Foreclosures spike again in February

March 30, 2009 | Brian Lebars

It was starting to look like the problem was easing before January, when foreclosure starts declined to 69,000 in November from 77,000 in October and then dropped again to 56,000 in December. But in January the number of started foreclosures jumped to 217,000, and now February’s numbers have leaped up again to 243,000. 87,000 homes were repossessed (foreclosures completed) by banks during February, a 28% jump from the 68,000 foreclosures completed in January. Since the mortgage meltdown hit in July 2007, 1,395,044 homes have been lost. In February, nearly 250,000 homeowners received either mortgage modifications or repayment plans from their lenders, according to Hope Now, the coalition of lenders, investors, and community advocacy groups put together by the Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention initiative.