Foreclosures up 68 percent from last year

Foreclosure rates for November 2007 were 68 percent higher compared to the same month a year ago, mostly due to subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages being unable to cope with the higher payment rates, mortgage research company RealtyTrac said Wednesday. Based on RealtyTrac data, there were 201,950 foreclosure filings in November. These filings include default notices, auction letters and bank repossessions. Though the year-to-year comparison of rates shows an upward trend, foreclosure rates for last month were 10 percent lower than October’s figures. This drop is the first double-digit decrease the company has seen since April 2006. James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said that this could indicate that foreclosure activity has topped out for the year, but the true test will come at the beginning of next year. “We anticipate that a seasonal surge in foreclosure filings and another possible wave of resetting mortgages could place further pressure on the housing market,” said Saccacio. “But if the trend of flat or decreasing foreclosure activity we’ve seen over the past three months continues in the first quarter, it would certainly bode well for 2008.”