NeWS to KnOW

Foreclosures in Alabama rose more than 269 percent last month, ranking its foreclosure rate the 29th highest in the nation.

According to RealtyTrac, a tracker of foreclosures nationwide, the state had a total of 2,308 properties in some form of foreclosure, or one for every 926 households.

That’s more than 269 percent more than April 2008 and more than 2 percent more than March, which also saw triple-digit increases.

Nationally, a total of 342,038 properties were in some form of foreclosure, or one for every 374 households – a fractional increase over March and a more than 32 percent increase over April 2008.

“Much of this activity is at the initial stages of foreclosure – the default and auction stages – while bank repossessions, or REOs, were down on a monthly and annual basis to their lowest level since March 2008,” said James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac. “This suggests that many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria. It’s likely that we’ll see a corresponding spike in REOs as these loans move through the foreclosure process over the next few months.”

Nevada ranked again with the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, despite an 18 percent month-over-month decrease, followed by Florida and California.

RealtyTrac said the top 10 states with the most foreclosure filings accounted for more than 75 percent of the national total.