Foreclosure Rate Slows to Four-Year Low

As another hint that the economy is getting back on its feet, new reports from RealtyTrac show that the amount of foreclosure filings in the United States rose at the slowest pace in four years in February. This revelation suggests that government efforts to slow bank seizures of property have begun to have a marked impact on the housing market.

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February saw 308,524 households receive notices of default, auction, or seizure last month, a figure that amounts to a 6 percent increase in filings from a year earlier. This is the smallest increase since RealityTrac, the California-based default data seller, has recorded since it began tracking this figure in January 2006.

Still, foreclosure rates rose for the 50th straight month, topping 300,000 foreclosures for the last twelve months. According to RealityTrac’s CEO, James J. Saccacio, the findings show that the government’s efforts to keep people in their homes have capped monthly foreclosure activity, but also that many people across the country are still suffering and at risk of foreclosure.