An estimated 446,726 properties were hit with foreclosure filings during the third quarter, a 33.9 percent increase from the previous quarter and more than double the number a year ago, according to data aggregator RealtyTrac.
Nevada, California and Florida posted the highest rates of foreclosure in the nation, followed by Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Texas.
All but five states in the nation saw year-over-year increases in foreclosure rates, RealtyTrac reported, and August and September saw the highest number of total foreclosure filings since the company began issuing reports in January 2005.
“Given the number of loans due to reset through the middle of 2008, and the continuing weakness in home sales, we would expect foreclosure activity to remain high and even increase over the next year in many markets,” James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.
The 635,159 foreclosure filings — including default notices, notices of auction sales or bank repossessions — represented a 30 percent increase from the previous quarter and 99.5 percent from a year ago. The number of filings is greater than the number of properties with filings against them because some properties are subject to more than one filing as they move through the foreclosure process.
With one filing for every 61 households, Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate, compared with the national average of one filing for every 196 households. There was one foreclosure filing for every 88 households in California, and one for every 95 homes in Florida, RealtyTrac reported.
The five states that saw a year-over-year decline in foreclosure rates were Kentucky (one filing per 809 homes), New Mexico (one per 1,348 homes), Oklahoma (one per 473 homes), South Dakota (one per 4,639 homes) and Utah (one per 402 homes).
States with the greatest number of properties subject to foreclosure filings (as opposed to foreclosure rates) were California (94,772), Florida (60,992), Ohio (35,242 properties), Michigan (29,655) and Texas (26,733).
*Actual increase may not be as high due to expanded data coverage in this state.
