The Repo Man Is Still Taking Our Houses

Florida still leads the country in overall foreclosure activity, but Maryland and Oregon experienced dramatic increases in foreclosure starts in recent months. Meanwhile, bank repossessions climbed significantly in Kentucky and New York.

The number of U.S. homes entering the foreclosure process hit a seven-year low between July and September, but bank repossessions were up 7 percent from the previous quarter, with Kentucky seeing the biggest jump, up nearly 70 percent, new data show.

Even with its sharp increase in repossessions, Kentucky’s overall foreclosure rate—which includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—ranked 36th among the states in the third quarter, according to a new data released Thursday (Oct. 10) from RealtyTrac, which follows real estate trends.