Foreclosures Surge In 32 States

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — New foreclosures are up, and that could prove to be a drag on the U.S. housing market.

RealtyTrac.com reports that home foreclosures are up 2.26 percent from January to February, and the average price to buy a foreclosed home rose 3.84 percent, to $179,000.

READ: How to buy a home in a short sale

Still, some states are seeing even more significant upticks in foreclosure activity.

Take Oregon, where new rules on judicial foreclosures have taken effect, including measures that mandate mediation between homeowners and lenders. According to "The Oregonian," statewide foreclosures are up by 65 percent from January to February:


"Oregon's seven largest counties collectively reported legal action on 996 properties, according to Gorilla Capital, a Eugene company that buys, redevelops and sells foreclosed homes. Those numbers mostly represent foreclosure cases.

That's 65 percent more cases than seen a month earlier. And it rivals the 1,036 out-of-court foreclosure starts recorded in those counties a year earlier, before legal complications sent most foreclosures into the court system."

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