RealtyTrac: September Foreclosure Activity Down 27% From Year Ago - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for real estate data, Thursday said foreclosure filings were reported on 131,232 U.S. properties in September, a 2 percent increase from the previous month but a 27 percent decrease from a year ago. Foreclosure filings include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

For the third quarter, RealtyTrac said in its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report that Foreclosure filings on 376,931 U.S. Properties, down 7 percent from the previous quarter and down 29 percent from the previous year. One in every 348 housing units had a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

U.S. foreclosure starts in the third quarter were at a seven-year low. A total of 174,366 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process for the first time during the quarter, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and down 39 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2006.