NAR finds foreclosure inventory peaked in the beginning of 2010

The amount of mortgages in the U.S. foreclosure inventory may have peaked at just over 2 million, according to a presentation from the National Association of Realtors. Citing data from the Mortgage Brokers Association and New York-based Haver Analytics, NAR showed a peak occurred in the fall of 2009 and has since dropped below 2 million as servicers have worked through the backlog, either modifying the mortgage or selling the underlying home as an REO. Not everyone agrees. Data from Lender Processing Services showed 263,000 loans entered the foreclosure process in October, which is down 4.4% from the previous month. But LPS said the total foreclosure inventory includes 2.1 million loans with another 2.2 million more than 90-days delinquent but not yet in the process. According to NAR, the peak of more than 800,000 foreclosures in the South outnumbers the inventory of the Northeast nearly four to one, and led all regions in the country. The South led with more than 200,000 mortgages that started the foreclosure process as of the first quarter of 2010. That was followed by the West with roughly 180,000, and the Midwest with nearly 110,000. The Northeast has less than 80,000 foreclosure starts as of the first quarter. Write to Jon Prior.