Foreclosures Up 60% in February

Foreclosure filings nationwide jumped 60% in February compared with the same month last year, but they decreased slightly versus January, according to a report released recently.  The report says 223,651 homes got hit with foreclosure filings last month, which include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. 46,508 of those were lost to bank repossessions, which more than doubled over last year.

The report also indicated that foreclosure filings in February fell 4% compared with January, similar to a 6% decrease that occurred during the same time-span in 2007.

Metro areas in California and Florida topped the list of urban centers facing a surge in foreclosure filings. Outside of the sun belt, Michigan and Ohio each reported more than 10,000 properties with foreclosure filings in February.

In California, foreclosure activity was up 131% year-over-year with a total of 53,629 filings. Florida reported 32,447 foreclosure filings, up 69% over the same period last year.