RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report: Foreclosure activity increases four percent in April '08MortgagePress.comRealtyTrac, foreclosures, U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, default notices, auction sale notices, bank repossessions
Foreclosure activity up 65 percent from April
2007
RealtyTrac released its April 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market
Report, which shows foreclosure filings--default notices, auction
sale notices and bank repossessions--were reported on 243,353
properties, a four percent increase from the previous month and a
nearly 65 percent increase from April 2007. The report also shows
one in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing
during the month.
RealtyTrac publishes a comprehensive national database of
foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5 million
properties from over 2,200 counties across the country, and is the
foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate
and The Wall Street Journals Real Estate Journal.
"The total number of U.S. properties with foreclosure activity
in April was the highest monthly total we've seen since we began
issuing the report in January 2005," said James J. Saccacio, chief
executive officer of RealtyTrac. "Although only about two percent
of households nationwide are in foreclosure, these properties
contribute to already bloated inventories of homes for sale, and
put downward pressure on home values. Areas of California, Florida,
Nevada and Arizona continue to be particularly hard-hit. Property
tax bases are eroding, putting municipal budgets in peril. For
example, the city council in Vallejo, Calif.--part of a
metropolitan area with a foreclosure rate that ranked sixth highest
in the nation in April - last week voted to have the city file for
bankruptcy."
Nevada, California, Arizona post top state foreclosure
rates
Despite a five percent month-over-month decrease in foreclosure
activity in April, Nevada continued to document the nation's
highest state foreclosure rate. One in every 146 Nevada households
received a foreclosure filing in April, 3.6 times the national
average, and the state's foreclosure activity was up 95 percent
from April 2007.
California posted the second highest state foreclosure rate in
April, with one in every 204 households receiving a foreclosure
filing during the month. Foreclosure filings were reported on
64,683 California properties in April, down less than one percent
from the previous month but still the most of any state and an
increase of 112 percent from April 2007.
Arizona foreclosure activity in April increased 26 percent from
the previous month and 181 percent from April 2007, helping to bump
the state's foreclosure rate up to third highest among the states.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 11,620 Arizona properties in
March, one in every 224 total households.
With one in every 242 households receiving a foreclosure filing
in April, Florida documented the nation's fourth highest state
foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 35,264
Florida properties during the month, the nation's second highest
total. Florida foreclosure activity increased nearly 17 percent on
a month-to-month basis and 146 percent on a year-over-year
basis.
Colorado foreclosure activity in April was down nearly three
percent from the previous month and up just three percent from
April 2007, but the state's foreclosure rate still registered fifth
highest among the states. One in every 349 Colorado households
received a foreclosure filing in April, nearly 1.5 times the
national average.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10
were Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan and Massachusetts.
California, Florida, Ohio report highest foreclosure
totals
Foreclosure filings were reported on 11,680 Ohio properties in
April, the third highest state total behind California and Florida.
Ohio foreclosure activity increased nearly four percent from the
previous month and more than two percent from April 2007. The
state's foreclosure rate continued to rank among the top 10, with
one in every 432 households receiving a foreclosure filing during
the month.
With foreclosure filings reported on 11,406 properties in April,
Texas reported the fifth highest total, behind Arizona at number
four. Foreclosure activity in Texas increased nearly seven percent
from the previous month but was down less than one percent from
April 2007. With one in every 809 Texas households receiving a
foreclosure filing during the month, the state's foreclosure rate
registered below the national average and ranked number 17 among
the states.
Other states in the top 10 for total properties with filings
were Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and Maryland.
California and Florida cities account for nine of top 10
metro rates
Six California cities documented foreclosure rates that ranked in
the top 10 among the 230 metropolitan areas tracked in the report.
Merced took the top spot, with one in every 66 households receiving
a foreclosure filing during the month, followed by Stockton at No.
2, Modesto at number three and Riverside-San Bernardino at number
four. Other California cities on the list were Vallejo-Fairfield at
number six and Bakersfield at number eight.
Three Florida cities registered foreclosure rates among the top
10: Cape Coral-Fort Myers at number five; Port Lucie-Fort Pierce at
number nine; and Fort Lauderdale at number 10.
With one in every 116 households received foreclosure filings in
April, the Las Vegas metro area documented the nation's seventh
highest metro rate.
The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a
count of the total number of properties with at least one
foreclosure filing reported during the month--broken out by type of
filing at the state and national level. Data is also available at
the individual county level. RealtyTrac's report incorporates
documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default Notice
of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction Notice of Trustee
Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real
Estate-Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and
repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is
filed against a property during the month--which is extremely
rare--only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The
report also checks if the same type of document was filed against a
property in a previous month. If so, and if that previous filing
occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state
the property is in, the report does not count the property in the
current month.
For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.
