Foreclosure rate: one in every 196 U.S. households. Pretty scary stuff!

But, hey, the White House and Congress are there to help. So far they’ve done nothing, but they’re there!

Foreclosures jump 30 percent in 3rd quarter

Congress, White House debate solutions to help people keep their homes

As Congress and the White House continue to work toward solutions to help embattled homeowners, home foreclosure filings took a big jump in the third quarter, according to the latest data from real estate Web site RealtyTrac.

Foreclosure actions were reported on more than 446,000 properties the three months ended Sept. 30, up 30 percent from the second quarter and double last year’s third quarter. That brings the overall foreclosure rate to one in every 196 U.S. households.
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“Given the number of loans due to reset through the middle of 2008, and the continuing weakness in home sales, we would expect foreclosure activity to remain high and even increase over the next year in many markets,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

John W. Schoen, Senior Producer, MSNBC

MSNBC.com