The March Mortgage Monitor report from Lender Processing Services shows foreclosure starts down more than 31 percent from last year, despite a month-over-month increase. But even with the increase from February, the total number of foreclosure starts in March was much lower than the monthly totals from much of last year and the three years previous. The monthly increase was due, in part, to an acceleration in states where paperwork and procedural problems stalled the number of foreclosures being processed. According to the report, foreclosure inventory is nearly 2.5 times higher in judicial states, as opposed to non-judicial states where inventory is at 2.45 percent. Also, delinquencies are slowing, reaching their lowest level since August 2008. More here.
