housing news (zt)

Foreclosure Filings Rise in 75% of U.S. Cities on Unemployment

By Dan Levy - Jul 29, 2010

Foreclosure filings climbed inthree-quarters of U.S. metropolitan areas in the first half ashigh unemployment left many homeowners unable to pay theirmortgages, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

The number of properties receiving a filing more thandoubled from a year earlier in Baltimore, Oklahoma City andAlbuquerque, New Mexico, the mortgage-data company said today ina report. Notices of default, auction or bank seizure rose morethan 50 percent in areas including Salt Lake City; Savannah,Georgia; and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“Foreclosures are spreading out from areas that had beenhardest hit,” Rick Sharga, senior vice president for marketingat Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac, said in a telephoneinterview. “We’re dealing with underlying economic weakness asopposed to unsustainable home prices and bad loans.”

Private employers added fewer jobs than economistsprojected in June and the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9.5percent as discouraged job seekers stopped looking for work, theLabor Department said July 2. The Commerce Department last monthreduced its estimate for first-quarter economic growth afterconsumer spending grew less than previously forecast.

The number of Americans filing first-time claims forunemployment insurance fell by 11,000 to 457,000 last week,while the number continuing to collect jobless benefits rose to4.565 million in the week ended July 17, Labor Departmentfigures showed today.

Delaying ‘Inevitable’

Continued weakness in employment and efforts to preventforeclosure may “delay the inevitable” and weigh on homeprices, RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccaciosaid in a statement.

The company said 154 of 206 U.S. metro areas withpopulations of more than 200,000 had increases in householdswith filings from January through June.

Cities in Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona accountedfor the 20 highest foreclosure rates. Nine of the top 10 metroareas had decreases in the total properties receiving filings, asign that foreclosures may have peaked in the states hurt themost by the housing market’s collapse, RealtyTrac said.

Las Vegas had the highest rate as 6.6 percent of householdsreceived a notice, while filings dropped 8.8 percent, the datacompany said. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, was second at 5percent of households. Filings fell 30 percent from a yearearlier.

California Filings

California cities ranked third through fifth. Modesto had4.6 percent of households get a notice, Merced had 4.5 percentand Riverside-San Bernardino had 4.4 percent. Filings declined14 percent in Modesto, 35 percent in Merced and 23 percent inRiverside-San Bernardino.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach led in total propertieswith filings, at 94,466. That was up almost 11 percent from thefirst half of 2009. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana was secondwith 93,263, down 12 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet wasthird with 78,022, up 23 percent, RealtyTrac said.

The company sells default data from more than 2,200counties representing 90 percent of the U.S. population.