three months continues in the first quarter, it would certainly bode well for 2008.” A total of 39,992 foreclosure filings were reported in California in November, the most of any state despite a 21 percent decrease from the previous month. The state’s November foreclosure activity was still up nearly 108 percent from November 2006, and the state’s foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 325 households was 1.9 times the national average and fifth highest among the states. Florida documented the nation’s second highest state foreclosure filing total in November, and Ohio documented the third highest total. Other states with foreclosure filing totals among the nation’s 10 highest were Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Colorado and New York. The chart above (click for a larger version) shows percentage comparisions using RealtyTrac’s aggregate foreclosures number on both a monthly and annual basis going back to November 2006. Click here to read RealtyTrac’s full report.