(cnnmoney) If there's one thing to count on these days, it's that every month the foreclosure crisis will get worse. January was no exception. Filings of all types, including default notices, auction notices and bank repossessions, soared by 57% compared with last year, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosure properties. A total of 233,001 homes were affected, 8% more than in December. Of that total, 45,327 homes were lost to bank repossessions during the month. The only good news was the comparatively modest month-to-month increase in total filings. "It could be that some of the efforts on the part of lenders and the government - both at the state and federal level - are beginning to take effect," said James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO. "The big question is whether those efforts are truly helping homeowners avoid foreclosure in the long term, or if they are just forestalling the inevitable for many beleaguered borrowers," he said. Many mortgage-assistance efforts simply give borrowers a chance to pay off missed payments, rather than lowering monthly payments, which effectively just delays foreclosures. But now lenders claim they are restructuring more mortgages by lowering or freezing interest rates and reducing balances. These solutions are much more likely to help people save their homes.

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