California foreclosure filings rise

Despite the positive effect California's Senate Bill 1137 had on reducing foreclosures during September and October, its impact clearly fizzled during November, as significant increases in foreclosure activity gripped the state.

According to data tracked by ForeclosureRadar.com, notice of default filings -- which mark the beginning of the home foreclosure process -- jumped 28 percent statewide from October to November, to 21,557 filings.

Notices of trustee sale, which are filed in preparation for the public auction of a property, rose 10 percent from October to November, to 27,941 filings -- up 52.8 percent from a year ago.

Properties sold at auction were up 14.8 percent from October to November (at 16,125 sales) and were up 31 percent from a year ago.

Despite these significant gains, foreclosure activity is still well below the peak activity level reached before SB 1137 took effect, ForeclosureRadar said Tuesday. "The holidays are likely helping to slow the return to those levels. It is not unusual to see double-digit increases in properties sold at auction in January, after the November and December holidays," according to the report, which noted that properties sold at auction jumped 55 percent between December 2007 and January 2008.

"Compounding the likely increases after the holidays is the fact that the number of properties currently scheduled for auction is near the peak levels reached in July 2008, while foreclosure sales are 44 percent lower," the report found.

"The combination of SB 1137 and typical holiday delays appear to be creating an unprecedented backlog going into 2009," said Sean O'Toole, founder of ForeclosureRadar, in a statement.

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