B of A sending out lots more foreclosure filings

As much as 200 percent more in August compared with previous months, CNBC is reporting. Bank filings had been lagging for much of 2011, though for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Some say it was due to regulatory holdups, some say the banks didn't want to flood the market with foreclosed properties - some even suggested that the real estate market has been improving. But the slowdown appears to be ending, at least based on the August numbers. A B of A spokesman says that much of the pickup is coming from California and Nevada. From CNBC:

RealtyTrac, a widely followed foreclosure sale and data site, is also confirming a surge in overall notices of default in its August numbers, to be released later this week. They do not cite Bank of America specifically, which bought Countrywide Financial, taking on millions of troubled loans."We've been seeing REO [bank-owned property] sales, and processing of loans through foreclosure. This increase may simply be the lenders and servicers starting the next cycle. August traditionally is a high month for foreclosure actions, so part of the increase might be seasonal," says RealtyTrac's Rick Sharga. "Could be any number of reasons - but with 3.5 million delinquent loans, this had to happen sooner or later."

Not to pile on or anything, but the Obama administration's handling of the housing crisis has been, well, abysmal. From the LAT:

Home sales, prices and construction have been bad and have been getting worse for so long that Washington and many Americans have grown numb to the problem. But dig below the surface and housing turns out to be a root cause of many of the other problems that are getting more attention -- including the high level of unemployment that Obama focused on in his speech Thursday to Congress. "That's probably the biggest missing ingredient here," economist Mark Zandi said after reviewing Obama's proposed $447-billion package of tax cuts and infrastructure spending.