Foreclosure filings in July including default notices, auctions and bank repossessions climbed 2% from a 78-month low in June but were still 32% lower than a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.
Foreclosure starts the beginning of the process were up 6% from June but 38% lower than a year ago. While down nationwide, foreclosure starts actually increased in 15 states from July 2012.
While many U.S. housing markets are recovering from the foreclosure crisis, some pockets are just now experiencing it.
Oregon, New Jersey and Maryland saw new foreclosure filings climb by double- and triple-digit percentages in July, according to RealtyTrac, after proving to be fairly stable markets post-crisis.
New foreclosure filings in Maryland surged 275% in July compared with the year-ago period. The overall foreclosure rate in the state was the second highest in the nation in July, after default-riddled Florida.
Oregon saw new foreclosure filings jump 137% and New Jersey's foreclosure starts spiked 89% year-over-year.
"Foreclosures are continuing to boil over in a select group of markets where state legislation and court rulings kept a lid on foreclosure activity during the worst of the housing crisis," said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac's spokesperson.
Overall, foreclosure activity in July impacted almost 131,000 homes, down 64% from the peak in early 2010, but still 54% above the average monthly foreclosure activity before the 2006 housing bust.
Based on the declining pace of foreclosure activity over the past 40 months, it might be early 2015 before national foreclosure activity returns to its pre-housing bust average, Blomquist adds.
