Properties Entering The Foreclosure Process Spiked 200% In New York

New York City's comeback has been one of the hottest housing stories.

Ex-distressed properties, home prices were up 21 percent in the last three months. And overall, home prices were up an annualized 18 percent.

But today we got a worrisome detail from RealtyTrac. New York saw a 200 percent year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts last month.

A rise in foreclosure starts – the pace at which mortgages enter the foreclosure process – is cause for concern since declining inventory is one of the main factors that had helped revive home prices.

New York is a judicial foreclosure state, and at 1,049 days, it has the longest foreclosure timeline in the country. This suggests that foreclosed properties will continue to trickle onto the market. Analysts and investors will be watching to see the pace at which foreclosures come through the pipeline, to gauge the impact on home prices.