U.S. foreclosure activity rose 59.8 percent in February compared to the same month last year, data provider RealtyTrac reported today, and Nevada led the nation with a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 165 households — more than three times the national average.

RealtyTrac reported 223,651 total U.S. foreclosure filings in February, which includes filings for properties in default, scheduled for auction and real-estate-owned or REO foreclosure properties that have been repurchased by a bank. The national rate of foreclosure in February was one filing for every 557 households.

All but five states had a year-over-year rise in foreclosure activity in February — the company reported that year-over-year changes in foreclosure activity may be skewed higher in seven states due to changes in data coverage.

Among those states without changes in data coverage, foreclosure activity climbed 209.7 percent in Arizona, 162.5 percent in Idaho, 145.7 percent in Wisconsin, 142.4 percent in Hawaii and 131.2 percent in California in February compared to February 2007, and also more than doubled in Oregon, up 118.5 percent; Wyoming, up 113.3; and South Carolina, up 102.9 percent. In January, there was a 57 percent year-over-year rise in U.S. foreclosure filings activity.

Kentucky led all states with a 24.2 percent year-over-year decline in foreclosure activity in February, followed by Nebraska, down 21.4 percent; Iowa, down 20.4 percent; Louisiana, down 15.3 percent; and Texas, down 1 percent.

James J. Saccacio, CEO for RealtyTrac, which is a foreclosure data provider for sites including MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal‘s Real Estate Journal, said in a statement that the year-over-year rise in February foreclosure activity "was significantly higher than the 19 percent year-over-year increase in February 2007, indicating we have still not reached the peak of foreclosure activity in this cycle."

*Actual increase may not be as high due to improved or expanded data coverage in this state.
Source: RealtyTrac.


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