More than 2.8 million properties in the United States had foreclosure filings on them in 2009, according to research firm RealtyTrac Inc.

In its year-end foreclosure report released Thursday, the Irvine, Calif.-based firm said there were 4 million default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions filed on the 2.8 million properties last year.

The number of properties -- one in every 45 housing units -- was up 21 percent from 2008 and up 120 percent from 2007.

One bright spot was that fourth quarter foreclosure activity was down 7 percent from the third quarter.

RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said 2009 numbers would have been worse without legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans.

But Saccacio warned that delinquencies will hound the housing market in 2010 with many of those loans ending up in foreclosure.

In Indiana, 41,405 properties had at least one foreclosure filing on them in 2009. The tally was down nearly 10 percent from a year earlier. Illinois had 131,132 foreclosure filings last year, up 32 percent from 2008.

Illinois had the ninth-highest foreclosure filing rate -- one in 40 -- in the country and Indiana had the 18th highest rate -- one in 67 -- in the country.