U.S. Home Foreclosures Rise 60% in February & Bank Repossessions Doubled

U.S. home foreclosure filings jumped 60 percent and bank repossessions more than doubled in February as rates on adjustable mortgages rose and property owners were unable to sell or refinance amid falling prices.

More than 223,000 properties were in some stage of default, or 1 in every 557 U.S. households, Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc. said today in a statement. Nevada, California and Florida recorded the highest state foreclosure rates.

``We're in a vicious cycle,'' said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, a seller of foreclosure data. ``We've got depreciating home values and loans resetting at an outstanding volume just as banks are retrenching. Even people who want to buy a home now are having trouble getting a mortgage.''

About $460 billion of adjustable-rate mortgages are scheduled to reset this year and another $420 billion will rise in 2011, according to New York-based analysts at Citigroup Inc. Homeowners faced higher payments as fourth-quarter home prices fell 8.9 percent, the biggest drop in 20 years as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index.

Filings are likely to be ``explosive'' in May and June as more payments jump, after remaining at current levels this month and next, Sharga said in an interview. There may be between 750,000 and 1 million bank repossessions in 2008, he said. Bank seizures rose 110 percent in February from a year ago, he said.

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