Depends on where the foreclosures are clustered.

Maryland should have just let the foreclosures go through years ago like DC and VA. All they did was delay the inevitable and will now suffer as a result. I'm sure it will affect housing prices in MoCo.

Most likely, the increase in REO properties will have little effect in most areas of the County due to the very low level of inventory. As of today, there are only about 80 active foreclosures on the market in MoCo. Additionally, it could take the lenders up to two+ years to actually foreclose. They are also actively requesting owners of occupied homes to consider a loan modification or to do a short sale when possible.

Yes, because foreclosures were essentially shut down due to litigation for several years prior, so of course there would be a spike once foreclosures were again allowed to proceed.

I wonder how this will affect housing prices.

"Foreclosure filings in both D.C. and the Virginia suburbs of Fairfax and Arlington are down significantly year-over-year, while in Maryland's nearby Frederick and Montgomery counties, the rate of new foreclosures is skyrocketing."

http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/15/real_estate/foreclosure-states/index.html?hpt=hp_t2