States in the Midwest Face Unprecedented Foreclosures.

January's foreclosure numbers demonstrate that foreclosure activity is continuing on its upward trend, substantially increasing from a year ago in many states.

According to the latest data from RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings, including default notices, auction sales notices and bank repossessions, were reported on 233,001 properties during the month, an increase of 8% from December and an increase of nearly 57% from January 2007.

"However, the 8% monthly increase in January is not as precipitous as the 19% spike we saw in January of 2007, and several key states actually experienced decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month," said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "It could be that some of the efforts on the part of lenders and the government - both at the state and federal level - are beginning to take effect. The big question is whether those efforts are truly helping homeowners avoid foreclosure in the long term or if they are just temporarily forestalling the inevitable for many beleaguered borrowers."

Ohio and Michigan documented totals of more than 10,000 properties with foreclosure filings reported in January. Illinois was also in the top 10.

Michigan documented the nation's third highest state foreclosure for 2007, with 1.9% of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. A total of 136,205 foreclosure filings on 87,210 properties were reported in the state during the year, a 68% increase in total filings from 2006. Michigan foreclosure activity dipped 17% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but its December foreclosure filing total was still up more than 70% from December 2006.

Ohio's total foreclosure filings, 153,196, and total properties entering some stage of foreclosure, 89,979, both ranked third highest among the states for 2007. The state's foreclosure filings increased 88% from 2006, and its 2007 foreclosure rate was the nation's sixth highest, with 1.8% of the state's households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. Ohio's high ranking for the year came despite a dip in foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter, when foreclosure filings decreased 2% from the previous quarter. The state's December foreclosure filings were down 26% from November but still up 64% from December 2006.

As expected, the number of properties entering some stage of foreclosure in 2007 was up in the vast majority of the nation's 100 largest metro areas, with 86 metros reporting increases from 2006.