Olick -- Holiday Moratoria Didn't Reduce Foreclosures

Diana Olick of CNBC pointed to a surge of 14% in foreclosures in December -- a month in which foreclosures traditionally drop off because lenders impose moratoria over the holidays. Olick asked RealtyTrac's Rick Sharga why, and here's his answer: "In fact, our numbers surged in early December and dropped off significantly throughout the month. We've attributed the growth to this being the end of both the quarter and the year, and lenders trying to clean up their books. Secondarily we're probably starting to see some of the foreclosures hitting the books now after being delayed over the past few months by legislative or procedural issues (Nevada, for example, was up significantly after two months of artificially low numbers while the state put its mandatory mediation program in place). The spike in REOs also supports this theory." Olick adds that many of those borrowers who didn't make the final cut in the government's Home Affordable Modification Program are going back on
to the foreclosure rolls