A new report from real estate data and analytics provider RealtyTrac shows foreclosure filings surged up 8 percent in January compared with December, with  default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions reported on 124,419 U.S. properties. Foreclosure filings were still down 18 percent from January 2013. The report also shows one in every 1,058 U.S. housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month.

Connecticut saw the second-highest surge among all states in foreclosure activity.

January marked the 40th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity declined on an annual basis, but the annual decline of 18 percent was the smallest annual decline since September 2012, and the 8 percent monthly increase was the biggest month-over-month increase since May 2012.

"The monthly increase in January foreclosure activity was somewhat expected after a holiday lull, but the sharp annual increases in some states shows that many states are not completely out of the woods when it comes to cleaning up the wreckage of the housing bust,"  Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said in a statement. "The foreclosure rebound pattern is not only showing up in judicial states like New Jersey, where foreclosure activity reached a 40-month high in January, but also some non-judicial states like California, where foreclosure starts jumped 57 percent from a year ago, following 17 consecutive months of annual decreases."

A total of 57,259 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process for the first time in January, up 10 percent from the previous month but still down 12 percent from January 2013 – the 18th consecutive month where foreclosure starts have decreased annually.

Counter to the national trend, January foreclosure starts increased from a year ago in 22 states, including Maryland (up 126 percent), Connecticut (up 82 percent), New Jersey (up 79 percent), California (up 57 percent) and Pennsylvania (up 39 percent).

Scheduled foreclosure auctions (which are also foreclosure starts in some states) increased 13 percent in January compared with the previous month but were still down 8 percent from a year ago – the 38th consecutive month where U.S. scheduled foreclosure auctions have decreased annually.

Counter to the national trend, scheduled foreclosure auctions increased from a year ago in 27 states, including Oregon (up 326 percent), Connecticut (up 223 percent), Maryland (up 113 percent), New York (up 73 percent) and Nevada (up 73 percent).

There were a total of 30,226 U.S. bank repossessions (REO) in January, down 4 percent from the previous month and down 40 percent from January 2013 to the lowest level since July 2007 – a 78-month low.

Counter to the national trend, 12 states posted annual increases in REO activity in January, including New York (up 118 percent), Oklahoma (up 93 percent), Connecticut (up 75 percent), New Jersey (up 26 percent) and Maryland (up 11 percent).

States with the highest foreclosure rates in January were Florida, Nevada, Maryland, Illinois and New Jersey.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest in January were Illinois (one in every 603 housing units with a foreclosure filing), New Jersey (one in every 619 housing units), Connecticut (one in every 752 housing units), Delaware (one in every 818 housing units), South Carolina (one in every 850 housing units), Ohio (one in every 885 housing units) and California (one in every 921 housing units).

Eight of the top 10 foreclosure rates in January among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more were in Florida, led by Port St. Lucie with one in every 211 housing units with a foreclosure filing – more than five times the national average.