Foreclosure filings rose modestly in August compared to the prior month, as lenders are still struggling to work through the backlog of delinquent mortgages, according to RealtyTrac.
In August, foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 193,508 properties throughout the nation, up 1% from July.
However, year-over-year foreclosure activity dropped 15%.
The Irvine, Calif.-based analytic providers foreclosure market report revealed that one in every 681 housing units received a filing last month.
"Bucking the national trend, deferred foreclosure activity boiled over in several states in August,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.
There was an annual increase in foreclosure activity in 20 states, led in particular by the judicial states like New Jersey (up 65%), New York (56%), Maryland (54%), Illinois (42%) and Pennsylvania (40%).
Meanwhile, foreclosure activity in most nonjudicial states stayed on a downward trajectory through August, Blomquist noted. In the 24 nonjudicial states and Washington, D.C., foreclosure filings decreased 31% annually.
But, there was an increase in monthly filings in 15 nonjudicial states, including Arkansas rising 61%, Utah was up 41%, Colorado had 41% more foreclosures and Washington had a 23% rise.
“The rebounding activity in Washington state is likely the result of lenders catching up with foreclosures delayed by a state law that took effect in July 2011 and allowed homeowners facing foreclosure to request mediation,” Blomquist added. “This rebounding pattern will likely be repeated in the coming months in other states that have passed legislation delaying the foreclosure process.”
After three straight months of year-over-year increases, foreclosure starts (99,405 U.S. properties) in August decreased 13% from July 2011, when foreclosure starts hit a 17-month high. There were 18 states that started more foreclosures this August compared to a year ago. Washington, Pennsylvania, Alabama and New Jersey all experienced year-over-year increases of at least 100%.
During the same time period, recent legislation in Oregon, Nevada, Massachusetts, California and Georgia resulted in these states seeing a sizable slowdown in foreclosure starts, down 89%, 64%, 47%, 42% and 31%, respectively.
For the first time since December 2010, Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada did not post the top two foreclosure rates nationwide.
Due to a 29% jump in overall foreclosure activity compared to July,
Florida was second on the list in foreclosure rates, where one in every 328 homes had a filing. The Sunshine State saw a 26% annual increase in foreclosure starts, while scheduled auctions were up 4% and bank repossessions rose 12%.
