Foreclosure activity among US properties rose to the highest level on record in the third quarter, as bold government stimulus measures failed to keep homeowners from defaulting.

Default notices, auction sales and bank repossessions jumped by five per cent from the second quarter to the third quarter and were up by 23 per cent year-on-year, according to RealtyTrac. That was the highest quarterly increase since the foreclosure tracking company started keeping records in 2005.