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More owners losing houses

October's foreclosures were nearly double of those from a year ago.

U.S. foreclosure filings nearly doubled in October from the same month last year, the latest sign that many homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and increasingly losing their homes, according to a mortgage research company.

A total of 224,451 foreclosure filings were reported in October, up 94 percent from 115,568 in the same month a year ago, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

The number of filings in October rose 2 percent from September's 219,850.

The United States had one foreclosure filing for every 555 households in October, RealtyTrac said. In all, 45 states saw an increase in foreclosure filings over last year.

The filings include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.

Florida had one foreclosure filing for every 273 households, the third-highest rate in the nation. The state reported 30,190 foreclosure filings last month, down more than 9 percent from September, but up nearly 165 percent from October 2006's total.

Over the months, RealtyTrac, of Irvine, Calif., has tended to exaggerate the problem in Florida. For example, the company reported 13,562 foreclosure filings in the Tampa Bay area between July 1 and Sept. 30, but revealed that the number included multiple filings on single properties. The actual number of properties affected was a third lower at 9,436.

While the number of national filings is still up year-over-year, it has leveled off in the past two months after hitting a high for the year in August.

Efforts by lenders under pressure to modify loan terms for at-risk borrowers could explain the slower sequential increase in filings, but the trend is likely more a result of a lag in filings after interest rate changes on adjustable-rate mortgages, said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing.

It typically takes two to three months after a rate reset before a borrower who fails to make payments is considered in default.

Tighter lending standards and the ongoing housing slump are making it harder for homeowners who can't afford their mortgage payments to sell their homes or refinance.

Many homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages are also facing steep monthly payment increases. Experts estimate some 2-million of the loans are due to reset at higher rates in the next eight months, which could lead to more foreclosures.

One alarming trend in October was an increase in the number of homes that were repossessed by lenders after they failed to sell at trustee auctions.

"About 35 percent of the total filings we collected this month were notices of bank repossession," Sharga said. "Historically, on average, that number is more like 20 percent."

That means more borrowers who entered foreclosure ended up losing their homes.

Times staff writer James Thorner contributed to this story.

Housing news bad on several fronts

U.S. home prices marked a quarterly decline for the first time in 13 years in the third quarter, according to government data released Thursday that provide fresh evidence of the housing market slump.

Home prices dipped 0.4 percent nationwide in the July-September period, compared with the previous quarter, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said.

Compared with the third quarter of 2006, U.S home prices posted an increase of 1.8 percent, but it was the smallest year-over-year increase since 1995, according to the agency, which oversees the big mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Associated Press

[Last modified November 30, 2007, 00:59:59]