Foreclosures down 3 percent in November

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Foreclosure filings on U.S. properties fell 3 percent in November from the previous month and 14 percent from November 2010, RealtyTrac said Thursday.

The report also indicated one in every 579 U.S. housing units was in foreclosure during the month.

"Despite a seasonal slowdown similar to what we've seen in each of the past four years, November's numbers suggest a new set of incoming foreclosure waves, many of which may roll into the market as REOs [real estate owned property] or short sales sometime early next year," James Saccacio, co-founder of RealtyTrac in Irvine, Calif., said in a release.

While overall foreclosure activity was down 14 percent in a year-over-year comparison, Saccacio said some bellwether states such as California, Arizona and Massachusetts "actually posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in November."

He said scheduled foreclosure auctions reached a nine-month high in November, corresponding to a surge in default notices that began in August.

"Many of the new defaults that started the foreclosure process over the past few months are now being scheduled for public foreclosure auction," Saccacio said.

Nevada, California and Arizona posted the top state foreclosure rates, RealtyTrac said.

Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rate for the 59th straight month despite artificially low foreclosure activity because of a new state law changing the state's foreclosure process, RealtyTrac said. One in every 175 Nevada housing units was in foreclosure in November, more than three times the national average.

Scheduled trustee's sales in California hit a 10-month high last month, helping the state maintain the nation's second-highest foreclosure rate, meaning one in every 211 properties was in foreclosure during the month.

In Arizona, one in every 256 Arizona properties was in foreclosure in November, more than twice the national average.