Foreclosure activity increases for August

In its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August, RealtyTrac found foreclosure filings, which include notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, increased for the month. In August, one in every 570 homes experienced a foreclosure filing, showing a 7 percent increased from July 2011, but a decrease of 33 percent from August 2010.

First time default notices reported a nine-month high after increasing 33 percent from July, but remained 18 percent lower than found the same time last year. CEO of RealtyTrac, James Saccacio said the increase in foreclosure actions may be due to lenders pushing through foreclosures that were delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems.

"It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process," Saccacio said.

The Boston Globe reported that foreclosure activity had slowed down last fall after controversial practices by lenders involving foreclosure paperwork surfaced. Large banks temporarily stopped processing foreclosures in order to redo mishandled paperwork on previous foreclosed properties. Once those errors had been fixed, lenders most likely began processing foreclosures again at a rapid rate, the source reported.

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