U.S. foreclosure filings jumped 81 percent

RealtyTrac is reporting that more than 2.3 million properties got a default or auction notice, or were seized by lenders. That’s the most RealtyTrac has documented in four years of recordkeeping. Filings rose 41 percent in December from a year earlier to 303,410.

Foreclosure prevention programs offered by U.S. banks and state laws that temporarily delayed property seizures “have not had any real success in slowing down this foreclosure tsunami,” James Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. One in 54 housing units, or 1.8 percent of homes, received at least one filing in 2008.

2.3 Million Properties with Foreclosure Filings in 2008