US Foreclosure Filings Up 68 Percent In November (Alex Veiga)

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Foreclosure Sign

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES - U.S. homeowners increasingly failed to keep up with their home loan payments in November, as the number of foreclosure filings surged 68 percent nationwide compared with the same month a year ago, according to a mortgage research company.

In all, 201,950 foreclosure filings were reported last month, compared with 120,334 in November 2006, Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. said Wednesday.

Last month's filings fell 10 percent from October's 224,451.

The last time there was a sequential drop in foreclosure filings was between August and September, when they fell 8 percent.

"It's a little bit of good news in the otherwise murky real estate market right now," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing. "The fact that we're seeing a 10 percent decrease is significant. It's a good thing."

The U.S. had one foreclosure filing for every 617 households in November, RealtyTrac said.