Cities in the Sun Belt states, including California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona, continued to dominate foreclosure rankings throughout the first half of 2009, accounting for 35 of the 50 highest foreclosure rates among metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more, RealtyTrac reported Thursday.
However, RealtyTrac says the foreclosure epidemic appears to be spreading to other areas of the country not previously considered foreclosure hot spots, such as Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Illinois and South Carolina. Increased activity in these states suggests much of the new foreclosure activity may be more directly related to growing unemployment than continuing fallout from subprime and adjustable rate loans.
James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, explained, “Foreclosure activity continued its upward trajectory nationwide and in the majority of metro areas in the first half of the year, but there are some significant differences beginning to show up in the data. While some of the markets that had the highest saturation of foreclosures over the past few years have seen declining rates, new markets like Provo, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, have seen large increases. As unemployment rates increase in different parts of the country, it’s very likely that we’ll see similar patterns develop elsewhere.”
Looking at RealtyTrac’s Midyear 2009 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, Las Vegas posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, with 7.45 percent of its housing units receiving at least one filing in the first half of 2009 – that’s more than six times the national average and equates to one in every 13 homes. A total of 58,691 Las Vegas properties received a foreclosure filing during the first six months of the year.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in Florida documented the second highest foreclosure rate. One in every 14 residential properties, or 7.20 percent of its housing units, have received at least one foreclosure filing this year.
Merced, California, claimed the No. 3 spot, with 6.89 percent – one in 15 – of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing from January to June.
Both Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Merced reported a slight decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous six months but still experienced increasing foreclosure activity compared to the first half of 2008.
However, RealtyTrac says the foreclosure epidemic appears to be spreading to other areas of the country not previously considered foreclosure hot spots, such as Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Illinois and South Carolina. Increased activity in these states suggests much of the new foreclosure activity may be more directly related to growing unemployment than continuing fallout from subprime and adjustable rate loans.
James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, explained, “Foreclosure activity continued its upward trajectory nationwide and in the majority of metro areas in the first half of the year, but there are some significant differences beginning to show up in the data. While some of the markets that had the highest saturation of foreclosures over the past few years have seen declining rates, new markets like Provo, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, have seen large increases. As unemployment rates increase in different parts of the country, it’s very likely that we’ll see similar patterns develop elsewhere.”
Looking at RealtyTrac’s Midyear 2009 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, Las Vegas posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, with 7.45 percent of its housing units receiving at least one filing in the first half of 2009 – that’s more than six times the national average and equates to one in every 13 homes. A total of 58,691 Las Vegas properties received a foreclosure filing during the first six months of the year.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in Florida documented the second highest foreclosure rate. One in every 14 residential properties, or 7.20 percent of its housing units, have received at least one foreclosure filing this year.
Merced, California, claimed the No. 3 spot, with 6.89 percent – one in 15 – of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing from January to June.
Both Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Merced reported a slight decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous six months but still experienced increasing foreclosure activity compared to the first half of 2008.
Five other metro areas in California made RealtyTrac’s top 10 list: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (5.73 percent), Stockton (5.64 percent), Modesto (5.38 percent), Bakersfield (4.53 percent), and Vallejo-Fairfield (4.48 percent).
The Phoenix metro area (4.44 percent) and Orlando, Florida (4.28 percent) were also among the top 10.
All seven of these metro areas except for Stockton and Modesto reported increasing foreclosure activity from the previous six months and from the first six months of 2008.
Although Stockton, California, had the fifth highest metro foreclosure rate, activity actually decreased – down nearly 4 percent from the previous six months and nearly 13 percent compared to the first half of 2008.
Likewise, foreclosure activity in Modesto, which had the sixth highest foreclosure rate, decreased nearly 3 percent from the six months prior and is down more than 9 percent from the first half of last year.
Detroit continued to rank among the top 50 metro foreclosure rates, but activity there decreased 8 percent from the previous six months and 16 percent compared to the first half of 2008. Detroit’s foreclosure rate ranked highest in the nation in RealtyTrac’s 2006 and 2007 reports. During the first half of 2009, 1.86 percent of Detroit’s housing units received a foreclosure filing.
Foreclosure activity in Cleveland, which posted the nation’s sixth highest foreclosure rate in 2007, decreased 11 percent from the previous six months and 30 percent from the first half of 2008. With 1.36 percent of its housing units receiving at least one foreclosure filing, Cleveland’s foreclosure rate was still above the national average but was not among the top 50 metro foreclosure rates in the first half of 2009.
Other hard-hit Rust Belt cities posting year-over-year declines were Indianapolis and the Ohio cities of Toledo and Columbus.
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