California Foreclosure Sales Jump Again in June

June foreclosure sales in California spiked the third consecutive month as moratoriums expire for lenders, according to the California Foreclosure Report from ForeclosureRadar.com.

The sales jumped by 24.7% after a 31.9% increase in May and a 35% hike in April. Banks issued 44,691 notices of default in the month of June, the second highest level on record and an 11.8% increase from May and a 10% hike from June 2008.

Notices of trustee sales declined by 28.7% in June. Researchers cited in the report that timing of the California Foreclosure Prevention Act caused the dip in notices. The legislation adds 90 days to the time a lender must wait before filing a notice of trustee sale, The 22,291 foreclosures taken to auction in June represented $9.57bn in loans, a 24.7% jump from May but 8.2% lower than June 2008.

Lenders can avoid the additional waiting period if they put in place a loan modification program. Almost all lenders in the California earned exemption as of June 16, but the notice filings still dropped significantly, according to the report.

“Given the number of exempt lenders it was quite surprising to see Notice of Trustee Sale filings drop by nearly 50 percent the day the new law went into effect,” said Sean O’Toole, CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com, in the report.

Write to Jon Prior.