RealtyTrac: Foreclosure Filings Up 8% in July

Foreclosure filings increased 8% in July and were 55% 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 272,171 properties in July. "Bank repossessions, or [real estate owned], continued to be the fastest-growing segment of foreclosure activity in July, posting a 184% year-over-year increase -- compared to a 53% year-over-year increase in default notices and an 11% year-over-year increase in auction notices," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "The sharp rise in REOs, combined with slow sales, has resulted in a bloated inventory of bank-owned properties for sale." The company reported that Nevada, California, and Florida recorded the highest foreclosure rates in July. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.