Surge in default notices portends more REOs

RealtyTrac: Foreclosure activity sees monthly rise in Augus

Foreclosure activity fell for the 11th straight month on a yearly basis in August, but rose compared to July, according to the latest monthly report from foreclosure data site RealtyTrac.

A total of 228,098 properties nationwide received foreclosure filings (including default notices, auction sale notices or bank repossessions) last month, down nearly 33 percent from August 2010, but up 7 percent from July, the report said. The nation’s foreclosure activity rate was 1 in 570 housing units in August.

The increase in foreclosure activity was driven by a 33 percent jump in default notices — the biggest monthly increase since August 2007, the report said. Such notices rose to a nine-month high of 78,880 in August, though they remained 18 percent below year-ago levels.

At least three states saw particularly high monthly increases in default notices: New Jersey (42 percent), Indiana (46 percent), and California (55 percent).

“The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems,” said James Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO, in a statement.