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The US housing mess is far from over, it seems.  Foreclosure filings almost doubled in October as compared to the same month one year ago.  This is only the latest indicator that homeowners are continuing to fall behind on their home payments and that many of them are losing their homes to foreclosures.

In October of this year, 224,451 foreclosure filings were reported.  This is an increase of 94 percent from 115,568 in the same month a year ago, according to RealtyTrac, Inc.

The numbers for September of this year came in at 223,538.  Using these numbers, October had an increase of about 2 percent over September’s numbers.  Perhaps one of the most troubling numbers is that the nation had 1 foreclosure for every 555 households in October.

Fully, forty-five states out of fifty, realized an increase in mortgage foreclosure filings over last year.

While the number of filings is still up year-over-year, it has leveled off in the last two months after hitting a high for the year in August.

Much of the increase in filings is being blamed on adjustable rate mortgages that have reset to higher interest rates and thus higher monthly payments.  Homeowners under some of the more exotic types of ARM’s are seeing payments increase to the point where they simply cannot come up with the cash to pay.  In general, it normally takes about three months after a rate reset before a borrower who fails to make payments is considered in default and proceedings begin.  Some experts are estimating that there are nearly 2 million more of these loans that are due to reset to higher rates within the next eight months.

In response, many lenders have begun to tighten credit standards which will dramatically limit new loans and refinance options for many homeowners.

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