by Calculated Risk on 1/14/2010 12:43:00 AM

Press Release: RealtyTrac® year-end report shows record 2.8 million U.S. Properties with foreclosure filings in 2009 (ht Ann)

RealtyTrac® ... today released its Year-End 2009 Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows a total of 3,957,643 foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 2,824,674 U.S. properties in 2009, a 21 percent increase in total properties from 2008 and a 120 percent increase in total properties from 2007. The report also shows that 2.21 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 45) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 1.84 percent in 2008, 1.03 percent in 2007 and 0.58 percent in 2006.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 349,519 U.S. properties in December, a 14 percent jump from the previous month and a 15 percent increase from December 2008 — when a similar monthly jump in foreclosure activity occurred. Despite the increase in December, foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter decreased 7 percent from the third quarter, although it was still up 18 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008.

“As bad as the 2009 numbers are, they probably would have been worse if not for legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac
emphasis added

AP is reporting that RealtyTrac expects 3 to 3.5 million foreclosures in 2010.

There should be a pickup in foreclosure activity in February when the trial modifications end, however I think the themes in 2010 will be short sales (although NODs¹ count as filings) and higher priced foreclosures (but fewer in that range) - so the total filings in 2010 might be a little lower than RealtyTrac expects - but it will definitely be a busy year.

¹NODs: Notice of Default