Foreclousre Filings UP 9% first quarter

Foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- were reported on 803,489 properties in the first quarter, a 9 percent increase compared with the fourth quarter of 2009 and an increase of nearly 24 percent from the first quarter of 2008, according to a RealtyTrac® report. One in every 159 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 341,180 properties in March, a 17 percent increase compared with the previous month and a 46 percent increase compared with March 2008.
“It appears that demand is up in some of the harder-hit areas, particularly on bank-owned REO properties that first time homebuyers and investors see as bargains,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac®. “But it’s unlikely that this increased demand will be enough to offset the growing number of foreclosures in the pipeline, accelerated by rising unemployment rates.”

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