According to a new report by RealtyTrac, 75% of U.S. metropolitan areas with a population over 200,000 saw increases in foreclosure activity year over year despite a drop in 90% of the cities with the highest reported foreclosure rates.
“While we’re seeing early signs that foreclosure activity may have peaked in some of the hardest-hit markets, foreclosures continued to rise in three-quarters of the nation’s metropolitan areas in the first half of the year,” said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO. “The fragile stability achieved in many local housing markets hinges on improvements in the underlying economy, specifically job growth. If unemployment remains persistently high and foreclosure prevention efforts only delay the inevitable, then we could continue to see increased foreclosure activity and a corresponding weakness in home prices in many metro areas.”
Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona combine to account for all top 20 metro area foreclosure rates and Las Vegas remains in the top spot with 6.6% of all homes receiving a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010.
In contrast, Fort Myers, FL saw a decrease of 30% from the first half of 2009, yet still had the second highest foreclosure rate in the U.S.
Top 10 metro foreclosure rates
- Las Vegas, NV- 6.6%
- Fort Myers, FL- 4.98%
- Modesto, CA- 4.59%
- Merced, CA- 4.47%
- Riverside, CA- 4.37%
- Stockton, CA- 4.37%
- Phoenix, AZ- 4.28%
- Orlando, FL- 4.15%
- Fairfield, CA- 3.91%
- Miami, FL- 3.98%
Metro areas with highest foreclosure totals
- Miami, FL- 94,466
- Los Angeles, CA- 93,263
- Chicago, IL- 78,022
- Phoenix, AZ- 73,352
- Riverside, CA- 63,717
- Las Vegas, 53,525
- Atlanta, GA- 52,381
- Detroit, MI- 47,563
- New York, NY- 44,522
- Orlando, FL- 37,352
