U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increases 23 Percent In First Quarter

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.

 

Nevada posted the worst foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 54 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice. California was second with one in every 78. Arizona was third with one in every 95. Florida ranked fourth with one in every 97 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice during the quarter.

 

 

Foreclosure Rank of Florida Metro Areas (of top 100 in US)

Rank	Metro Area
8	Fr. Lauderdale
13	Orlando
14	Miami
15	Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice
21	Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater
27	Jacksonville
30	Palm Beach

 

 

“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.”