Foreclosures hit record in 2010

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The number of U.S. foreclosures rose marginally in 2010 from 2009, reaching a record 3.8 million, online marketplace RealtyTrac said Thursday.

The number of homes in foreclosure, which includes those involved in scheduled auctions, bank repossessions or under notice of default, rose 2 percent from the previous year. In 2009, however, foreclosures rose 23 percent from 2008, the firm said.

In 2010, 2.23 percent of all housing units or one in 45 were involved in a foreclosure filing, up from 2.21 percent a year ago and far higher than the 0.58 percent in 2006.

The number of filings tailed off at the end of the year with 257,747 filed in December, nearly 2 percent lower than November and 26 percent lower than December 2009.

Filings also dropped for the fourth quarter, when 799,064 were recorded, down 8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009, RealtyTrac said.