Foreclosure starts increased slightly while non-foreclosure resolutions for homeowners remained level from the same time last year, according to industry advocacy group Hope Now.
Foreclosure starts increased 3%, to 225,000, during the first quarter of 2015, the group said. However, foreclosures rose 10% in comparison to the fourth quarter of last year.
Total non-foreclosure resolutions during this year's first quarter were 444,000, down 3,000 from the year before, a change of less than 1%.
Loan modifications increased 7%, to 116,000 from the same time last year, while serious delinquencies, defined here as 60 days or more without payment, declined 4% to 1.86 million.
Permanent loan modifications accounted for approximately 26% — or 116,000 — of those non-foreclosure resolutions, the group said, while short sales accounted for 5.4%, at 24,000. Repayment plans, deeds in lieu and liquidation plans accounted for the rest of non-foreclosure resolutions during the first three months of the year.
