In December of 2010 foreclosures fell 26% but for the year foreclosure filing hit a record high which was 2% higher than 2009 according to RealtyTrac reports.
Almost 2.9 million properties in the U.S. received foreclosure filing. The pace slowed at the end of the year due partly to the improper filing check.
In the U.S. 1 in 45 homes received foreclosure filing in 2010. Decembers bank repossessions totaled 69,847 which was down 24% from December of 2009 but up 4% from November.
The December drop was the biggest in 5 years and the lowest monthly total since June 2008. Lenders and mortgage servicers had to delay the process starting in October because some did not follow legal procedures and had to go back and check or fix hundreds of thousands of foreclosures.
Now mortgage servicers are resuming stalled foreclosures. RealtyTrac estimates that almost 250,000 were delayed in the process. They will likely be added to the foreclosures early this year.
"Lenders have been spanked. They're spending money to make sure every 'i' is dotted and every 't' is crossed," says Christopher Thornberg, of Beacon Economics. The pace of foreclosures "will pick back up."
It's unclear weather foreclosures will go back up, but the process is likely to be slower than it was before October 2010 because extra precautions have been put in place to ensure proper foreclosure filing.
Tags: bank repossessions, RealtyTrac, foreclosures, foreclosure filing
