County’s foreclosures drop slightly
Homeowners are still in distress; defaults up
By Roger Showley
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Foreclosures fell slightly in San Diego County last month but defaults rose a bit, a sign that lenders continue to wrestle with beleaguered homeowners who can’t afford their mortgages.
MDA DataQuick reported yesterday that there were 1,101 foreclosures last month, down 8 percent from August and 49 percent from September 2008. Notices of default, the first step in the foreclosure process, numbered 2,726, up 3 percent from August but more than double the level of a year earlier, when new regulations temporarily delayed default actions.
Analysts read the latest numbers as a sign that distress continues at near record levels, even as lenders try to recast mortgages where possible.