Foreclosure Activity Increases 4 Percent in July

IRVINE, Calif. — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for July 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 325,229 properties in July, a nearly 4 percent increase from the previous month but a nearly 10 percent decrease from July 2009. One in every 397 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“July marked the 17th consecutive month with a foreclosure activity total exceeding 300,000,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Declines in new default notices, which were down on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month in July, have been offset by near-record levels of bank repossessions, which increased on a year-over-year basis for the eighth straight month.”

Foreclosure Activity by Type

A total of 97,123 U.S. properties received default notices (NOD, LIS) in July, a 1 percent increase from the previous month but a 28 percent decrease from July 2009. Default notices in July were down 32 percent from their peak of 142,064 in April 2009.

Foreclosure auctions (NTS, NFS) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 135,248 U.S. properties in July, an increase of 2 percent from the previous month but a decrease of 2 percent from July 2009. Scheduled auctions in July were down 14 percent from their peak of 158,105 in March 2010.

Lenders foreclosed on 92,858 U.S. properties in July, a 9 percent increase from the previous month and a 6 percent increase from July 2009. July’s bank repossession (REO) total was the second highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began tracking REO activity in April 2005 and was 1 percent below the monthly REO activity peak of 93,777 in May 2010.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates in July

With one in every 82 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in July, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest foreclosure rate for the 43rd straight month. A total of 13,727 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing in July, a nearly 7 percent increase from the previous month but a nearly 30 percent decrease from July 2009. July was the 10th straight month where overall Nevada foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis.

Arizona foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month, but the state still posted the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate. One in every 167 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month — more than twice the national average.

One in every 171 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing in July, the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate, and one in every 200 California housing units received a foreclosure filing in July, the fourth highest state foreclosure rate.

Foreclosure activity in Idaho increased nearly 19 percent from the previous month, boosting the state’s foreclosure rate to fifth highest among all the states. One in every 240 Idaho housing units received a foreclosure filing in July.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in July were Michigan, Utah, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland.

Five states account for more than 50 percent of national total

California alone accounted for 21 percent of the national total in July, with 66,910 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — down 3 percent from the previous month and down 38 percent from July 2009.

With 51,557 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, Florida accounted for 16 percent of the national total in July despite a nearly 9 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from July 2009.

Illinois foreclosure activity increased 33 percent from the previous month — the biggest monthly increase among states with top 10 foreclosure rates. A total of 19,602 Illinois properties received a foreclosure filing in July, the third highest state total and accounting for 6 percent of the national total.

Michigan accounted for just under 6 percent of the national total, with 18,833 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in July, and Arizona accounted for 5 percent of the national total, with 16,298 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in July.

Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation’s 10 highest in July were Nevada (13,727), Ohio (13,511), Georgia (12,577), Texas (11,727) and Maryland (6,961).

Metro foreclosure hot spots show bumpy downward trend

All 10 metro areas with the nation’s highest foreclosure rates in July posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity, but five of the top 10 posted increases from the previous month. The two biggest monthly increases were in No. 2 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., where foreclosure activity was up 21 percent from the previous month, and in No. 9 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., where foreclosure activity was up 19 percent from the previous month.

Foreclosure activity increased nearly 9 percent from the previous month in the Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metro area, which registered the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more. One in every 71 Las Vegas housing units received a foreclosure filing in July, more than five times the national average.

Other metro foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Modesto, Calif., at No. 3 (one in every 102 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing); Merced, Calif., at No. 4 (one in every 111); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., at No. 5 (one in 112); Stockton, Calif., at No. 6 (one in 115); Bakersfield, Calif., at No. 7 (one in 118); Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla., at No. 8 (one in 129); and Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif., at No. 10 (one in 136).

Report methodology

The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month — broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the month may have been recorded in previous months. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. 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). The report does not count a property again if it receives the same type of foreclosure filing multiple times within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located.

About RealtyTrac Inc.
RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com) is the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties, with more than 1.5 million default, auction and bank-owned listings from over 2,200 U.S. counties, along with detailed property, loan and home sales data. Hosting more than 3 million unique monthly visitors, RealtyTrac provides innovative technology solutions and practical education resources to facilitate buying, selling and investing in real estate. RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data has also been used by the Federal Reserve, FBI, U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and Banking Committee, U.S. Treasury Department, and numerous state housing and banking departments to help evaluate foreclosure trends and address policy issues related to foreclosures.