The Future Of Foreclosures

So how much work is there maintaining foreclosed homes, and what does the future of this niche business look like going forward? Nationally, 1.17 million homes got a foreclosure notice in the first six months of 2011. That translated to a rate of one filing - for default, auction or bank repossession - for every 111 properties.

''It would be nice to report that foreclosure activity is dropping as a result of improvements in the economy or the housing market,'' James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a recent statement. But with increasing unemployment, weak consumer confidence, and languishing home sales and prices, that's not the case, he said.

Rather, processing delays have simply delayed foreclosures.

''We estimate that as many as one million foreclosure actions that should have taken place in 2011 will now happen in 2012, or perhaps even later,'' Saccacio said.