Home foreclosure filings were seen on 342,038 U.S. properties during April, an increase of less than 1% from March and an increase of 32% from April 2008, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac. “Much of this activity is at the initial stages of foreclosure while bank repossessions, or REOs, were down on a monthly and annual basis,” said CEO James Saccacio. “Many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria. It’s likely that we’ll see a corresponding spike in REOs as these loans move through the foreclosure process over the next few months.” Mortgage loan modification activity continues to be very active as delinquent borrowers look for affordable loan workouts.

Despite an 18% decrease in foreclosure activity from March, Nevada continued to post the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 68 housing units receiving a filing. This was driven by a 44% drop in bank repossessions from March. A 37% month-over-month increase in foreclosure activity boosted Florida’s foreclosure rate to the second highest. The increase in Florida was due to a spike in default notices and auction notices, but REOs were down 7%. Home foreclosure activity in California decreased 10% from March, while it was up 42% from April 2008. The 10 states with the most filings in April accounted for more than 75% of the national total. California documented the highest total (96,560), followed by Florida (64,588), Nevada (16,266) and Arizona (16,245).