Residential foreclosures dropped to a 36-month low in February as complications tied to the 'Robo-signing' scandal continued to slow the pace of processing times, according to new figures released by RealtyTrac.
Servicers initiated 225,101 foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — during the month, a 14% decline from January, and a 27% plunge compared to February 2010.
RealtyTrac called it the "the biggest year-over-year decrease" since it began tracking such figures back in 2005.
"While a small part of February's decrease can be attributed to it being a short month and bad weather, the bottom line is that the industry is in the midst of a major overhaul that has severely restricted its capacity to process foreclosures," said company CEO James Saccacio. "We expect to see the numbers bounce back, but that will likely take several months. And monthly volume may never return to its peak in March 2010 of more than 367,000 properties receiving foreclosure filings."
Nevada, once again, had the nation's highest foreclosure rate with one in every 119 housing units having a foreclosure filing during the month.
