Foreclosure Filings Set to Rise

Foreclosure filings fell slightly last month but homeowners shouldn't expect the good news to last, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac.

Although foreclosure activity dropped 6 percent in September vs. August, "there is evidence that this temporary downward trend is about to change direction, with foreclosure activity slowly beginning to ramp back up," James Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO, said in a media release.

U.S. foreclosure activity has been down since October of last year when the robo-signing controversy sparked investigations into lender foreclosure procedures and paperwork, Saccacio said. Having learned their lesson, lenders appear poised to ramp up filings. Said Saccacio:

Third quarter foreclosure activity increased marginally from the previous quarter, breaking a trend of three consecutive quarterly decreases that started in the fourth quarter of 2010. This marginal increase in overall foreclosure activity was fueled by a 14 percent jump in new default notices, indicating that lenders are cautiously throwing more wood into the foreclosure fireplace after spending months trying to clear the chimney of sloppily filed foreclosures.

See the state-by-state foreclosure rate heat map, courtesy of RealtyTrac, below:

Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Illinois rounded out the top five states for foreclosure filings in September. Vermont had the fewest foreclosure filings last month with just 17.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.