Foreclosure Activity Increases 4 Percent in April 2008, RealtyTrac

2008 May 14

Foreclosure Activity Up 65 Percent From April 2007

IRVINE, California - May 14 2008 - RealtyTrac(R) (http://www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its April 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report(TM), which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 243,353 properties, a 4 percent increase from the previous month and a nearly 65 percent increase from April 2007. The report also shows one in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5 million properties from over 2,200 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.

“The total number of U.S. properties with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total we’ve seen since we began issuing the report in January 2005,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Although only about 2 percent of households nationwide are in foreclosure, these properties contribute to already bloated inventories of homes for sale, and put downward pressure on home values. Areas of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continue to be particularly hard-hit. Property tax bases are eroding, putting municipal budgets in peril. For example, the city council in Vallejo, California — part of a metropolitan area with a foreclosure rate that ranked sixth highest in the nation in April — last week voted to have the city file for bankruptcy.”

Nevada, California, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates

Despite a 5 percent month-over-month decrease in foreclosure activity in April, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate. One in every 146 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing in April, 3.6 times the national average, and the state’s foreclosure activity was up 95 percent from April 2007.

California posted the second highest state foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 204 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. Foreclosure filings were reported on 64,683 California properties in April, down less than 1 percent from the previous month but still the most of any state and an increase of 112 percent from April 2007.

Arizona foreclosure activity in April increased 26 percent from the previous month and 181 percent from April 2007, helping to bump the state’s foreclosure rate up to third highest among the states. Foreclosure filings were reported on 11,620 Arizona properties in March, one in every 224 total households.

With one in every 242 households receiving a foreclosure filing in April, Florida documented the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 35,264 Florida properties during the month, the nation’s second highest total. Florida foreclosure activity increased nearly 17 percent on a month-to-month basis and 146 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Colorado foreclosure activity in April was down nearly 3 percent from the previous month and up just 3 percent from April 2007, but the state’s foreclosure rate still registered fifth highest among the states. One in every 349 Colorado households received a foreclosure filing in April, nearly 1.5 times the national average.

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

California, Florida, Ohio report highest foreclosure totals

Foreclosure filings were reported on 11,680 Ohio properties in April, the third highest state total behind California and Florida. Ohio foreclosure activity increased nearly 4 percent from the previous month and more than 2 percent from April 2007. The state’s foreclosure rate continued to rank among the top 10, with one in every 432 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.

With foreclosure filings reported on 11,406 properties in April, Texas reported the fifth highest total, behind Arizona at No. 4. Foreclosure activity in Texas increased nearly 7 percent from the previous month but was down less than 1 percent from April 2007. With one in every 809 Texas households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, the state’s foreclosure rate registered below the national average and ranked No. 17 among the states.

Other states in the top 10 for total properties with filings were Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and Maryland.

California and Florida cities account for 9 of top 10 metro rates

Six California cities documented foreclosure rates that ranked in the top 10 among the 230 metropolitan areas tracked in the report. Merced took the top spot, with one in every 66 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, followed by Stockton at No. 2, Modesto at No. 3 and Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 4. Other California cities on the list were Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 6 and Bakersfield at No. 8.

Three Florida cities registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Cape Coral-Fort Myers at No. 5; Port Lucie-Fort Pierce at No. 9; and Fort Lauderdale at No. 10.

With one in every 116 households received foreclosure filings in April, the Las Vegas metro area documented the nation’s seventh highest metro rate.

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 month — 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 month — which is extremely rare — 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 month. 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 -- April 2008

Properties with Foreclosure Filings
   %  %
   1/every  change  change
Rate State   X HHfromfrom
Rank Name   NOD   LISNTSNFSREO   Total  (rate)  Mar 08  Apr 07

--   U.S. 52,216 56,471 56,165 20,927 54,574 243,353   519   4.4064.75
42 Alabama   1  0266  0375 642   3,287  -1.08   -28.59
34 Alaska0  0130  0 18 148   1,869 -22.7370.11
3  Arizona   8  0  8,305  0  3,307  11,620 224  26.32   181.42
27 Arkansas 39  0894  0181   1,114   1,143  -7.93   -11.73
2  Ca.  40,294  0  8,822  0 15,567  64,683 204  -0.04   112.04
5  Colorado  6  0  4,154  0  1,840   6,000 349  -2.91 2.99
19 Conn. 0  1,398  3279 27   1,707 839 -19.71   -59.42
40 Delaware  0  0  0 61 71 132   2,900 -31.25   312.50
   District
of
Columbia 0  0203  0 80 283   1,000  -7.82 4616.67*
4  Florida   0 25,505 46  5,979  3,734  35,264 242  16.56   146.29
7  Georgia   3  0  7,136  0  2,050   9,189 422 -16.8228.50
36 Hawaii   22  0181  0  7 210   2,381  75.00   218.18
18 Idaho   396  0319  0 44 759 811  15.5379.01
13 Illinois  0  6,106 47665  1,565   8,383 620  -2.78 1.02
11 Indiana   0  1,462 42  1,936  1,626   5,066 544  -1.0426.30
38 Iowa  1  0277  0250 528   2,501   3.1321.38
31 Kansas0103  5251434 793   1,523  11.6995.80
43 Kentucky  0102  6206196 510   3,702 -26.19   -26.41
39 Louisiana 0  2  1457183 643   2,846   2.7216.06
35 Maine   144  0149  0 21 314   2,201  60.20   177.88
6  Maryland  0  4,366 12  1,259415   6,052 380  41.57  479.14*
10 Mass. 0  3,168  3  1,741114   5,026 539  -9.82   133.99
9  Mich. 1,502  0  5,821  0  2,946  10,269 440   8.1649.35
32 Minn.38  0849  0518   1,405   1,625   6.2068.47
45 Miss. 0  0 75  0100 175   7,094  -6.91   105.88
20 Mo. 866  0  1,145  0  1,040   3,051 860  -9.4134.05
44 Montana   5  0 96  0  9 110   3,927 -28.57-0.90
30 Nebraska  0 18  1146 66 531   1,459  93.8094.51
1  Nev.  4,301  0991  0  1,984   7,276 146  -5.0094.70
21 New
Hamps.   0  0348  0319 667 884  61.1162.29
15 New
Jersey   0  3,935  4689515   5,143 675  14.7564.73
37 New
Mexico   0277  1  8 68 354   2,401   3.5125.53
29 New York  0  3,846  9851990   5,696   1,388  11.9538.96
28 North
Car. 2,228  0187  0886   3,301   1,221   0.0915.54
49 North
Dakota   0  0  0  1 20  21  14,657 162.5075.00
8  Ohio  0  3,989 95  3,829  3,767  11,680 432   3.61 2.18
22 Okla.   677  0479  0587   1,743 922  20.4658.74
23 Ore.  1,136  0411  0 80   1,627 975  -0.37   121.06
33 Penns.0  1,161 22  1,442641   3,266   1,670  12.6236.65
24 Rhode
Island   0  0391  0 48 439   1,024  10.3062.59
41 South
Car. 0  0  9 89564 662   2,984 -28.97  126.71*
47 South
Dakota   0  0  0 29  5  34  10,377 112.5030.77
14 Tenn. 1,454  0  1,459  0  1,203   4,116 651   5.3521.17
17 Texas   126  0  7,548  0  3,732  11,406 809   6.60-0.16
16 Utah244  0926  0148   1,318 684   7.1563.12
50 Vermont   0  0  0  0  0   0-100.00  -100.00
12 Virg. 1,691  0  2,293  0  1,243   5,227 618   5.96  259.24*
26 Wash.34  0  1,927  0436   2,397   1,126   7.3036.50
48 West
Virg.0  0 51  0 24  75  11,704  10.29   -57.14
25 Wisc. 0  1,033 14708511   2,266   1,118   9.31   169.76
46 Wyoming   0  0 12  1 19  32   7,474 -60.9860.00

* Actual increase may not be as high due to data collection changes or
  improvements

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. (http://www.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 http://www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

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