Foreclosures Soar in Riverside County
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA – January 29, 2008 - Foreclosure filings in Riverside County jumped more than 50 percent last month – and skyrocketed 300 percent compared to a year ago – according to figures released Tuesday by a real estate tracking firm.
A total 6,821 filings of mortgage default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions were recorded in the county in December, said Irvine-based RealtyTrac, an online publisher of nationwide foreclosure market information.
Last month’s activity represented a 55 percent increase over the 4,399 foreclosure filings reported in Riverside County during November, RealtyTrac data indicated.
Statewide, there were 53,292 filings in December, a 33 percent increase over November, RealtyTrac said.
The state “documented the highest number of foreclosure filings and the most properties in some stage of foreclosure in 2007,” according to a RealtyTrac statement.
By year-end, 481,392 properties, or roughly 1.9 percent of households, had gone through a foreclosure action of some kind, RealtyTrac said. The figure represented a 238 percent increase over 2006.
Still, Nevada ranked first in the nation for having recorded the greatest percentage of households that faced foreclosure last year – 3.4 percent, according to RealtyTrac.
Florida came in second, with slightly over 2 percent, followed by Michigan with 1.95 percent, the firm reported.
In Riverside County, roughly 1 in 100 households entered some form of foreclosure in December – representing the third highest number in the state –compared to 1 in 159 households in November, data showed.
The county’s foreclosure rate was 302 percent above the year-ago level of 1,698 filings, according to RealtyTrac.