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ISCOVER
By: Staff Reporter
While house foreclosures in the US have finally begun to plateau, repossessions have hit an all time high.
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According to a CNN report, the number of homes repossessed in April hit an all time high of 92,432 – a 45 per cent increase on the same time last year.
If repossessions continue at this pace, more than 1.1 million homes will be lost in 2010.
Data from RealtyTrac found more and more homebuyers were voluntarily giving up their homes because the value had dropped so precipitously.
These "strategic defaults" now account for nearly one in three foreclosures – up 22 per cent from 12 months earlier.
However, the news isn’t all grim, with the number of foreclosure filings falling by 9 per cent in April.
"There were two important milestones in the April numbers that show foreclosure activity has begun to plateau, but at a very high level that will not drop off in the near future," said RealtyTrac chief executive officer James Saccacio.
Mr Saccacio said he expects the pattern to become the norm for many months, with the overall numbers of filings staying high, but not increasing, and repossessions remaining at record levels.
Nevada continues to rank as the worst-hit foreclosure state, with one of every 69 households receiving some kind of filing – six times the national rate.
