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Home foreclosures soared in the month of July as a 'bank foreclosure sale' sign is posted in front of townhouses on August 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Home foreclosures soared to a record high in July as the real estate market continues to struggle, according to foreclosure listing agency RealtyTrac on Thursday.
Across the country, banks took back 92,858 properties last month, a 9 percent increase compared with June, and a 6 percent increase since the same time last year. Last month, banks were trying to keep up to date on a backlog of properties that were in default, marking the second-highest month on record for bank foreclosures.
July's foreclosure rate was just one percent lower than the all-time high recorded in May 2009, RealtyTrac, who started keeping tabs on REO homes in April 2005, said.
Home foreclosures have increased on a year-over-year basis in July for the eighth straight month in a row.
News of the high foreclosure rate could have drastic implications for the U.S. economy and the financial markets as a whole. One of the main causes of the 2007 credit crisis was due to problems in the housing market.
An increased number of homeowners received either a default notice, a notice of auction, or a repossession order, increasing 4 percent to 325,229.
July was the 17th straight month with foreclosure activity over 300,000, RealtyTrac said.
“Declines in new default notices, which were down on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month in July, have been offset by near-record levels of bank repossessions, which increased on a year-over-year basis for the eighth straight month,” said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio.
Nevada, Florida, and Arizona experienced the most foreclosures in the nation. For example, one out of 82 housing units in Nevada received a foreclosure filing last month.
