US foreclosure files rose 3% in January, to a total of 210,941. The number is -11% lower than January of 2011, but is the first indication that the number of foreclosures may begin to creep up again now that the $26 billion mortgage foreclosure settlement has been completed. According to RealtyTrac, which released the latest numbers, 1 in every 624 housing units in the US was the subject of a foreclosure filing in January.
Now that mortgage lenders and servicers have a firm set of rules, the thinking is that foreclosures that have been on hold will begin to be filed. RealtyTrac noted that the mortgage foreclosure settlement won’t affect all borrowers in all states evenly:
Other roadblocks to foreclosure are still in place at the state level, however, including legislation altering the foreclosure process and lawsuits against lenders. We expect to see somewhat uneven trends in local and regional foreclosure numbers going forward as lenders work through these additional legislative and legal roadblocks.
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