Foreclosures up nearly 100 percent in third quarter

IRVINE
November 1, 2007 5:25am

There were 446,726 homes in some phase of the foreclosure process in the third quarter – nearly 100 percent more than in the same period last year, according to figures compiled by RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine-based foreclosure information company.

The figure includes a total of 635,159 foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.

RealtyTrac says there was one foreclosure filing for every 196 U.S. households for the quarter. It was higher in California – one filing for every 88 households,

"August and September were the two highest monthly foreclosure filing totals we've seen since we began issuing our report in January 2005," says James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

"Although not all areas are being hit as hard as others, the rise in foreclosures is quite widespread, with 45 out of the 50 states documenting year-over-year increases in the third quarter,” says Mr. Saccacio. “Given the number of loans due to reset through the middle of 2008, and the continuing weakness in home sales, we would expect foreclosure activity to remain high and even increase over the next year in many markets."

Nevada, California, Florida post top foreclosure rates

Nevada posted the nation's highest foreclosure rate for the quarter, one foreclosure filing for every 61 households. A total of 16,817 foreclosure filings on 12,982 properties were reported in the state during the third quarter, up 23 percent from the previous quarter and more than triple the number reported in the third quarter of 2006.

California's third-quarter foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 88 households ranked second highest among the states. A total of 148,147 foreclosure filings on 94,772 properties were reported in the state during the third quarter, up 36 percent from the previous quarter and nearly quadruple the number reported in the third quarter of 2006.

Florida documented a third-quarter foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 95 households, the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate. A total of 86,465 foreclosure filings on 60,992 properties were reported in the state during the third quarter, up more than 50 percent from the previous quarter and more than double the number reported in the third quarter of 2006.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the top 10 included Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Texas.

California and Florida registered the top two state foreclosure filing totals for the quarter, followed by Ohio, which came in third with 46,818 foreclosure filings on 35,242 properties. With 44,092 foreclosure filings on 26,773 properties, Texas documented the nation's fourth highest total. Michigan's total of 43,786 foreclosure filings on 29,655 properties was the fifth highest total.

Other states with foreclosure filing totals among the top 10 included Georgia, Arizona, Illinois, Colorado and Nevada.

RealtyTrac says its household numbers are based on the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 estimates of total housing units. Foreclosure filings include foreclosure-related documents 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).