Despite halts on new foreclosures by several major lenders, the number of households threatened with losing their homes rose 30 percent in February from last year's levels, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. Nationwide, nearly 291,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice last month, up 6 percent from January, according to the Irvine, Calif-based company. Also on Thursday the Federal Reserve released its “Flow of Funds Accounts” quarterly report which showed the net worth of US households fell nearly 18 percent of $11.2 trillion in 2008. Household net worth - the difference between the value of assets and liabilities - was an estimated $51.47 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2008, down $5.1 trillion from the preceding quarter, the US central bank said. For 2008 as a whole, household net worth fell $11.2 trillion from $62.68 trillion in the previous year. The 2008 figure is the lowest since 2004, when household wealth was at 51.87 trillion dollars, the report said. While foreclosures are highly concentrated in the Western states and Florida, the problem is spreading to states like Idaho, Illinois and Oregon as the US economy worsens. “It doesn't bode well,” for the embattled US housing market, said Rick Sharga, vice president for marketing at RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing firm. “At least for the foreseeable future, it's going to continue to be pretty ugly.” The rise in foreclosure filings came despite temporary halts to foreclosures by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and major banks JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America. Those companies pledged to do so in advance of President Barack Obama's plan to stem the foreclosure crisis, which was launched last week. Two states that contributing to the increase were Florida and New York, where temporary bans on foreclosures ended. But other states are moving to enact similar measures. On Wednesday the Michigan House approved legislation that would give homeowners facing foreclosure a 90-day reprieve. The legislation now goes to Michigan's Republican-led Senate, where its future is unclear. While the number of foreclosures continue to soar nationwide, banks have held off listing properties for sale, Sharga said. There were around 700,000 such properties nationwide at the end of last year, making up a “shadow inventory” of unsold homes that could drag the housing crisis out even longer.
