Tuesday, March 19, 2013 / by Nathan Clark
February Foreclosures Tick up
U.S. Foreclosure activity increased last month compared to January, according to a leading foreclosure listings service, but remained way off the pace of a year earlier.
RealtyTrac reported that February foreclosures increased by about 2 percent from the month before, but they were down by 25 percent compared to February of 2012. The report showed that foreclosure starts were up by 10 percent for the month, with the number of starts increasing in 32 of the 50 states.
Still, the report indicated that for most of the country the foreclosure crisis is over. The rapidly rising numbers in some areas are the result of long delays in the foreclosure process that resulted in backlogs over the past few years. Now that courts are unwinding the backlog, more foreclosures being filed.
Bank repossessions, meanwhile, fell by 11 percent from January to February and are down 29 percent from February 2012. That, according to RealtyTrac, is a 65-month low.