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Foreclosure Activity Up 55 Percent In July

Nevada, California, Florida continue to top state foreclosures

August 14, 2008

The report by RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, shows one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month. It also shows lenders were much more active last month in seizing property in default.

"Bank repossessions, or REOs, continued to be the fastest growing segment of foreclosure activity in July, posting a 184 percent year-over-year increase -- compared to a 53 percent year-over-year increase in default notices and an 11 percent year-over-year increase in auction notices," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "The sharp rise in REOs, combined with slow sales, has resulted in a bloated inventory of bank-owned properties for sale."

Nevada continued to report the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in July, with one in every 106 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. Foreclosure activity in Nevada was up 15 percent from the previous month and 97 percent from July 2007, pushing the total number of properties with foreclosure filings to over 10,000. Bank repossessions in Nevada were up 384 percent on a year-over-year basis, while default notices were up 59 percent and auction notices were up 31 percent.

One in every 182 California properties received a foreclosure filing in July, the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate, while one in every 186 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing, the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate.

Despite increasing foreclosure activity, Arizona's foreclosure rate dropped from the nation's third highest in June to fourth highest in July. Foreclosure filings were reported on 13,350 Arizona properties during the month, a 3 percent increase from the previous month and a 127 percent increase from July 2007. One in every 195 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing, a rate that was more than twice the national average.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Utah and Virginia.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 72,285 California properties in July, the highest total among the states. The state's foreclosure activity increased 5 percent from the previous month and was up 85 percent from July 2007. On a year-over-year basis, bank repossessions in California were up 427 percent, while auction notices were up 67 percent and default notices were up 34 percent. However, default notices declined 4 percent from the previous month.

Florida foreclosure activity in July increased 14 percent from the previous month and 139 percent from July 2007. The state posted the nation's second highest number of properties with filings -- 45,884. On a year-over-year basis, bank repossessions in Florida increased 678 percent, while auction notices were up 180 percent and default notices were up 100 percent.

Ohio's total of 13,457 properties with foreclosure filings in July was third highest among the states despite an increase of just 2 percent from the previous month and 1 percent from July 2007. On a year-over-year basis, bank repossessions in Ohio were still up 33 percent, while auction notices were down nearly 20 percent and default notices were up nearly 8 percent. One in every 375 Ohio households received a foreclosure filing during the month, the nation's fifth highest state foreclosure rate.

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