According to RealtyTrac, an online firm specializing in foreclosure properties, the deepening crisis in the housing market is evident from the fact that the year-on-year US home foreclosure activity in April soared to a record high of 32 percent – marking the second monthly jump in a row!

However, the ascent in foreclosures in April was only 1 percent from the figures in March, when foreclosure activity leaped 17 percent from February; thereby indicating a 46 percent rise compared to the same-month earlier-year figures.

As per the private data, foreclosure filings – including home-loan default notices, bank repossessions, and auction sale notices - during the month of April, were reported on 342,038 homes in the US. The figures underline the problems homeowners are facing due to swelling unemployment and tight credit in the recession-hit economy. 

Noting that a majority of the April filings were in early stages and that bank repossessions had fallen to their lowest on monthly and yearly basis,

James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO, said: “This suggests that many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria.”

Based on the fact that there mostly is a six-month lag between unemployment and foreclosure, RealtyTrac predicts at least 3-4 months of soaring foreclosure activity before the high-tide shows signs of receding.