Foreclosure rates climb in U.S., state in 1Q from year ago

A record number of U.S. homes were lost to foreclosure in the first three months of this year, a sign banks are starting to wade through the backlog of troubled home loans at a faster pace, according to a new report.

RealtyTrac said Thursday that the number of U.S. homes taken over by banks jumped 35 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. In addition, households facing foreclosure grew 16 percent in the same period and 7 percent from the last three months of 2009.

In Washington state, the number of homes taken over by banks in the first quarter rose 18 percent from a year ago. However, the number of households receiving a foreclosure filing was down 6 percent from the first quarter of 2009 and 12 percent from the fourth quarter. Nationally, more homes were taken over by banks and scheduled for a foreclosure sale than in any quarter going back to at least January 2005, when RealtyTrac began reporting the data.

"We're right now on pace to see more than 1 million bank repossessions this year," said Rick Sharga, a RealtyTrac senior vice president.

In all, more than 900,000 U.S. households, or one in every 138 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, RealtyTrac said.

In Washington state, the figure was one in every 306 homes; in King County, one in every 357.

Seattle Times business reporter Eric Pryne contributed to this report.