After a January slowdown in foreclosure activity in Inland Southern California, last month it increased 6 percent in San Bernardino County and clung to an historically high level in Riverside County.
Riverside/San Bernardino in February ranked sixth among the nation's metropolitan areas in rate of foreclosure activity, with one foreclosure related filing for every 80 homes. The two counties combined had 18,040 filings, up 63 percent from 11,066 filings in February, 2008.
In Riverside County the number of default notices rose from 4,399 in January to 5,059 in February while from month-to-month in San Bernardino County the number of defaults increased from 3,963 to 4,445.
With unemployment growing and adjustable mortgages continuing to become less affordable, an increasing number of homeowners in Riverside and San Bernardino counties received notices of default last month, the first step in the foreclosure process.
Repossessions, the final step in a foreclosure, also were on the rise, possibly because modifications did not work for those too financially under water to be helped. In Riverside County, banks repossessed 2,490 homes last month, 241 more than in January. In San Bernardino County, 2,063 homes were repossessed, 397 more than the month befor. That's about 100 homes a day!