RealtyTrac, a marketplace for foreclosure properties, reported an 18 percent increase in properties entering some stage of foreclosure in July compared to July 2005.
The company also reported a 5 percent increase in foreclosure activity from June to July.
The July 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report found that 92,845 properties nationwide entered a stage of foreclosure during the month, resulting in a rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 1,245 U.S. households.
With one new foreclosure filing for every 480 households, Colorado had the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the fifth month in a row, according to the report. The state reported 3,810 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 3 percent increase from the previous month and a 55 percent increase from July 2005.
Nevada had the nation’s second-highest foreclosure rate for the second straight month. The state reported 1,626 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 31 percent increase from the previous month and a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 533 households.
Texas reported 13,103 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, the most of any state for the eighth month in a row, and a 15 percent increase from the previous month. The state’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 614 households was third highest among the states and more than two times the national average, RealtyTrac reported.
Other states reporting foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Georgia, Utah, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.
The six states with the most new foreclosure filings — Texas, Florida, California, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois — accounted for 54 percent of the nation’s foreclosure activity in July, according to the RealtyTrac report.
Florida had 10,757 documented properties entering some stage of foreclosure — one new foreclosure filing for every 679 households, and a 25 percent increase in documented foreclosures from June to July.
California reported 10,025 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, six fewer than the previous month but more than twice the number reported in July 2005. The state’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 1,218 households was just above the national average for the second month in a row.
“After dropping to their lowest level of the year (in June), U.S. foreclosure filings rose back above the 90,000 mark in July and the national rate of foreclosures was almost identical to the foreclosure rate reported in May,” said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO, in a statement.
“While foreclosure activity continues to remain slightly below historical averages, the number of properties in some stage of foreclosure from January to July has increased by 39 percent compared to the same period of 2005. This increase is due largely to the combination of increased interest rates on mortgages, and a slowdown in residential real estate sales. It will be very interesting to see where the market goes over the balance of the year, as billions of dollars of adjustable-rate mortgages reset at significantly higher rates,” Saccacio added.
The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of homes entering some stage of foreclosure nationwide and by state over the preceding month. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Pre-foreclosures — notice of default (NOD) and lis pendens (LIS); foreclosures — 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).
RealtyTrac publishes a national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with about 600,000 properties from about 2,500 counties, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate, AOL Real Estate and Knight Ridder Online.
