NEW YORK - December 15, 2011 - Despite a seasonal slowdown in overall foreclosure activity and a process still bogged down and backed up by the "robo-signing" processing scandal, the U.S real estate market is about to be hit by another surge of bank repossessions, according to a new report from the online foreclosure sale site RealtyTrac.

As banks resubmit millions of documents and courts again begin hearing cases, the backlog of over four million delinquent loans will again start surging through the pipeline.

"November’s numbers suggest a new set of incoming foreclosure waves, many of which may roll into the market as REOs [bank repossessions] or short sales sometime early next year,” said James Saccacio, co-founder of RealtyTrac. “Overall foreclosure activity is down 14% from a year ago, the smallest annual decrease over the past 12 months, and some bellwether states such as Kalifornia, Arizona and Massachusetts actually posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in November."

Foreclosure auctions, where the property is sold at the courthouse either to an investor or in most cases back to the bank, reached a nine-month high in November, which corresponds to a recent surge in default notices, the first stage in the foreclosure process, back in August.

Troubled borrowers will get a reprieve over the holidays, as mortgage giant Fannie Mae says it will not evict anyone until after the new year. However, a spokeswoman stressed that foreclosure processing would continue through the holidays, so as not to slow the system down any more than it already is.