Foreclosures in three-month stall

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. foreclosures were still in a three-month stall in January, online real estate firm RealtyTrac said Thursday.

Foreclosures rose 1 percent from December to January, as 261,333 were filed in the first month of the year, one in every 497 housing units, the firm said.

It was the third consecutive month with fewer than 300,000 foreclosures, following 20 straight months of more than 300,000, RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James Saccacio said.

It was also a 17 percent decline in foreclosures from January 2010, the firm said.

But Saccacio said the national scandal on shoddy paperwork in foreclosure proceedings had more to do with the decline in foreclosures than an improved housing market.

"Unfortunately, this is less a sign of a robust housing recovery and more a sign that lenders have become bogged down in reviewing procedures, resubmitting paperwork and formulating legal arguments," Saccacio said.

RealtyTrac said default notices in states with non-judicial foreclosure processes fell 8 percent from January 2010, while those foreclosures in states with mandated judicial reviews fell 39 percent from a year ago.