As the national foreclosure crisis continued on unabated this week, the mortgage industry received some sobering news Thursday morning – that bank repossessions reached an all-time high in September as servicers took back a record 102,134 homes.
Repossessions are just one portion of the foreclosure picture. But according to figures compiled by RealtyTrac, it was the first time ever that repossessions broke through the 100,000 per month threshold.
"Lenders foreclosed on a record number of properties in September and in the third quarter, taking a bite out of the backlog of distressed properties where the foreclosure process was delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts over the past 20 months," said James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac. "We expect to see a dip in those bank repossessions — and possibly earlier stages of the foreclosure process — in the fourth quarter as several major lenders have halted foreclosure sales in some states while they review irregularities in foreclosure-processing documentation that has been called into question in recent weeks."
RealtyTrac, which operates an online REO marketplace, said foreclosure filings – which include default notices, scheduled auctions and repossessions -- increased to 930,437 properties in the third quarter, a 4% jump from the prior quarter.
Compared to 3Q 2009, filings fell 1%. But one in every 139 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
"Foreclosure activity in the 24 judicial foreclosure states most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue accounted for 40 percent of all foreclosure activity in the third quarter and 36 percent of bank repossessions, or REOs," the company said.
The hardest hit states continue to be Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and California. In Nevada, one in every housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter -- almost five times the national average, RealtyTrac reported.
