Foreclosure activity nearly doubled in July compared to the same month last year, to a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 693 U.S. households, data provider RealtyTrac reported today.
The U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for July shows 179,599 foreclosure filings for the month, which includes default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions. Foreclosure activity across the country increased 93.4 percent year-over-year in July.
Nevada remained at the top of the list with the nation’s highest foreclosure rate in July, with one foreclosure filing for every 199 households. The state reported 5,116 foreclosure filings during in July, up 215 percent compared to July 2006.
Next on the list was Georgia, which moved up from eighth in June to second in July with a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 299 households. Georgia reported 12,602 foreclosure filings in July, up 168 percent compared to July 2006, according to RealtyTrac.
Michigan took third place on the list in July, with a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure for every 320 households, up 130.3 percent compared to July 2006.
California ranked fourth with a foreclosure-filing rate of one for every 333 households, followed by Colorado at one in 347, Ohio at one in 376, Florida at one in 431, Arizona at one in 433, Massachusetts at one in 580, and Indiana at one in 609.
Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate among states in RealtyTrac’s June report, followed by California in second and Colorado in third.
The report notes that 43 states experienced year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity and five states — California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia — accounted for more than half of the nation’s total foreclosure filings.
James J. Saccacio, CEO for RealtyTrac, said in a statement, “A few states actually reported declining foreclosure activity on a year-over-year basis. Some of these states could be benefiting from increased interest from real estate investors who have pulled out of more volatile markets where home price appreciation seems to have hit its peak for the time being. In contrast, states like Texas, South Carolina and Utah have seen slow but steady price appreciation over the past five years, making them much more attractive and affordable.”
California had the highest number of foreclosure filings for the seventh month in a row in July, with 39,013 filings. Florida was second with 19,179 total foreclosure filings in July, and Michigan was third on the list with 13,979 total foreclosure filings.
Other states with foreclosure filing totals among the nation’s 10 highest in July were Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois and Nevada.
Among metropolitan areas, Detroit had the highest foreclosure rate at one filing for every 97 households. Six California metropolitan areas reported foreclosure rates among the top 10 in July: Stockton in second, followed by Merced, Modesto, and Vallejo-Fairfield. The Riverside-San Bernardino metro area was eighth on the list, and the Sacramento metro was ninth. Las Vegas had the sixth highest metro-area foreclosure filings rate, with Atlanta in seventh and Greeley, Colo., in 10th.
Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes a national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. The company maintains a blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.
