by Calculated Risk on 8/13/2009 08:50:00 PM

In early April, a Homeowner Protection Act was signed into law in Illinois that delayed foreclosures for a short period. Foreclosure filings plummeted for a couple of months, but filings are now increasing again.

From the Chicago Tribune: Foreclosure actions delayed in spring move into system in summer

Initial notices of default, the first legal step in the foreclosure process, dropped substantially in the six-county Chicago area during the past three months, largely because of a 70 percent drop in filings over a 30-day period begun in early April, according to a midyear report from Chicago-based think tank Woodstock Institute. However, foreclosure efforts appear to again be on the rise.

In April, default notices were recorded on 5,539 homes in the Chicago area. After plummeting to 1,694 notices in May, default filings rose to 3,468 in June, Woodstock found.
...
Woodstock's data also shows that lower-income areas continue to have a higher raw number of foreclosures, but more-affluent areas are posting the bigger percentage gains in foreclosure activity. ...

Last month [according to RealtyTrac], 14,524 Illinois properties, 35 percent more than in June, received notices of initial default, sheriff sale and bank repossessions. During July, 6,770 Illinois homeowners were served with initial notices of default. That compares with 3,648 default notices in June, 3,139 notices in May and 6,407 notices in April. Bank repossessions, which increase the number of foreclosed homes for sale, also jumped. Lenders repossessed 3,700 Illinois homes last month.

The low end areas will always have the most foreclosures, but foreclosure activity is picking up in the mid-to-high end areas. But where will the buyers come from in the mid-to-high end areas?

First time buyers in affluent areas? I don't think so.

Investors looking for cash flow? The number don't work.

Move-up buyers selling their homes? A large number of sellers at the low-to-mid end are lenders ...