More Foreclosures Coming?

From CNNMoney.com - "Foreclosures dip - but hold the applause":

November foreclosure filings fell to 259,085, or one for every 488 households in the nation, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosure properties. That was down from October, but up 28% from November of 2007.

A total of 78,179 families lost their homes during the month, down 8% from October when 84,868 homes were repossessed by lenders. A total of 1,014,618 homes have been lost to foreclosure since the housing crisis hit back in August 2007.

Loan modifications not getting the job done:

Meanwhile, evidence is mounting that current foreclosure-prevention efforts are falling well short of the mark.

A Dec. 8 report from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency stated that more than half of the borrowers who had their mortgages modified in the first half of 2008 are already delinquent again. Many of these delinquencies will turn into foreclosures in the coming months.

"A lot of those modifications are simply pushing back principal payments," said Sam Khater, senior economist for First American CoreLogic, a financial data and analytics company. "They're not reducing the level of debt. Many homeowners are in such bad shape that only much more drastic or radical modifications will help them."

Simply put, it looks like more foreclosures are coming since many loan modification efforts are failing. The end result, Christmas break for foreclosures and back to reality for what will be a not so happy New Year for many.