RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Jump in 3Q

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that 318,355 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in the third quarter, a 43% year-over-year increase.The number represented a 17% increase from the level recorded in the second quarter. The company's Q3 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report is based on the company's database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, which it says includes nearly 650,000 properties in more than 2,500 counties across the country. "Higher interest rates and a general softening of the real estate market are the two key factors contributing to the 43% increase in foreclosure filings from the third quarter of 2005," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "What our third-quarter research appears to be showing is that the first wave of adjustable-rate mortgages is having a negative impact on the number of homes going into foreclosure." The company said Colorado, Nevada, and Florida had the nation's highest foreclosure rates in the second quarter. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.