Summary Box: Home repossessions surged in July, pace of new home loan defaults slowed further

Summary Box: Homes lost to foreclosure up 6 pct

REPOSSESSIONS RISING: The number of homes lost to foreclosure jumped 6 percent in July from the same month last year and climbed 9 percent from June’s tally as lenders step up the pace on repossessions to clear out the backlog of bad loans.

INITIAL DEFAULTS FALLING: Lenders continued to dial back the pace of initial default notices. The number of properties receiving such notices tumbled 28 percent versus July last year.

FIVE WORST: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Arizona combined accounted for 50 percent of all U.S. households receiving foreclosure notices last month.