Foreclosure activity sets records in 1Q 2009

One in every 159 U.S. housing units have received a foreclosure notice already this year.  Foreclosure filings during the first quarter of 2009 increased 24 percent over the same quarter in 2008, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The pace also appears to be increasing with 17 percent more default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions reported in March than in February. March 2009 saw 46 percent more foreclosure filings than March 2008. Both the March and first quarter 2009 totals were the highest on record since the report was first published in January 2005. "In the month of March we saw a record level of foreclosure activity, the number of households that received a foreclosure filing was more than 12 percent higher than the next highest month on record