U.S. foreclosure activity increases 75 percent in 2007MortgagePress.commortgage, statistics, Nevada, Florida, California, Michigan
More than 2.2 million foreclosure filings on nearly 1.3
million properties reported
RealtyTrac released
year-end data from its 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which
showed a total of 2,203,295 foreclosure filings—default
notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions—were
reported on 1,285,873 properties nationwide during 2007, up 75
percent from 2006. The report also shows that more than one percent
of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during the
year, up from .58 percent in 2006.
A total of 215,749 foreclosure filings were reported in December
2007, up 97 percent from December 2006, bringing the fourth-quarter
total to 642,150 filings on 527,740 properties, up one percent from
the previous quarter and up 86 percent from the fourth quarter of
2006.
"The year ended with a monthly increase of seven percent in
December, making it the fifth straight month with more than 200,000
foreclosure filings reported and giving the fourth quarter the
highest quarterly total we've seen since we began issuing our
report in January 2005," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive
officer of RealtyTrac. "It also pushed the foreclosure filing total
for 2007 well over two million. While filings were up 75 percent,
the number of properties in some stage of foreclosure was up 79
percent, indicating that some properties may have just entered the
initial stage of foreclosure in 2007 and could be going through the
rest of the foreclosure process in 2008—unless lender and
government intervention efforts begin to gain more traction.
Top annual foreclosure rates
Nevada posted the nation's highest state foreclosure rate for 2007,
with 3.4 percent of its households entering some stage of
foreclosure during the year, more than three times the national
average. The state documented the highest monthly foreclosure rate
in all 12 months of the year. For the year, a total of 66,316
foreclosure filings on 34,417 properties were reported in Nevada,
an increase of more than 200 percent in total filings from
2006.
With more than two percent of its households entering some stage
of foreclosure during the year, Florida documented the second
highest state foreclosure rate for 2007. A total of 279,325
foreclosure filings on 165,291 properties were reported in the
state during the year, more than twice the number of filings
reported in 2006. The state's foreclosure filing total in December
was up 275 percent from December 2006, and its fourth quarter total
was up 211 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006.
Michigan documented the nation's third highest state foreclosure
for 2007, with 1.9 percent of its households entering some stage of
foreclosure during the year. A total of 136,205 foreclosure filings
on 87,210 properties were reported in the state during the year, a
68 percent increase in total filings from 2006. Michigan
foreclosure activity dipped 17 percent from the third quarter to
the fourth quarter, but its December foreclosure filing total was
still up more than 70 percent from December 2006.
California, Colorado, Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Illinois and Indiana
all posted foreclosure rates among the nation's top 10 in 2007, and
all of these states documented more than one percent of their
households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year.
Highest foreclosure filing totals
With a total of 481,392 foreclosure filings on 249,513 properties
during the year, California documented the highest number of
foreclosure filings and the most properties in some stage of
foreclosure in 2007. The state's total foreclosure filings more
than tripled from 2006, and the state's 2007 foreclosure rate, 1.9
percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during
the year, ranked fourth highest among the states. California
foreclosure filings were down three percent from the third quarter
to the fourth quarter, despite a 33 percent spike in December, but
total foreclosure filings in the fourth quarter were still nearly
three times the number reported in the fourth quarter of
2006.
Florida tallied the second highest totals, both in terms of
foreclosure filings and properties entering some stage of
foreclosure in 2007.
Ohio's total foreclosure filings, 153,196, and total properties
entering some stage of foreclosure, 89,979, both ranked third
highest among the states for 2007. The state's foreclosure filings
increased 88 percent from 2006, and its 2007 foreclosure rate was
the nation's sixth highest, with 1.8 percent of the state's
households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. Ohio
took a high ranking for the year, despite a dip in foreclosure
activity in the fourth quarter, when foreclosure filings decreased
two percent from the previous quarter. The state's December
foreclosure filings were down 26 percent from the previous month,
but still up 64 percent from December 2006.
Other states with foreclosure filing totals among the top 10 were
Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona and
Nevada.
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