Foreclosures down in November

The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for November found foreclosure filings decreased 3 percent compared to October 2011, and 14 percent from November 2010. There were a reported 224,394 foreclosure filings in November, or one for every 579 U.S. housing units.

James Saccacio, co-founder of RealtyTrac, said the data from November suggests a new wave of foreclosures is primed to hit the market in early 2012, many of which will be short sales or bank-owned properties.

"Scheduled foreclosure auctions reached a nine-month high in November, corresponding to a surge in default notices that began back in August," Saccacio said. "Many of the new defaults that started the foreclosure process over the past few months are now being scheduled for public foreclosure auction."

Foreclosure filings in Cook County, Illinois, increased 20 percent in November compared to October, mostly due to a 57 percent increase in the number of homes sent to court-ordered auctions, according to The Chicago Tribune. Experts were expecting the rise in foreclosures after months of decline, since the onset of investigations into mortgage lenders and their faulting foreclosure practices.

These investigations slowed down the foreclosure process, but many new distressed properties are expected to enter the market in the next quarter, the newspaper states.

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