RealtyTrac, recently released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for May 2010. The report shows that foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 322,920 properties in May 2010 in the USA.

This represents a -3% decrease from the previous month but with an increase of less than +1% from May 2009. One in every 400 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said: “The numbers in May continued and confirmed the trends we noticed in April: overall foreclosure activity is leveling off while lenders work through the backlog of distressed properties that have built up over the past 20 months.

“Defaults and scheduled auctions combined increased by +28% from 2007 to 2008 and another 32% from 2008 to 2009 - creating a build-up of delayed bank repossessions.

“Lenders appear to be ramping up the pace of completing those forestalled foreclosures even while the inflow of delinquencies into the foreclosure process has slowed.”

Bank repossessions (REOs) hit a record monthly high for the second month in a row in May, with a total of 93,777 U.S. properties repossessed by lenders during the month - an increase of +1% from the previous month and an increase of +44% from May 2009. All 50 states posted year-over-year increases in REO activity.

Nevada , Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates in May

With one in every 79 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in May, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest foreclosure rate despite a nearly 12 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month and a 16 percent decrease from May 2009. The state’s foreclosure rate was more than five times the national average.

Foreclosure activity in Arizona increased by less than +1% from the previous month and was down nearly -5% from May 2009, but the state posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate for the second month in a row.

One in every 169 Arizona properties received a foreclosure notice during the month - more than twice the national average.

One in every 174 Florida properties received a foreclosure notice in May, the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate, and one in every 186 California properties received a foreclosure notice in May, the fourth highest state foreclosure rate.

Foreclosure activity in Michigan increased nearly +6% from the previous month and was up +46% from May 2009, helping the state post the nation’s fifth highest foreclosure rate - one in every 223 Michigan properties received a foreclosure filing in May.

Other states in the USA with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in May were Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Maryland.