LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Foreclosures have hit record numbers in the first three months of the year.
RealtyTrac Inc. says the number of U.S. homes taken over by banks jumped 35 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. And households facing foreclosure have grown 16 percent in the same period.
More houses are scheduled for foreclosure sale than in any quarter going back to at least January 2005. That's when RealtyTrac began reporting the data.
Foreclosures began to ease last year as the Obama administration pressured banks to modify home loans for troubled borrowers. Some states enacted foreclosure moratoriums to give homeowners time to catch up on their payments.
These factors have helped slow the pace of foreclosures, but now that trend appears to be reversing.
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