Nevada led the nation with a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 154 households in October — it was the 10th consecutive month that the state topped this list, online foreclosure research company RealtyTrac reported today.
Nevada had 6,618 foreclosure filings in October, up 196.9 percent compared to October 2006, RealtyTrac reported. Foreclosure filings for that state rose 20.2 percent since September, when the state had a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 185 households.
Nationwide foreclosure filings rose 94.2 percent in October compared to the same month last year, to a total of 224,451 filings and a rate of one filing for every 555 households.
Click here to see RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Rates Heat Map — Oct 2007.
Bank repossessions were up 158 percent in October compared to October 2006 and up 35 percent compared to September 2007, “evidence that more homeowners who enter foreclosure are losing their homes,” James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO, said in a statement.
But default notices were down 9 percent in October compared to September, “indicating that some of the efforts on the part of homeowners, lenders and advocacy groups to find alternatives to foreclosure may be starting to have an impact,” Saccacio stated.
Several economists and market experts have said they expect a wave of mortgage defaults in 2008 as a large pipeline of loans are headed for a reset in interest rates.
U.S. Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials have encouraged mortgage servicers to develop programs to allow more borrowers in danger of default to qualify for better loan terms.
Four companies that service one-quarter of outstanding subprime loans in California this month agreed to a loan modification process to allow some borrowers at risk of default to convert from adjustable-rate mortgages to fixed-rate mortgages to avoid rate hikes.
California ranked second in the nation for its high foreclosure rate, at one foreclosure filing for every 258 households. Foreclosure filings rose 213.1 percent in October 2007 compared to October 2006, but fell 1.7 percent compared to September 2007. There were 50,401 total foreclosure filings in the state in October.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that an estimated 500,000 Californians with subprime loans face rate resets within two years.
Florida ranked third nationally in October for its foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 273 households. That state had 30,190 foreclosure filings in October, according to RealtyTrac, with foreclosure activity rising 165 percent compared to October 2006 and dropping 9 percent compared to September.
Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, Indiana and Illinois also ranked among the top 10 states nationally for their high rates of foreclosure.
Ohio had the third-highest total for foreclosure filings in October, at 17,276, behind California and Florida. The state’s foreclosure activity increased about 10 percent from September and about 136 percent compared to October 2006, RealtyTrac reported. Also, the state’s rate of one foreclosure filing for every 290 households ranked fourth-highest in the nation.
Michigan had the fourth-highest total for foreclosure filings reported in October, at 13,415. Other states with high foreclosure total included Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Arizona.
Six of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates in October are in California, according to the report, with Merced, Calif., at the top of the list.
Merced had a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 82 households in October, which is almost seven times the national average.
Stockton, Calif., ranked second, followed by Modesto, Calif.; Las Vegas; Detroit; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Cleveland, Ohio.
RealtyTrac supplies foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal, and tracks properties in all stages of foreclosure.
Oct 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Statistics by State
*Actual increase may not be as high due to improved or expanded data coverage in this state.
Source: RealtyTrac
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