01/2010 PRESS RELEASE

Record 2.9 Million U.S. Properties Receive Foreclosure Filings in 2010 Despite 30-Month Low in December:

Florida Foreclosure Activity Drops 22 Percent in December, but Bank Repossessions Spike more than 45 Percent in Nevada, Arizona, California

IRVINE, Calif. - January 2011 - RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Year-End 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 3,825,637 foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on a record 2,871,891 U.S. properties in 2010, an increase of nearly 2 percent from 2009 and an increase of 23 percent from 2008. The report also shows that 2.23 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 45) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 2.21 percent in 2009, 1.84 percent in 2008, 1.03 percent in 2007 and 0.58 percent in 2006.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 257,747 U.S. properties in December, a decrease of nearly 2 percent from the previous month and down 26 percent from December 2009 - the biggest annual drop in foreclosure activity since RealtyTrac began publishing its foreclosure report in January 2005 and giving December the lowest monthly total since June 2008.

December Default notices (NOD, LIS) decreased 4 percent from the previous month and were down 35 percent from December 2009; Scheduled foreclosure auctions (NTS, NFS) decreased 3 percent from the previous month and were down 20 percent from December 2009; and bank repossessions (REO) increased nearly 4 percent from the previous month - thanks in part to substantial month-over-month increases in some states such as Nevada (71 percent increase), Arizona (52 percent increase) and California (47 percent increase) - but were still down 24 percent from December 2009.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 799,064 U.S. properties in the fourth quarter, a 14 percent decrease from the previous quarter and an 8 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2009. The fourth quarter total was the lowest quarterly total since Q4 2008.

Total properties receiving foreclosure filings would have easily exceeded 3 million in 2010 had it not been for the fourth quarter drop in foreclosure activity - triggered primarily by the continuing controversy surrounding foreclosure documentation and procedures that prompted many major lenders to temporarily halt some foreclosure proceedings, said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. Even so, 2010 foreclosure activity still hit a record high for our report, and many of the foreclosure proceedings that were stopped in late 2010 - which we estimate may be as high as a quarter million - will likely be re-started and add to the numbers in early 2011.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates

More than 9 percent of Nevada housing units (one in 11) received at least one foreclosure filing in 2010, giving it the nation?s highest state foreclosure rate for the fourth consecutive year despite a 5 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from 2009. Nevada foreclosure activity in December increased 18 percent from the previous month and was up 14 percent from December 2009. Fourth quarter foreclosure activity in Nevada decreased nearly 7 percent from the previous quarter but increased 19 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009.

Arizona registered the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate for the second year in a row, with 5.73 percent of its housing units (one in 17) receiving at least one foreclosure filing in 2010, and Florida registered the nation?s third highest foreclosure rate, with 5.51 percent of its housing units (one in 18) receiving at least one foreclosure filing during the year.

Other states with 2010 foreclosure rates ranking among the nation's 10 highest were California (4.08 percent), Utah (3.44 percent), Georgia (3.25 percent), Michigan (3.00 percent), Idaho (2.98 percent), Illinois (2.87 percent), and Colorado (2.51 percent).

California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan account for half of national total

Five states accounted for 51 percent of the nation?s total foreclosure activity in 2010: California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. Together these five states documented nearly 1.5 million properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the year despite annual decreases in the three states with the most foreclosure activity.

A total of 546,669 California properties received a foreclosure filing in 2010, a decrease of nearly 14 percent from 2009 but still the largest state total. After hitting a two-year low in November, California foreclosure activity rebounded nearly 15 percent higher in December but was still down 18 percent from December 2009.

Florida posted the nation's second biggest total in 2010, with 485,286 properties receiving a foreclosure filing - a 6 percent decrease from 2009. Florida foreclosure activity in December hit the lowest monthly level since July 2007, down 22 percent from the previous month and down nearly 54 percent from December 2009.

A total of 155,878 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing in 2010, a 4 percent decrease from 2009 but the third biggest state total for the third straight year. Arizona foreclosure activity in December jumped nearly 31 percent higher from a 32-month low in November, but was still down nearly 33 percent from December 2009.

Illinois posted the fourth biggest state total, with 151,304 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in 2010, and Michigan posted the fifth biggest state total, with 135,874 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the year. Foreclosure activity in both states increased about 15 percent from 2009.

Other states with 2010 totals among the 10 biggest in the country were Georgia (130,966), Texas (118,923), Ohio (108,160), Nevada (106,160), and New Jersey (64,808).

Report methodology

The RealtyTrac Year-End U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the year. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the year may have been recorded in the previous year. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac?s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default - Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction - Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the annual and quarterly reports, if more than one foreclosure document is received for a property during the year or quarter, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The annual, quarterly and monthly reports all check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current year, quarter or month.

10/14/2010 PRESS RELEASE

IRVINE, Calif. - Oct. 14, 2010 - RealtyTrac (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the third quarter of 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 930,437 properties in the third quarter, a nearly 4 percent increase from the previous quarter but a 1 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2009. One in every 139 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 347,420 U.S. properties in September, an increase of nearly 3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 1 percent from September 2009. A record total of 102,134 bank repossessions were reported in September, the first time bank repossessions have surpassed the 100,000 mark in a single month.

"Lenders foreclosed on a record number of properties in September and in the third quarter, taking a bite out of the backlog of distressed properties where the foreclosure process was delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts over the past 20 months," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "We expect to see a dip in those bank repossessions - and possibly earlier stages of the foreclosure process - in the fourth quarter as several major lenders have halted foreclosure sales in some states while they review irregularities in foreclosure-processing documentation that has been called into question in recent weeks."

Impact of lender foreclosure halts:

Foreclosure activity in the 24 judicial foreclosure states most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue accounted for 40 percent of all foreclosure activity in the third quarter and 36 percent of bank repossessions, or REOs.

"If the lenders can resolve the documentation issue quickly, then we would expect the temporary lull in foreclosure activity to be followed by a parallel spike in activity as many of the delayed foreclosures move forward in the foreclosure process," Saccacio said. "However, if the documentation issue cannot be quickly resolved and expands to more lenders we could see a chilling effect on the overall housing market as sales of pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties, which account for nearly one-third of all sales, dry up and the shadow inventory of distressed properties grows - causing more uncertainty about home prices."

Preliminary RealtyTrac foreclosure sales numbers for September show that overall foreclosure sales - including pre-foreclosure sales and REO sales - accounted for 31 percent of all sales during the month. REO sales alone accounted for 18 percent of all sales. Foreclosure sales in the 24 states most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue accounted for 32 percent of all foreclosure sales nationwide, based on the preliminary September data.

Video: is it safe to buy a foreclosure? (http://www.realtytrac.com/content/videos/is-it-safe-to-buy-a-foreclosure-6107)

Foreclosure Activity by Type:

During the quarter a total of 269,647 properties received default notices (Notices of Default or Lis Pendens), a decrease of 1 percent from the previous quarter and a decrease of 21 percent from the third quarter of 2009, when default notices peaked at more than 342,000.

Foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on a total of 372,445 properties during the quarter, the highest quarterly total for scheduled auctions in the history of the report. Scheduled auctions increased 5 percent from the previous quarter and were up 4 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Bank repossessions (REOs) also hit a record high for the report in the third quarter, with a total of 288,345 properties repossessed by the lender during the quarter - an increase of 7 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of 22 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates in third quarter:

As it has for the past 15 quarters, Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in the third quarter of 2010 despite a year-over-year decline in foreclosure activity. One in every 29 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, almost five times the national average. Nevada foreclosure activity increased nearly 1 percent from the previous quarter but was down nearly 20 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Arizona posted the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate for the fifth consecutive quarter, with one in every 55 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, and Florida posted the nations third highest state foreclosure rate for the fourth consecutive quarter, with one in every 56 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

With one in every 70 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, California documented the nation's fourth highest foreclosure rate, followed by Idaho, with one in every 86 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. A total of 7,424 Idaho housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, an increase of nearly 20 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 14 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the third quarter were Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Five states account for more than 50 percent of nation's third quarter total:

California alone accounted for 21 percent of the nation's total foreclosure activity in the third quarter, with 191,016 properties receiving a foreclosure notice - the nation's largest foreclosure activity total. California foreclosure activity decreased nearly 1 percent from the previous quarter and was down nearly 24 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Florida foreclosure activity increased 12 percent from the previous quarter and was flat from a year ago, giving the state the second largest foreclosure activity total, with 157,026 properties receiving a foreclosure filing.

With 49,103 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, Arizona posted the nation's third largest state foreclosure activity total. Arizona foreclosure activity increased nearly 8 percent from the previous quarter but was down 2 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Illinois posted the nation's fourth largest foreclosure activity total, with 47,802 properties receiving foreclosure filings, and Michigan posted the nation's fifth largest foreclosure activity total, with 46,100 properties receiving foreclosure filings. Foreclosure activity in both Illinois and Michigan increased on a quarterly and annual basis in the third quarter.

Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation's 10 highest were Georgia (41,231), Nevada (38,429), Ohio (36,677), Texas (34,187) and Washington (17,670)

Report methodology:

The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month and quarter - broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during a month or quarter may have been recorded in previous months or quarters. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default - Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction - Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the quarterly report, if more than one foreclosure document is received for a property during the quarter, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. Both the quarterly and monthly reports check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current month or quarter.

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