US Foreclosures Filings Surpass 300,000 for 11th Month in Row

Washington DC: US Foreclosures Filings Surpass 300,000 for 11th Month in Row. For the month of January the foreclosure filings in the United States increased by 15 percent. For the 11th consecutive month it exceeded 300,000. RealtyTrac Inc. says that change in programs to address this issue failed to yield positive results.

The notice of default was issued to some 315,716 property holders. The fear is that this may boost bank seizures. In the market it is also known as real-estate-owned or REO. And it may rise to some 3 million, a short of record. To address the situation the Obama Administration has introduced Home Affordable Modification Program. Officials on condition of anonymity say that under the new program some 66,000 delinquent loans were permanently modified as of December 31.

Michelle Meyer, New York-based U.S. economist for Barclays Capital Inc., told a local newspaper: “It’s almost inevitable that modifications will fail. Over the next several months, we should see REOs increase at an accelerated pace.”

“If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works,” James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s chief executive officer, said in the statement.