According to RealtyTrac, the number of homeowners facing foreclosure dropped during October, thanks in part to foreclosure prevention programs that helped borrowers. RealtyTrac stated that more than 332,000 households (one in every 385 homes) were recipients of either a notice of default or a trustee's sale. This number is 3% lower than September, making October the third-straight month with a drop in the number of homeowners facing foreclosure. As for homes actually repossessed, the number dropped to 77,000 in October from 88,000 in September.

RealtyTrac noted that one reason for the lower number of foreclosures is new state programs that require a bank to try and work with the homeowner before seizing property. In addition, some lenders are staving off foreclosures by evaluating which of their close-to-default borrowers may qualify for the new federal loan modification program.

Home foreclosure filings in the United States hit a record 1.9 million in the first half of 2009, according to RealtyTrac –-- on more than 1.5 million properties. Again, unemployment is one of the primary culprits, as a lack of income makes it pretty tough to bring a loan at risk of default up to date. The number of filings is up 9% from the second half of 2008 and up almost 15% from the same period last year.

Last month, foreclosure filings were up 5% relative to May and up 33% from June 2008. The month's action was the third highest on record, and it was the fourth month in a row in which there were filings on more than 300,000 properties.

We will see earnings from one of the major home builders in the morning, as KB Home (NYSE: KBH) gets its chance to impress Wall Street when it reports its first quarter numbers prior to the market open.

The company, which last year ranked the 5th largest home builder in the country, is expected to show a loss for the quarter of $0.81 per share. Should the company be able to match these estimates, it would be a great improvement over its fourth quarter loss of $3.96 per share. When looking back at the same period last year, KBH showed a loss of $3.47 per share for its first quarter last year.

While many major lenders took steps to stem the rising tide of foreclosures, RealtyTrac reported that the number of households facing foreclosure increased 30% compared to a year ago. Last month, roughly 291,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice -- which is 6% higher than January.

Western states and Florida continue to lead the country in foreclosures (with Nevada, Arizona, and California leading the West), but RealtyTrac noted that states like Idaho, Illinois, and Oregon saw more foreclosures.

RealtyTrac's Vice President Rick Sharga noted that this data "doesn't bode well ... At least for the foreseeable future, it's going to continue to be pretty ugly."

Home foreclosure activity jumped 48% in May compared to a year ago, as substantially more default notices, auction sales notices, and bank repossessions were reported than in the same month a year ago, research firm RealtyTrac announced Friday.

In May, one in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure notice, RealtyTrac said, adding that foreclosure activity increased in 40 of 50 states in the same period.

Foreclosure filings - - which include default notices, auction sales, and bank repossessions - - totaled 261,255 in May, a 7% increase from April and a 48% increases from a year ago, RealtyTrac announced.

Home foreclosure activity jumped 23% in Q1 2008 and a whopping 112% in the past 12 months, as the housing sector's deep recession continues. And substantially more default notices, auction sales notices, and bank repossessions were reported in Q1, research firm RealtyTrac announced Tuesday.

In Q1 2008, one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure notice, RealtyTrac said, adding that foreclosure activity increased in 46 of 50 states and in 90 of the nation's 100 largest cities in the same period.

State foreclosure rates

In Q1 2008, Nevada (one in 54 households) had the U.S.'s highest foreclosure rate, followed by California (one in 78 households), and Arizona (one in 95 households). Vermont (one in 103,186 households), North Dakota (one in 6,156 households), and West Virginia (one in 6,138) had the nation's lowest foreclosure rates.

Home foreclosure activity dipped 4% in February 2008, as fewer default notice, auction sales notices and bank repossessions were reported than the previous month. However, overall activity remains 60% higher than a year ago, research firm RealtyTrac announced Thursday.

From February 2006 to February 2007 foreclosure activity rose 19%, RealtyTrac said.

Foreclosure filings totaled 223,651 in February 2008, a 60% increase from February 2007, with 1 in 557 U.S. households receiving a foreclosure notice during the month.

State foreclosure rates

Nevada (1 in 165 households) had the U.S.'s highest foreclosure rate, followed by California (1 in 242 households), followed by Florida (1 in 254 households). Vermont (1 in 76,836 households), West Virginia (1 in 22,364), and North Dakota (1 in 13,839) had the nation's lowest foreclosure rates.

U.S. foreclosure filings increased 75% in 2007 to 2.2 million, with more than 1% of all U.S. households facing foreclosure, a leading real estate market research company announced Tuesday.

Foreclosures in 2007 totaled 2,203,295 up from 1,285,873 in 2006, RealtyTrac announced Tuesday in a statement.

The report also shows that more than 1% of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during the year, up from 0.58% in 2006.

Foreclosure filings increased at the end of the year, with December 2007 marking the fifth straight month of more than 200,000 foreclosures reported, RealtyTrac said.

Stockton, California led the U.S. in foreclosures in the third quarter among the top 100 metropolitan areas with an astounding one filing for every 31 households, The Associated Press reported, citing data from RealtyTrac.

The real estate market in California's Central Valley is especially bad because there was a ton of new construction and speculative buying during the boom, according to the Stockton Record. Indeed, the City of Stockton said on its website that people bought homes "without sufficient consideration or understanding of their loan agreements and mortgage responsibilities."