RealtyTrac Report Shows Foreclosures in Connecticut on Rise

A RealtyTrac report released this week reveals foreclosures are on the rise in Connecticut.

Out on October 10, the report shows that one in every Connecticut home had a foreclosure filing September, making the state the sixth highest in terms of concentration. Nationally, one in every 998 homes has a filing.

Multiple sources influenced Connecticut’s move from 19th to sixth over the past year. As of 2010, the moratorium on foreclosures as the result of the robo-signing scandal, stricter procedures, and Connecticut’s court review process essentially created a backlog, which resulted in 1,514 first-time notices in September alone. In total, the state has 2,191 properties with some kind of filing – a 69-percent increase year to year.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, explained to the Hartford Courant: “These delays artificially slowed down foreclosure activity, and while foreclosures were avoided during these delays, other foreclosures were simply delayed and those account for the majority of the recent rise in Connecticut foreclosure activity.”

Nevertheless, while Connecticut saw a surge of foreclosures over the past year, it remains far behind Nevada. The state hit hard by the housing crisis last decade now has one in every 249 properties with a foreclosure filing.

Although Connecticut’s rank comes as a mild shock, particularly after efforts from the state to streamline and better manage foreclosure hearings, RealtyTrac’s results partially mirror the May National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic, released in July.

The report at the time has Connecticut in the top five states for foreclosure inventory, although year-to-year amounts decreased. At the time, the state had a 4.1 percent foreclosure inventory, with 6.9 percent of all properties with a mortgage seriously delinquent.

Issues like dual-tracking and no point person have made filing for foreclosure a nightmare for many homeowners. As a result, Connecticut passed Public Act 13-136 earlier this year to provide guidelines for the mediation process and keep the process more organized.