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total of 126,868 homes across the country were at some point in
the foreclosure process in May, up 1 percent from April and up
16 percent from the same time last year, RealtyTrac said.
Foreclosure activity includes foreclosure notices, scheduled
auctions and bank repossessions.
Lenders reclaimed a total of 44,892 homes in May, down 1 percent
from April but up 58 percent from a year ago. May was the third
straight month of annual increases in bank repossessions, which
remained far below the peak in September 2013 when lenders
reclaimed 102,134 properties.
Foreclosure starts were down 1 percent in May, but rose 4
percent from the same period last year, RealtyTrac said. Lenders
started the foreclosure process on 51,414 properties last month.
"May foreclosure numbers are a classic good news-bad news
scenario, with the number of homeowners starting the foreclosure
process stabilizing at pre-housing crisis levels but the number
of homeowners actually losing their homes to foreclosure still
well above pre-crisis levels and on the rise," said Daren
Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president.
"Lenders and courts are pushing through stubborn foreclosure
cases that have been languishing in foreclosure limbo for years
as options to prevent foreclosure are exhausted or left
untapped."
A total of 49,413 properties were scheduled for auction in May,
up 6 percent from the prior month, up 5 percent from May 2014.
Florida continued to post the highest foreclosure rates last
month, followed by New Jersey, Maryland, Nevada and Ohio,
RealtyTrac said.
(Reporting by Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by David Gregorio)
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