Foreclosure Filings Rise 3% in January

RealtyTrac calculates that in January 2012 foreclosure filings—notices of default, auction notices and bank repossessions—were up 3% over December 2011.  A total of 210,941 U.S. properties received a foreclosure notice during the month. The foreclosure activity is down 19% from January 2011.

RealtyTrac’s CEO, Brandon Moore, said that there is evidence that the backlogged foreclosure process is beginning to move forward: “Foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time in more than 12 months in Florida, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania, following a pattern we saw in late 2011 in states such as California, Arizona and Massachusetts.”

The robo-signing settlement also plays a part in resolving the issues that caused the process to slow to a trickle for most of a year. Foreclosure starts will remain uneven from state to state, depending on the process used and the court and legislative challenges that exist at the state level.