A RealtyTrac Inc. report has revealed a rising trend in home foreclosure filings. One in 465 homes in the Houston, TX, area was foreclosed on in March, a number that is 53 percent higher than last year’s March filings. The number of homes that recieved foreclosure filings in March was also up 29 percent from the number in February.

This uncomfortable trend is mirrored at the national level, where one in 352 homes recieved a foreclosure filing. The 367,056 properties foreclosed on this March denotes a 20 percent increase from Feburary’s numbers and an 8 percent increase from last year’s numbers. RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report states that this is the highest number of home foreclosures that the United States has seen since January 2005.

“Foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2010 followed a very similar pattern to what we saw in the first quarter of 2009: A shallow trough in January and February followed by a substantial spike in March,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

This year’s trend is different from past years’ in that the trend in previous years was representative of the final stages of foreclosures, whereas this year the increase is from a 9 percent quarterly increase in bank repossessions as opposed to last year’s 13 percent quarterly decrease in bank repossessions.

If you are facing foreclosure and need legal advice regarding how to file for bankruptcy or what your repossession options are, contact Birmingham bankruptcy lawyer Paula Greenway at (205) 324-4000.