U.S. Foreclosure Filings Increase at Slowest Pace in Four Years

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-11/u-s-foreclosure-filings-increase-at-slowest-pace-in-four-years.html

March 11, 2010, 12:18 AM EST

By Dan Levy

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosure filings rose at the slowest pace in four years in February as the government sought to reduce record bank seizures, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

A total of 308,524 properties received a notice of default, auction or seizure last month, or one in 418 households, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said today in a statement. Filings rose 6 percent from a year earlier, the smallest increase since RealtyTrac began tracking annual changes in January 2006. They declined 2 percent from January.

The Obama administration’s main effort to keep people in their homes resulted in more than 830,000 trial loan modifications for delinquent borrowers through January, according to the Treasury Department. Still, filings were up for the 50th straight month in February on an annual basis and topped 300,000 for the 12th consecutive month, RealtyTrac said.

“This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity,” RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccacio said in a statement.

[Mari333]

1. Tents , Cardboard boxes, and Moms' basements are selling at a rapid pace

the empty houses and condos in my town are reaching epic levels. for the first time , the downtown has empty storefronts, and that has never happened before.
my own house has lost 20 percent of its value., but my property taxes went down so yay.

Im sitting tight, just glad I have a house to live in, and yes, I let people use my spare room sometimes when they have no place to sleep. (only friends).

[dkf]

2. It's hard to tell what is going on out there when there is all this intervention

I wonder how much of this recovery is simply an illusion. Is this more of "nothing to see here" type false security?