Homebuilder and real estate focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) are feeling down today after the latest round of news about foreclosure filings came in.

Filings rose 53% in June from the previous year – just another sign that the housing crisis is still in full force. One in every 501 households in the United States received a foreclosure filing last month, reports Alan Zibel for the Associated Press. Filings increased in all but 11 states, and Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan remained as the states with the top foreclosure rates.

Filings did decline month-to-month, however, and June’s numbers were 3% lower than May’s.

Efforts by some states to increase the time it takes to finalize a foreclosure seem to be working, as well, as filing numbers fell in two such states: Maryland and Massachusetts.

Trading lower today are:

• iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB), down 17.8% year-to-date
• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB), down 19.5% year-to-date
• iShares FTSE NAREIT Real Estate 50 (FTY), down 6.4% year-to-date

Tags: FTY, Homebuilders, ITB, Real Estate, REITs, XHB