Foreclosure Rate of Increase Slips, Numbers Continue To Mount by Broderick Perkins
The rate of increase in foreclosure filings sweeping the nation took a small break in June but with more than 164,000 foreclosure filings, the fallout is far from over. Foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- were up 87 percent from a year ago in June, a tad less than the 90 percent increase registered in May, according to foreclosure portal, RealtyTrac. Hardest hit were several boom-to-bust states which were at the pinnacle of home price appreciation, but now yield areas slipping into the abyss of falling home prices. The rising number of foreclosures is being fueled by a host of factors, including over-selling time bomb-like risky loans, over building, speculation, incomes unable to keep pace with adjusting rates, predatory lending, mortgage fraud and more. Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate, one per 175 households, more than four times the national average of 1 per 704 households. California came in second with one per 315 households, followed by Colorado with one per 317. In sheer numbers, the nation's most populous state, California, had the most foreclosure filings of any state, 38,801 in June. That's nearly one in four -- 23.6 percent -- of the nation's total foreclosure fillings. The Golden State did manage a 2 percent month-to-month drop in foreclosure activity, but the number of foreclosures is nearly triple what it was a year ago. Colorado's foreclosure rate dropped from second to third highest after a 10 percent month-to-month decrease in foreclosure activity in June. The state's number of foreclosures is 54 percent ahead of last years. Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation's 10 highest in June were Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Connecticut and Indiana. Other states with foreclosure filing totals among the nation's 10 highest in June were Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, Colorado and New Jersey. Some states foreclosure levels may be beginning to peak. Nearly two dozen reported month-to-month declines in foreclosures, but less than one dozen had year-to-year declines in foreclosures filed. Florida reported a 3 percent decrease from the previous month even with more than double the number reported in June 2006. The state's foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing per 347 households was more than twice the national average and ranked fourth highest among all the states. Ohio reported 11,879 foreclosure filings in June, a 10 percent decrease from the previous month but a 100 percent increase from June 2006. Ohio had one foreclosure filing per 403 households. California continued to dominate foreclosure rates by metro, with six of the nation's top 10 metropolitan foreclosure rates in June. The top four spots went to the California metros of Stockton, Merced, Modesto (Central Valley regions where demand spurred a sugar-high of new home development that quickly soured with rising home costs and tighter mortgage money) and Riverside-San Bernardino. All of the top four cities registered foreclosure rates that were more than five times the national average. Other California cities in the top 10 were Vallejo-Fairfield and Sacramento. America's City of Lights, Las Vegas, NV, is another shooting-star market. The popular second home market in June had a foreclosure filing rate of one per 138 households -- the nation's fifth highest metro rate. Other metros in the top 10 were Greeley, CO; Detroit, MI and Miami, FL. Published: July 13, 2007 | 
