Hawaiian Foreclosures Hit All-Time High

A report from real estate research firm RealtyTrac Inc. said there were 1,629 Hawaii August foreclosure filings, which eclipsed the prior record of 1,534 in December and was almost twice as many as the 869 filings in August 2009. The surge last month followed a 6 percent decline in July filings over the same month a year earlier.

Some suspected in recent months that the slack was due to lender processing issues. August's record appears to bear that out. Compared with other states, Hawaii's rate was 10th highest, which is the worst position Hawaii has occupied since RealtyTrac began its reports in 2005. Hawaii had the 10th-highest rate in December, as well.

Nationally, there was one foreclosure filing for every 381 households. There were 338,836 filings nationally in August, which was down 5.5 percent from the same month last year. RealtyTrac noted that nearly a third of the filings, or 95,364, in August were lender repossessions. That was a record, and suggests that troubled properties are exiting foreclosure and alleviating a backlog. RealtyTrac said foreclosure starts nationally have been declining.