Foreclosures Rise With Judicial Auctions

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IRVINE, CA-Scheduled judicial foreclosure auctions on residential properties increased annually for the 16^th straight month in October, and foreclosure starts were up monthly for the second straight month, RealtyTrac reports. Big jumps in foreclosure activity have been noted by the firm in Florida, Illinois and Colorado.

Foreclosure filings rose nationwide 2% in October, according to the firm, but this is a 28% decrease from a year ago. States with the biggest annual increases in scheduled judicial foreclosure auctions included Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida.

Foreclosure starts were up from the previous month in 22 states, including Colorado, Florida and Illinois. Increases were 124%, 36% and 30%, respectively, according to RealtyTrac.

“The backlog of delayed judicial foreclosures continues to make its way through the pipeline, with many of these properties now being scheduled for the public auction after starting the foreclosure process last year or earlier this year,” says Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac. “Lenders are likely moving these properties more rapidly to the public auction given that there is strong demand from institutional buy-to rent investors at the action and that rising home prices mean more of the loan losses can be recouped, either by selling to an investor at the auction or by repossessing the property and reselling as bank owned.”

As GlobeSt.com reported last week, the cumulative appreciation in estimated value of residential investment purchases varies by investor purchase volume, according to RealtyTrac. The firm studied real estate purchases made by investors between January 2011 and September 2013, and discovered differences in valuation as well as resales depending on the number of properties purchased during that time.

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