The year over year stats for foreclosures in October rose by 25%. And foreclosures were up 5% in October over September of this year. All of this, reports Stock Market Funding, despite a law in California requiring mortgage lenders to try and save homes from foreclosure:

The Calif. law, which requires lenders to contact homeowners and explore options to avoid foreclosure before initiating the process, took effect in early September and drove the state’s foreclosure activity rates down, at a pace of 31.6% from August to September and 18% from September to October.

Since most states have yet to enact such a law, the effect on national foreclosures has not offered much help. Another issue is the fact that government efforts to induce loan modification all require delinquency in payment for 90 days, and that may be encouraging foreclosure proceedings to start as homeowners deliberately stop paying on their mortgage in order to get federal help.