The housing market has shown some promising signs of late, but a fresh batch of foreclosure data offers a reminder that any recovery from the housing bust will likely be slow, spotty and painful.

RealtyTrac reported Thursday that foreclosure filings rose by 9 percent in May from a month earlier, to 205,990 total properties that were subject to default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions.

The jump in foreclosure activity was likely because lenders are finally getting to a backlog of homes they might have started foreclosing on last year if they weren’t facing criticism for cutting corners and pushing foreclosures through too quickly and without adequate controls, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president with RealtyTrac.

By Allison Linn, MSNBC.com

Posted by Libergirl