Sunday, February 1, 2009

2008 Foreclosure Activity up 81 Percent


A total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions, were reported on 2,330,483 U.S. properties during the year, an 81 percent increase in total properties from 2007 and a 225 percent increase in total properties from 2006, according to RealtyTrac®'s 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™. According to the report, 1.84 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 54) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 1.03 percent in 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 303,410 U.S. properties in December, up 17 percent from the previous month and up nearly 41 percent from December 2007, according to the report. Despite the spike in December, foreclosure activity for the fourth quarter was down nearly 4 percent from the previous quarter but still up nearly 40 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007.

More than 7 percent of Nevada housing units (one in 14) received at least one foreclosure notice in 2008, giving it the nation's highest state foreclosure rate for the year, the report said. Florida registered the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate in 2008, with 4.52 percent of its housing units (one in 22) receiving at least one foreclosure filing during the year. Arizona registered the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate, with 4.49 percent of its housing units (one in 22) receiving at least one foreclosure filing during the year. Other states with Top 10 foreclosure rates for 2008 were California, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois and New Jersey, according to the report.

A total of 523,624 California properties received a foreclosure filing in 2008, the nation's highest state total. Foreclosure activity in the state increased nearly 110 percent from 2007 and nearly 498 percent from 2006. Florida had the second highest state total, followed by Arizona.

With 9.46 percent of its housing units (one in 11) receiving a foreclosure filing during the year, Stockton, Calif., registered the highest foreclosure rate among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas in 2008, according to the report. Other California cities in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 3 (8.02 percent, or one in 12 housing units); Bakersfield ats No. 4 (6.17 percent, or one in 16 housing units); and Sacramento at No. 9 (5.20 percent, or one in 19 housing units), the report said.

Source: RealtyTrac (01/15/2009)

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