Foreclosure filings were down 18% from a year ago, but up 8% on the month, the biggest monthly increase since May 2012.
The rise in foreclosure activity was driven by a surge in foreclosure starts - properties that have started the foreclosure process and scheduled foreclosure auctions.
"The monthly increase in January foreclosure activity was somewhat expected after a holiday lull, but the sharp annual increases in some states shows that many states are not completely out of the woods when it comes to cleaning up the wreckage of the housing bust," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac in a press release.
"The foreclosure rebound pattern is not only showing up in judicial states like New Jersey, where foreclosure activity reached a 40-month high in January, but also some non-judicial states like California, where foreclosure starts jumped 57 percent from a year ago, following 17 consecutive months of annual decreases."
We drew on RealtyTrac's report to highlight the 14 metros with the highest foreclosure rates.
Note: The metros are ranked by foreclosure rate, i.e., one in every X homes received a foreclosure filing.