DataQuick: San Diego foreclosures up 34% in January

From The San Diego Union Tribune: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/23/dataquick-san-diego-county-foreclosures-34-january/?source=patrick.net#

Foreclosures and mortgage defaults in San Diego County both increased in January, after three consecutive months of drops, Wednesday's DataQuick Information Systems numbers show. The upticks could signal an incoming wave of distressed properties coming onto the market in coming months, experts said.

Foreclosures rose to 959 in January from 715 in December, a 34 percent increase, the largest monthly jump since December 2009. Year-over-year, foreclosures fell from 986 in January 2010, or 2.7 percent.

There were 1,548 mortgage defaults in January, up slightly from 1522 in December, or 1.7 percent. Year-over-year, that number is down from 1,741 in January 2010, or 11.1 percent.

DataQuick spokesman Andrew LePage said the monthly jump in foreclosures could partly be due to "a little catch-up" after some banks froze foreclosure activity following discoveries of robo-signing, the practice of approving loan paperwork without proper review.

LePage added that monthly fluctuations in both data sets are normal given factors such as the role of government mortgage programs, lender log-jams and new housing laws, he said.

"We don't expect any smooth trend lines going forward," LePage said. But there's "more catch-up to come," he said.

Bob Kevane, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors, agrees more foreclosures are in the pipeline.

He's heard local lenders saying they plan to stop delays in foreclosure processes and complete more of them this year, leading him to believe foreclosures will increase at the rate seen last month.

In DataQuick's previous report in December, foreclosures and default notices in the county fell to their lowest levels in three years. However, industry experts warned not to read too much into that, given the expectations of a shadow inventory of distressed homes and an increase in short sales.

Lily Leung: (619)293-1719; lily.leung@uniontrib.com; Twitter @LilyShumLeung