US foreclosure rates rise 8 percent
Nationwide foreclosure filings rose 8 percent in January from December, and filings were up nearly 57 percent from January 2007, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a California firm that is an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.
By RealtyTrac's definition, foreclosure filings include default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions.
In January, foreclosure filings were reported on 233,001 properties, RealtyTrac said.
California, Florida, and Texas reported the highest foreclosure totals for the month, the firm said, and with 7,966 foreclosure filings in January, Massachusetts ranked sixth among states, RealtyTrac said.
“January’s foreclosure numbers demonstrate that foreclosure activity is continuing on its upward trend, substantially increasing from a year ago in many states,” James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. “However, the 8 percent monthly increase in January is not as precipitous as the 19 percent spike we saw in January of 2007, and several key states actually experienced decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month. It could be that some of the efforts on the part of lenders and the government - both at the state and federal level - are beginning to take effect."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
