A report by RealtyTrac on Thursday revealed default notices filed by banks – which represent the first step in the foreclosure process –were up 33 percent in August from July. Many analysts believe this is due to banks beginning to clear backlogged filings caused by the robo-signing controversy of 2010, which created a de facto moratorium on foreclosures around the country. In California, filings were up even more than the average at 55 percent, and in New Jersey levels of default notices reached 42 percent. Don Roeske has lived with his wife, Peggy, in the same house in Somerset, New Jersey for the last 37 years, and received a foreclosure notice in June. Susan M. Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania, talks about the impact of foreclosures on the housing market. The Takeaway asked Bank of America for their input on the news, and they provided us with this statement.