New Foreclosures Hit '05 Monthly High

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that the number of new properties in some stage of foreclosure increased 18.6% nationwide in October to a new monthly high for the year.The company's Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicates that 81,382 new foreclosure properties were added to the rolls in October. "Some of the increase can be attributed to foreclosure activity ramping up again in Louisiana and Mississippi after being disrupted by the recent hurricanes," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "But it's possible that increasing interest rates and other economic factors are beginning to move foreclosures closer to their historic levels." The company said Texas reported the highest number of new foreclosures of any state in October, with 16,386, an increase of 68%. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.