Could things in the housing market finally be turning for the better? Or are big lenders just remaining cautious about seizing homes due to litigation and regulatory inquiries present all across the country. RealtyTrac, which follows foreclosure activity across the United States, reported last week that one in every 497 residences received foreclosure filings last month – or 261,333 properties in total. This was the third consecutive month in which fewer than 300,000 properties had default notices, scheduled auctions or repossessions. Although this is a 1% increase from the previous month, the figure is still down 17% from the year-ago foreclosure levels. Experts have advised that the slowdown in the foreclosure process is due to the so-called “robosigning” issue that was discovered in October, 2010, where large mortgage servicers were having employees routinely sign off on thousands of affidavits without properly reviewing the required paperwork. Read more
