My Real Estate Blog

Bank of America has announced that foreclosures are resuming in over two dozen states. The bank says in its review, it has not found a single occasion where a foreclosure proceeded in error.

"We voluntarily paused our process in the 23 judicial states, not because there was evidence of problems -- there was not -- but because we wanted to ensure our customers they are being treated fairly," said Dan Frahm, a bank spokesman.

Guy Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry publication, reports that "this draws a line in the sand that the banks expect this problem will be over in relatively short order and it will be back to business as usual. If Bank of America can do it, certainly the smaller ones will follow suit."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement that an inter-agency task force on financial fraud has launched an investigation into the foreclosure process. He also says the Federal Housing Administration, a federal agency that guarantees mortgages, is investigating, too.

Gibbs says the administration supports an effort by attorneys general in 50 states to investigate the matter. Several administration officials, however, have said over the past week that they don't back a nationwide halt to foreclosures.

The housing market continues to recover, however, despite these temporary halts and setbacks. Nationwide housing starts moved upward 0.3%. This is a minor gain, but a move in the right direction.