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U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY INCREASES 23 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER
By RealtyTrac Staff   

Foreclosure Activity Up 112 Percent From Q1 2007
California and Florida Cities Account for 13 of Top 20 Metro Areas

IRVINE, Calif. – April 29, 2008 – RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Q1 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 649,917 properties during the first quarter, a 23 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 112 percent increase from the first quarter of 2007. The report also shows that one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

“Foreclosure activity in the first quarter increased on a year-over-year basis in 46 out of the 50 states and in 90 of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, demonstrating that most regions of the country are seeing more foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “In some areas there are also some unusual, non-market factors impacting the foreclosure numbers. For example, the city of Philadelphia in late March issued a temporary moratorium on all foreclosure auctions for April, and the city has since adopted a program that will delay foreclosure proceedings on owner-occupied properties until the owners have met face-to-face with lenders to attempt a loan workout plan that would prevent foreclosure.

“While we’re hopeful that programs like those in Philadelphia will have a positive long-term impact, they could be simply deferring another flood of foreclosures,” Saccacio continued. “And that could extend the length of time it takes the market to recover from this downward cycle, in which we’ve already seen seven consecutive quarters of increasing foreclosure activity.”

Click to enlarge

Nevada, California, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
One in every 54 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing during the first quarter, the highest foreclosure rate among the states and 3.6 times the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 19,595 Nevada properties during the quarter, up 3 percent from the previous quarter and up 137 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 169,831 California properties during the first quarter, the highest total among the states and a rate of one in every 78 households — the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate. Foreclosure activity in California increased 32 percent from the previous quarter and was up nearly 213 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

Arizona documented the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 95 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 27,404 Arizona properties during the quarter, up 45 percent from the previous quarter and up nearly 245 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 87,893 Florida properties during the first quarter, the second highest state total and giving Florida the nation’s fourth highest foreclosure rate — one in every 97 households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure activity in the state was up 17 percent from the previous quarter and up 178 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

Colorado foreclosure activity increased 33 percent from the previous quarter and 78 percent from the first quarter of 2007, and the state’s foreclosure rate ranked No. 5 among the states. Foreclosure filings were reported on 18,996 Colorado properties during the quarter, a rate of one in every 110 households.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the top 10 were Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Top 20 metro areas include Las Vegas, Detroit, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles
The Q1 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report also ranks the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas by foreclosure rate. California and Florida metro areas accounted for 13 of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, with the California cities of Stockton and Riverside-San Bernardino taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.

One in every 30 Stockton households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — 6.6 times the national average — and one in every 38 Riverside-San Bernardino households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — more than five times the national average. Other California metro areas in the top 20 included Bakersfield at No. 4, Sacramento at No. 5, San Diego at No. 9, Oakland at No. 10, Fresno at No. 12, Los Angeles at No. 17 and Orange County at No. 19.

Las Vegas documented the third highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 44 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. The metro area’s foreclosure activity increased 1 percent from the previous quarter and 134 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

Detroit foreclosure activity in the first quarter decreased 22 percent from the previous quarter and was down almost 4 percent from the first quarter of 2007, but the metro area’s foreclosure rate still ranked No. 6, with one in every 68 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Phoenix foreclosure activity increased 46 percent from the previous quarter and 294 percent from the first quarter of 2007, and the metro area’s foreclosure rate ranked No. 7, with one in every 70 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

The highest ranked Florida metro area was Fort Lauderdale, which ranked No. 8 with one in every 73 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Other Florida metro areas in the top 20 included Orlando at No. 13, Miami at No. 14 and Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice at No. 15. The foreclosure rate in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ranked No. 21.

Other metro areas with foreclosure rates among the top 20 included Denver at No. 11, Atlanta at No. 16, Cleveland at No. 18  and Memphis, Tenn., at No. 20.

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the quarter — broken out by type of filing at the state and national level. Data is also available at the individual county level. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is filed against a property during the quarter only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The report also checks if the same type of document was filed against a property in a previous quarter. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state the property is in, the report does not count the property in the current month.

 

U.S. Foreclosure Market Statistics by State – Q1 2008

    Properties with Foreclosure Filings    
Rate Rank State Name NOD LIS NTS NFS REO Total 1/every X HH (rate) %Change from Q4 07 %Change from Q1 07

--

United States

145,822

148,540

147,103

51,989

156,463

649,917

194

23.15

111.89

43

Alabama

5

0

890

0

805

1,700

1,241

0.12

8.21

31

Alaska

0

0

421

0

60

481

575

-12.39

72.40

3

Arizona

59

0

19,389

0

7,956

27,404

95

45.21

244.66

22

Arkansas

125

0

3,089

0

538

3,752

339

35.45

277.46

2

California

108,109

0

21,699

0

40,023

169,831

78

32.10

212.78

5

Colorado

99

0

11,875

0

7,022

18,996

110

32.71

77.98

10

Connecticut

0

6,209

0

1,124

299

7,632

188

183.51

303.17*

32

Delaware

0

23

0

364

150

537

713

172.59*

87.76*

 

District of Columbia

15

0

847

0

227

1,089

260

195.12

7160.00*

4

Florida

11

66,278

1

11,418

10,185

87,893

97

17.11

178.12

6

Georgia

100

0

20,138

0

8,265

28,503

136

22.54

79.94

44

Hawaii

51

0

307

0

13

371

1,348

18.15

109.60

23

Idaho

836

0

849

0

125

1,810

340

20.03

163.85

14

Illinois

0

18,795

0

204

4,216

23,215

224

-1.13

53.51

11

Indiana

0

4,900

0

4,590

4,446

13,936

198

32.11

85.52

34

Iowa

54

0

696

0

816

1,566

843

24.98

28.47

35

Kansas

0

308

0

773

315

1,396

865

45.57

52.40

42

Kentucky

0

333

0

704

545

1,582

1,194

31.18

-9.34

37

Louisiana

0

29

0

1,644

265

1,938

944

70.15

31.12

41

Maine

264

0

296

0

27

587

1,177

243.27*

2074.07*

12

Maryland

0

4,152

0

6,420

821

11,393

202

26.69

504.08*

9

Mass.

0

9,461

0

6,785

120

16,366

166

263.04

259.93

7

Michigan

3,027

0

14,501

0

12,016

29,544

153

-8.76

24.34

29

Minnesota

73

0

2,743

0

1,415

4,231

540

10.35

72.27

46

Mississippi

6

0

280

0

172

458

2,711

-7.66

65.94

20

Missouri

1,733

0

3,333

0

3,777

8,843

297

0.57

46.48

39

Montana

6

0

389

0

26

421

1,026

6.58

40.33

40

Nebraska

0

30

0

612

100

742

1,044

-40.31

-24.21

1

Nevada

13,424

0

2,064

0

4,107

19,595

54

3.49

137.14

21

New Hampshire

2

0

1,162

0

624

1,788

330

221.01*

2880.00*

16

New Jersey

0

9,703

0

2,284

1,117

13,104

265

34.32

66.00

33

New Mexico

1

1,034

0

9

138

1,182

719

16.91

39.06

30

New York

0

10,319

0

2,145

1,913

14,377

550

14.31

40.28

25

North Carolina

7,408

0

258

0

2,617

10,283

392

3.40

25.94

49

North Dakota

0

0

0

1

49

50

6,156

-26.47

-20.63

8

Ohio

0

12,773

12

8,168

10,299

31,252

161

-7.15

62.17

28

Oklahoma

1,024

0

1,212

0

1,003

3,239

496

22.27

11.15

24

Oregon

2,730

0

1,081

0

391

4,202

378

34.68

121.62

36

Pennsylvania

0

833

1

3,323

1,744

5,901

924

7.62

-24.37

19

Rhode Island

2

0

1,564

0

15

1,581

284

179.33*

621.92*

38

South Carolina

0

448

0

169

1,322

1,939

1,019

61.99

87.71*

47

South Dakota

0

0

0

62

2

64

5,513

6300.00*

2033.33*

13

Tennessee

3,271

0

4,585

0

4,533

12,389

216

41.38

72.21

17

Texas

386

0

18,373

0

14,935

33,694

274

17.77

28.75

18

Utah

492

0

2,443

0

354

3,289

274

32.62

77.59

50

Vermont

1

0

2

0

0

3

103,186

-66.67

0.00*

15

Virginia

2,389

0

7,123

0

3,639

13,151

246

65.53

525.64*

26

Washington

55

0

5,354

0

1,229

6,638

407

14.23

62.18

48

West Virginia

1

0

115

0

27

143

6,138

70.24

37.50

27

Wisconsin

0

2,912

5

1,190

1,565

5,672

447

17.82

194.50

45

Wyoming

63

0

6

0

95

164

1,458

17.99

137.68*

 

Rate Rank State Metro Name Props with Filings 1/every X HH (rate) %Change from Q4 07 %Change from Q1 07

--

 

U.S. Total

649,917

194

23.15

111.89

1

CA

STOCKTON

7,560

             30

17.14

291.91

2

CA

RIVERSIDE/SAN BERNARDINO

37,239

             38

39.13

230.81

3

NV

LAS VEGAS/PARADISE

17,320

             44

1.34

134.40

4

CA

BAKERSFIELD

5,113

             51

29.31

226.08

5

CA

SACRAMENTO

13,967

             55

14.46

134.62

6

MI

DETROIT/LIVONIA/DEARBORN

12,402

             68

-22.01

-3.67

7

AZ

PHOENIX/MESA

23,135

             70

46.33

294.06

8

FL

FORT LAUDERDALE

10,926

             73

15.29

205.79

9

CA

SAN DIEGO

15,315

             74

48.36

251.50

10

CA

OAKLAND

12,666

             75

13.34

222.87

11

CO

DENVER/AURORA

13,368

             77

36.79

85.69

12

CA

FRESNO

3,812

             79

16.79

176.03

13

FL

ORLANDO

10,522

             81

48.03

248.87

14

FL

MIAMI

11,703

             81

-2.86

153.37

15

FL

SARASOTA/BRADENTON/VENICE

4,299

             89

13.94

275.79

16

GA

ATLANTA/SANDY SPRINGS/MARIETTA

22,554

             91

13.71

68.70

17

CA

LOS ANGELES/LONG BEACH

32,177

           104

45.47

203.61

18

OH

CLEVELAND/LORAIN/ELYRIA/MENTOR

8,969

           105

-7.11

49.56

19

CA

ORANGE

9,591

           107

56.36

268.18

20

TN-MS-AR

MEMPHIS

4,955

           108

22.89

51.11

21

FL

TAMPA/ST PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER

11,811

           110

9.61

127.05

22

DC-MD-VA-WV

WASHINGTON/ARLINGTON/ALEXANDRIA

15,108

           112

56.46*

546.19*

23

CA

VENTURA

2,360

           115

37.85

109.96

24

IN

INDIANAPOLIS

6,330

           116

17.20

35.55

25

MA

ESSEX

2,376

           125

319.05

331.22

26

MA

WORCHESTER

2,514

           125

190.64

183.75

27

FL

JACKSONVILLE

4,557

           125

26.90

64.16

28

CA

SAN JOSE/SUNNYVALE/SANTA CLARA

4,745

           132

37.46

260.56

29

MI

WARREN/FARMINGTON HILLS/TROY

7,944

           133

4.90

47.80

30

FL

PALM BEACH

4,739

           133

-8.92

123.43

31

OH

DAYTON

2,720

           139

-20.16

69.05

32

OH

COLUMBUS

5,338

           144

-4.46

53.92

33

MA

SPRINGFIELD

1,921

           147

329.75

226.15

34

OH

AKRON

2,069

           148

-24.05

50.25

35

CT

NEWHAVEN/MILFORD

2,298

           152

158.78

328.73*

36

MA

BOSTON/QUINCY

4,783

           157

278.10

325.53

37

OH

TOLEDO

1,877

           159

-33.89

38.52

38

IN

GARY

1,790

           159

93.30

176.23

39

TX

FORT WORTH/ARLINGTON

4,599

           167

4.43

11.90

40

TX

HOUSTON/BAYTOWN/SUGARLAND

12,468

           168

41.78

58.85

41

IL

LAKE/KENOSHA

1,485

           169

10.24

72.88

42

IL

CHICAGO

17,602

           176

-5.54

48.20

43

MO-IL

ST LOUIS

6,625

           185

14.50

79.49

44

TX

DALLAS

8,337

           185

-1.88

6.37

45

CT

BRIDGEPORT/STAMFORD/NORWALK

1,878

           186

226.61

359.17*

46

OH-KY-IN

CINCINNATI

4,845

           187

12.49

61.93

47

NJ

NEWARK

4,323

           195

39.95

167.51

48

WA

TACOMA

1,514

           204

15.05

79.60

49

MD

BETHESDA/FREDERICK/GAITHERSBURG

2,147

           207

46.25

658.66*

50

WI

MILWAUKEE/WAUKESHA/WST ALLIS

3,050

           213

1.33

203.48

51

CT

HARTFORD

2,285

           214

184.91

247.79*

52

MA

CAMBRIDGE/NEWTON/FRAMINGHAM

2,732

           216

225.24

275.27

53

NC-SC

CHARLOTTE/GASTONIA

3,098

           219

-1.05

0.75

54

AZ

TUCSON

1,864

           224

14.50

90.20

55

AR

LITTLE ROCK/NORTH LITTLE ROCK

1,285

           226

14.53

141.54

56

TN

NASHVILLE/DAVIDSON

2,608

           240

46.52

93.76

57

NJ

CAMDEN

1,134

           248

7.59

25.72

58

UT

SALT LAKE CITY

1,509

           255

22.58

69.36

59

MO-KS

KANSAS CITY

3,362

           259

-9.45

14.08

60

MD

BALTIMORE/TOWSON

4,218

           261

19.42

435.28*

61

TX

SAN ANTONIO

2,599

           284

1.68

9.02

62

RI

PROVIDENCE/NEW BEDFORD

1,581

           284

179.33

621.92*

63

NC

GREENSBORO/HIGHPOINT

1,057

           289

-8.48

43.61

64

TN

KNOXVILLE

1,041

           291

63.94

182.88

65

NC

RALEIGH/CARY

1,397

           293

-1.34

23.85

66

OK

OKLAHOMA CITY

1,725

           298

40.02

13.64

67

NY

SUFFOLK/NASSAU

3,352

           299

21.80

8.69

68

OK

TULSA

1,251

           314

-0.48

1.54

69

OR-WA

PORTLAND/VANCOUVER/BEAVERTON

2,678

           326

41.02

148.42

70

MN-WI

MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL/BLOOMINGTON

3,980

           329

12.14

71.11

71

CA

SAN FRANCISCO

2,163

           338

17.43

154.17

72

NJ

EDISON

2,688

           346

18.21

-3.97

73

TX

AUSTIN/ROUND ROCK

1,664

           369

8.26

4.79

74

NM

ALBUQUERQUE

913

           380

16.31

33.87

75

LA

NEW ORLEANS

1,142

           393

53.49

33.88

76

VA

RICHMOND

1,182

           425

206.22

1341.46*

77

DE-MD-NJ

WILMINGTON

635

           438

112.37

155.02

78

NY

ROCHESTER

988

           446

-11.15

8.45

79

TX

MCALLEN/EDINBURG/PHARR

527

           455

575.64

997.92

80

NY-NJ

NEW YORK/WAYNE/WHITE PLAINS

8,738

           503

10.94

66.57

81

WA

SEATTLE/BELLEVUE/EVERETT

2,078

           517

7.78

40.98

82

PA

PHILADELPHIA

3,064

           527

17.21

-29.64

83

KY-IN

LOUISVILLE

995

           542

18.59

-7.53

84

VA-NC

NORFOLK/VIRGINIA BEACH/NEWPORT NEWS

1,095

           544

21.80

365.96*

85

SC

COLUMBIA

550

           552

120.00

170.94

86

NY

ALBANY/SCHENECTADY/TROY

608

           622

147.15

447.75

87

PA

PITTSBURGH

1,662

           664

-9.13

-4.59

88

NE-IA

OMAHA/COUNCIL BLUFFS

504

           686

-51.59

-42.73

89

SC

GREENVILLE

381

           693

710.64

504.76*

90

KS

WICHITA

351

           727

35.00

50.00

91

NY

POUGHKEEPSIE/NEWBURGH/MIDDLETOWN

327

           748

28.74

57.21

92

SC

CHARLESTON

360

           761

27.66

70.62*

93

NY

BUFFALO/CHEEKTOWAGA/TONAWANDA**

677

           768

44.04

2.73

94

LA

BATON ROUGE

351

           889

40.96

31.46

95

NY

SYRACUSE

313

           909

99.36

184.55

96

TX

EL PASO

246

        1,013

-10.55

-51.95

97

AL

BIRMINGHAM/HOOVER

386

        1,187

-24.02

-48.87

98

PA

SCRANTON/WILKES/BARRE/HAZLETON

167

        1,542

-29.54

-43.20

99

HI

HONOLULU

155

        2,147

1.31

51.96

100

PA

ALLENTOWN/BETHLEHEM/EASTON

25

      12,328

-66.22

-61.54

*Actual increase may not be as high due to data collection changes or improvements
**Actual Total and Rate may be higher due to limited data coverage

About RealtyTrac Inc.
Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix and No. 53 on Inc. magazine’s 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (realtytrac.com), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.

Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new homes, with more than 1 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. For current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, visit our blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

###

Media Contact:
Michelle Sabolich
Atomic Public Relations
415-402-0230
michelle.sabolich@atomicpr.com


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