Foreclosure Filings Nearly Doubled In October From Last Year

November 29, 2007 7:23 a.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - The number of people filing for mortgage foreclosure almost doubled in October compared to the figures a year ago indicating the number of American homeowners defaulting on their mortgage payments.

The report may further upset a few market investors and lenders as the country's economy is already suffering from the credit crunch triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis.

According to a mortgage research company on Thursday, the total number of foreclosure filings reached 224,451 last month or 94 percent up from a year earlier. In October 2006, the foreclosure filings were at 115,568.

In a report by Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. showed an increase of 2 percent in October from 223,538 in September.

Top three states that were affected most by the foreclosure include California, Florida and Nevada. Overall, 45 states have reported an increase in the number of filings that include bank repossessions, auction sales and default notices, since last year.

However, the reports showed that the default notices climbed down by 9 percent but bank repossessions went up by 35 percent.

"What we probably did was come out of a reset cycle, but (the filings) have leveled off at a much higher level than before we got this point," Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing, told AP

Some of the market analyst claim that the trend is likely to continue for the next few months as the number of defaulters increase and the sales of homes decline.