RealtyTrac: Foreclosure Filings Up 12%

Foreclosure filings increased 12% in August and were 27% higher than the level recorded a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif. The company's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicates that foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions -- were reported on 303,879 properties in August. "In August the total number of U.S. properties that received foreclosure filings as well as the national foreclosure rate were both the highest we've seen in any month since we began issuing our report in January 2005," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "However, the annual increase of 27% was actually substantially lower than in previous months this year, when it was hovering around 50% to 65%." The company reported that Nevada, California, and Arizona recorded the highest foreclosure rates in August. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.