CHICAGO - The bad news following the mortgage settlement that is supposedly sending $1 billion of a $25 billion for robo-signing is that the hold on foreclosures is being let up, and banks are moving forward with a vengeance to oust non-payers from their homes. Illinois was hit hard in January, before the lawsuit was settled, and as this map shows, before the settlement, it was already nearing a foreclosure rate of 1 in 198 homes.
Scheduled auctions increased more than 20 percent on a year-over-year basis in several states, including Minnesota (24 percent), Massachusetts (57 percent), South Carolina (79 percent), Indiana (141 percent) and Illinois (141 percent). Minnesota scheduled auctions increased on an annual basis for the third straight month, and scheduled auctions reached a 17-month high in Indiana and a 15-month high in Illinois.
REO activity increased at least 30 percent on a year-over-year basis in several states, including Wisconsin (30 percent), Connecticut (39 percent), Illinois (52 percent), Indiana (60 percent), New Hampshire (62 percent) and Massachusetts (75 percent). REO activity increased on an annual basis for the fourth straight month in Massachusetts and for the third straight month in Wisconsin and Illinois. REO activity in January reached a 16-month high in Illinois and a 15-month high in Indiana.
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