(Image Source: Business Week )

 

BY LOGAN TITTLE

 

Banks are handing out more foreclosure notices to homeowners in an effort to accelerate the housing recovery — that’s caused a 9 percent jump in the U.S. Here’s CNBC.

 

“The number of homes entering foreclosure process for the first time, increasing in June. RealtyTrac says that's the second consecutive monthly rise.”

 

Fox Business reports 1 million homes were hit with foreclosure-related warnings in the first six months of 2012. And while that number is down 11 percent from the same time last year, last month’s numbers aren’t as optimistic.

 

“...but if you focus on June, more than 100,000 homes entered the foreclosure process for the first time and that's up year-over-year...”

 

Bloomberg Businessweek explains the housing market bounceback has been held back by something called “shadow inventory” — a list of homes with mortgages at least 90 days late, in foreclosure or already owned by banks.

 

A spokesman for RealtyTrac told Bloomberg it’s been a long time coming, but it’s not as bad as it sounds.

 

“The market has to deal with these distressed properties at some point and I believe we’ve delayed it long enough so seeing these increases isn’t necessarily a bad thing...The market has strengthened and is more equipped to absorb this additional foreclosure inventory.”

 

CNN reports some of the bump in banks’ foreclosure books is due to the $26 billion foreclosure abuse settlement back in April. It created guidelines on how to properly foreclose on delinquent borrowers. Still, optimism remains.

 

“There's a good chance...many of those homes will not end up being repossessed by the banks since government and other foreclosure prevention efforts are getting better at helping borrowers work out their payment problems … stabilizing and … rebounding home prices should help many borrowers … by lifting their home values to a point where they no longer owe more on their homes than they are worth … ”

 

But the Associated Press says economists still think the housing market isn’t close to a full recovery seeing as there are roughly 3 million homes behind on mortgages and nearly 13 million people who still owe more than their houses are worth.