U.S. foreclosure activity increases

RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for August 2011, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 228,098 U.S. properties in August. This represents a 7 percent increase from the previous month, but still down nearly 33 percent from August 2010. The report also shows one in every 570 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.

“The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process.”

Nevada, California, and Arizona post top state foreclosure rates . Nevada posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the 56th straight month in August, with one in every 118 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.

One in every 226 California housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month — more than twice the national average. Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Colorado and Utah.