RealtyTrac: Foreclosures Up 115% in Past Year

Nearly 244,000 foreclosure filings were reported nationwide in August, up 36% from the level recorded in July and up 115% from that of a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif.The nation's foreclosure rate stood at one foreclosure filing for every 510 households, the company said in its August 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. (Foreclosure filings include default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions.) "The jump in foreclosure filings this month might be the beginning of the next wave of increased foreclosure activity, as a large number of subprime adjustable-rate loans are beginning to reset now," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "Another significant factor in the increased level of foreclosure activity is that the number of REO filings (bank repossessions) is increasing dramatically, which means that a greater percentage of homes entering foreclosure are going back to the banks." The company said Nevada, California, and Florida recorded the highest foreclosure rates in August. The company can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.