According to a report of RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, the foreclosure filings during March have been reported on 234.685 properties in the United States, five percent more than a month before and a 57 percent increase from the same month a year before.

"The March numbers show that overall foreclosure activity so far this year continues to run nearly 60 percent above the levels we saw last year," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

The report, which was released on Tuesday, also showed that one in every 538 US households has received a foreclosure filling during March 2008.

"On a year-over-year basis, default notices were up nearly 57 percent and bank repossessions were up nearly 129 percent, but auction notices were up only 32 percent, indicating that more defaulting homeowners are simply walking away and deeding their properties back to the foreclosing lender. This deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure process allows the lender to take possession of a property without putting it up for public foreclosure auction," Saccacio added.

In addition, the report revealed that bank repossessions increased by 129 percent from 12 months ago, as homeowners found it hard to make their mortgage payments.

RealtyTrac is one the largest and most comprehensive national database regarding foreclosures and bank- owned properties, as it is the data provider for MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

Taking into consideration its March 2008 US Foreclosure Market Report, RealtyTrac forecasted that the state of things in the present is yet to worsen, saying that it is expected that the third quarter of the current fiscal year would see even more foreclosure activity.

Among the states that posted the top foreclosure rates are Nevada, California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts and Maryland.