April marked the second month in a row that more than 300,000 troubled homeowners received foreclosure notices, a jump of 32 percent over the same time last year, reports The Associated Press (“April Foreclosures Up 32% Over Last Year, Report Says,” May 13, 2009).

According to foreclosure data service RealtyTrac, more than 324,000 homeowners received at least one foreclosure-related notice in April. One in every 374 U.S. housing units received such a notice last month, the highest monthly foreclosure rate since RealtyTrac began collecting data in 2005.

“We’ve never seen two consecutive months like this,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president for marketing at RealtyTrac. “It’s the volume that’s surprising.”

Nevada, Florida, and California posted the highest rates of foreclosure of all states, with Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado, and Ohio rounding out the other top 10 states in the nation. In Nevada, one in 68 homeowners received a foreclosure filing, compared to 1 in 135 in Florida, and one in 138 in California, RealtyTrac data showed.

Although the number of homes repossessed by banks was down by about 11 percent since March, RealtyTrac cautions that what seems to be good news may not be as positive as it appears. The decline in home repossessions is likely the result of widespread mortgage moratoriums implemented earlier this year, in which banks suspended foreclosure proceedings as they waited for the launch of the government’s new Making Home Affordable plan in April.

Now that many of those moratoriums have been lifted, experts project that home repossessions may soon go back to their previous levels.

Whether Obama’s housing plan will actually help the projected 9 million homeowners seeking debt relief through mortgage modifications or refinancing remains unclear, as initial reports by homeowners indicate that lenders have been extremely slow or unresponsive to homeowners’ attempts to take advantage of the government programs.

Homeowners on the brink of foreclosure fear that the government’s housing plan may not do enough to help them keep their homes and stem the tide of foreclosures.

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