New foreclosure data show the number of U.S. homes that were repossessed by lenders fell in April, compared with March and a year ago.
Foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc. also says fewer
homes entered the foreclosure process in April and that the number
of scheduled foreclosure auctions dropped.
The decline is because of foreclosure processing delays that
appear to be getting worse and threaten to drag out a housing
recovery.
It's taking longer for lenders to move against homeowners behind
on payments and to take back homes already in some stage of the
foreclosure process. Banks also have had to revisit thousands of
cases following foreclosure documentation problems that surfaced
last fall.
From January to March, the foreclosure process took an average
of 400 days to run its course.
