(Reuters) – The number of homes taken over by banks topped 100,000 for the first time in September, though foreclosures are expected to slow in coming months as lenders work through questionable paperwork, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Banks foreclosed on 102,134 properties in September, the first single month above the century mark, RealtyTrac said. There were 347,420 total foreclosure filings in September, 3 percent higher than August and 1 percent higher than a year earlier.

Some say there will be a dip in the 4th quarter, but only because on Wednesday, all 50 states launched a joint investigation of the mortgage industry after widespread reports of mortgage industry officials signing foreclosure documents without knowing their contents.

For the quarter, there were 930,437 foreclosure filings, an increase of 4 percent over the prior three months and 1 percent lower than a year ago. One in every 139 homes received a foreclosure filing in the third quarter.

Nevada had the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, up 1% from earlier, for the 15th quarter in a row. One in every 29 Nevada homes received a foreclosure filing during the third quarter.

Looking at total numbers of foreclosures, California was worst, with 191,016, followed by Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. Combined, the five states accounted for half of all foreclosures last quarter.

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