RIVERSIDE – Foreclosure sales in Riverside County picked up last month, dovetailing with a statewide trend, a real estate tracking firm reported on Nov. 13. 

Bay Area-based ForeclosureRadar.com’s monthly "Foreclosure Report" showed a total 1,020 repossessed properties were sold countywide in October, compared to 864 in September, about an 18 percent increase. 

The county’s foreclosure sales, however, were down 22 percent from a year ago, when 1,311 homes were auctioned off, figures showed. 

In California, sales of distressed properties rose nine percent in October but were down 28 percent compared to the same period in 2011. 

ForeclosureRadar.com founder Sean O’Toole expects foreclosure activity Advertisement

[ The Tutoring Center ] to be flat after the start of the year as the California Homeowner Bill of Rights goes into effect. 

"This is another example of where changes in foreclosure trends are driven by government intervention, and not necessarily economic recovery," O’Toole said. 

After Jan. 1, state law will require loan servicers to suspend any foreclosure proceeding during the time a mortgage holder is seeking a loan modification to prevent his or her property from being repossessed, and homeowners will have the ability to sue and seek monetary damages from servicers who fail to follow all legally required steps in a foreclosure proceeding.