Los Angeles-area foreclosure rate increases in October

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

While home prices in the Los Angeles area have steadily increased in recent months, indicating strengthening in the housing market, more and more people are finding themselves falling behind on their mortgage payments, according to a report out today.

In the Los Angeles metro area, the rate of foreclosure among outstanding mortgage loans was 3.69% in October, compared with 1.75% for the same month a year earlier. That compares with a 3% national foreclosure rate, according to data released by First American CoreLogic, which tracks the mortgage market.

Delinquent loans 90 days or more past due constituted 10.9% of all mortgage loans in the Los Angeles area, up from 5.86% during the same month the year before.

Whether a new wave of foreclosures will hit the market next year remains a matter of debate among experts. Some believe a glut of properties could flood in, pushing down prices, while others argue that lenders and the federal government are both determined to keep such a situation from occurring. -- Alejandro Lazo