<div><p><p>Foreclosures in Virginia continue to rise from a year ago, but the rate here is better than it is nationally.</p> <p>One in every 567 Virginia households, or a total of 5,694, received a foreclosure filing in November, according to a RealtyTrac report released today. By comparison, one in every 488 U.S. households receiving a filing. Filings include notices of default, trustee sales and foreclosure sales, according to the online database.</p> <p>Filings here rose 121 percent last month from November 2007, while nationally they increased 28 percent, according to the report.</p> <p>Connie Chamberlin, president and chief executive of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia Inc., a housing advocacy group in Richmond, said she was not surprised by the Virginia or national figures.</p> <p>"We don't see any of the federal programs doing any good," Chamberlin said. "It's unfortunate that people believe that something is being done."</p> <p>Some lenders are modifying loans to help homeowners secure more manageable payments, she said. Unfortunately, many of the new loans are adjustable-rate mortgages or mortgages with balloon payments that delay the foreclosure process, Chamberlin said.</p> <p>The U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision recently reported that more than half of mortgage loans modified in the first half of this year to reduce monthly payments are delinquent again.</p> <p>"Many of these delinquencies could turn into foreclosures next year," James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.</p> <p>Despite the year-over-year rise in the U.S., the number of filings fell 7 percent from the previous month, marking the lowest level since June, according to RealtyTrac.</p> <p>However, the drop is most likely temporary, caused in part by loan modifications and holiday foreclosure moratoriums some lenders introduced, Saccacio said.</p> <p>"There are several indications . . . that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months," he said.</p> <p>An ominous sign is that delinquencies on loans not yet in the foreclosure process rose to a record high of nearly 7 percent in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.</p> <p>The states with the highest foreclosure rates in November were Nevada, Florida and Arizona.</p> <p>"Nevada maintained the nation's No. 1 foreclosure rate, with one in every 76 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in November -- more than six times the national average," according to the report.</p></p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=38519919&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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