Foreclosure Volume Soars 50% In California and Arizona, As The Moratorium Ends

02-15-2011 • BusinessInsider.com/

Analysts have been warning for months that the decline in foreclosures was due to the robosigning moratorium, and did not signify an improving housing market. Well now the shoe has dropped. Bank foreclosure sales jumped 56.2% in Arizona from December to January, according to ForeclosureRadar. Bank foreclosure sales jumped 51.2% in California. Oregon and Washington also recorded back-to-bank foreclosure spikes of 33% and 54%. Other regions were not measured by ForeclosureRadar. Next month things could get worse: "Despite months of slow sales, we've simply returned to prior levels, which to me indicates banks remain reluctant to aggressively foreclose despite the time it takes to foreclose being at or near record levels," said Sean O'Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar. "And large inventories of properties [are] still scheduled for foreclosure sale."