RealtyTrac report: Foreclosure activity increases six percent in FebruaryMortgagePress.comRealtyTrac, housing market, U.S. Foreclosure Market Report
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties,
today released its February 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report,
which shows foreclosure filingsdefault notices, auction sale
notices and bank repossessionswere reported on 290,631 U.S.
properties during the month, an increase of nearly six percent from
the previous month and an increase of nearly 30 percent from
February 2008. The report also shows one in every 440 U.S. housing
units received a foreclosure filing in February.
"The increase in foreclosure activity from January to February
is somewhat surprising, given that many of the foreclosure
prevention efforts and moratoria in place in January were extended
through most of February as well," said James J. Saccacio, chief
executive officer of RealtyTrac. "There were some notable
exceptions to this: A 45-day voluntary moratorium in Florida
expired at the end of January, and foreclosure activity there was
up 14 percent from the previous month; and many New York
foreclosure proceedings delayed by a new law for an extra 90 days
appear to have hit the system in February, when the state's
foreclosure activity increased 23 percent from the previous
month."
Nevada, Arizona, California post top state foreclosure
rates
With one in every 70 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing
in February, Nevada continued to document the nation's top state
foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 15,783
Nevada properties during the month, a nine percent increase from
the previous month and a 156 percent increase from February
2008.
Arizona posted the nation's second highest state foreclosure
rate in February, with one in every 147 housing units receiving a
foreclosure filing during the month, and California posted the
nation's third highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every
165 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation's
10 highest were Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon
and Ohio.
California, Florida, Arizona post highest foreclosure
totals
Foreclosure filings were reported on 80,775 California properties
in February, the most of any state and a 5 percent increase from
the previous month. The state's foreclosure activity increased 51
percent from February 2008, with auction sale notices increasing
nearly 179 percentthe most of any category on a year-over-year
basis.
Florida foreclosure activity increased nearly 14 percent from
the previous month and 43 percent from February 2008thanks in large
part to a nearly 158 percent year-over-year increase in auction
sale notices and a 128 percent year-over-year increase in bank
repossessions. With 46,391 properties receiving a foreclosure
filing, the state posted the nation's second highest state total in
February.
Arizona posted the third highest state total in February, with
18,119 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the montha
23 percent increase from the previous month and an 88 percent
increase from February 2008.
Nevada, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Georgia and Virginia
also reported foreclosure totals that were among the nation's 10
highest.
Sunbelt cities post top metro foreclosure
rates
One in every 60 Las Vegas housing units received a foreclosure
filing in February, giving the city the nation's highest
foreclosure rate among metro areas with a population of at least
200,000. The city's foreclosure rate was more than seven times
higher than the national average. Another Nevada metro area posted
a foreclosure rate in the top 10: Reno-Sparks ranked No. 8, with
one in every 108 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., metro area documented the
second highest foreclosure rate in February, with one in every 65
housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.
Six California cities registered foreclosure rates among the top
10: Stockton at No. 3 (one in 67 housing units), Modesto at No. 4
(one in 68), Merced at No. 5 (one in 74), Riverside-San Bernardino
at No. 6 (one in 80), Bakersfield at No. 7 (one in 85), and
Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 10 (one in 111).
With one in every 110 housing units receiving a foreclosure
filing, the Phoenix metro area posted the ninth highest foreclosure
rate in February.
The RealtyTrac 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. Data is collected from more than 2,200
counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90
percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTracs 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 or quarter, 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 or quarter. 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.
