54% of US Metros Post Rise in Foreclosure Activity for Q1

(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare DISTRESSED ASSETS, May 3-4 in Dallas, TX).

IRVINE, CA-Locally based RealtyTrac just recently released its Q1 2012 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, which shows first quarter foreclosure activity increased from the previous quarter in 114 out of the nation’s 212 metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more.

“First quarter metro foreclosure trends were a mixed bag,” explains Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac. “While the majority of metro areas continued to show foreclosure activity down from a year ago, more than half reported increasing foreclosure activity from the previous quarter — an early sign that long-dormant foreclosures are coming out of hibernation in many local markets.”

According to the firm, first quarter foreclosure activity increased from the previous quarter in 26 out of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, led by Pittsburgh (up 49%), Indianapolis (up 37%), Philadelphia (up 30%), New York (up 24%), Raleigh, NC (up 23%), and Virginia Beach, VA (up 22%).

The biggest quarterly decreases in foreclosure activity among the 50 largest metro areas were in Portland, OR (down 28%), Las Vegas (down 26%), Providence, R.I. (down 24%), Salt Lake City (down 22%), Boston (down 21%), and San Jose, CA (down 21%).

Despite the quarterly increase in more than half of the metro areas tracked in the report, first quarter foreclosure activity was still down compared to the first quarter of 2011 in 135 out of the 212 metro areas (64%).

Thirty-three of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity, led by Las Vegas (down 61%), Seattle (down 53%), Austin, TX (down 51%), Salt Lake City (down 49%), and Buffalo, NY (down 47%).

The biggest annual increases in foreclosure activity among the 50 largest metro areas were in Orlando (up 52%), Indianapolis (up 41%), Hartford, CT. (up 38%), Miami (up 37%), and Philadelphia (up 33%).

Stockton, CA, posted the nation’s highest metropolitan foreclosure rate in the first quarter. One in every 60 housing units in the Stockton metro area had a foreclosure filing during the quarter — more than three times the national average, according to RealtyTrac. There were a total of 3,912 Stockton properties with foreclosure filings in the first quarter, down 13% from the fourth quarter of 2011 and down 19 percent from the first quarter of 2011.

Nearby Modesto, CA, posted a foreclosure rate that was fractionally lower than the foreclosure rate in Stockton—giving Modesto the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate. Ten other California cities joined Stockton and Modesto among the nation’s Top 20 metro foreclosure rates: Riverside-San Bernardino (No. 3), Vallejo-Fairfield (No. 4), Merced (No. 5), Sacramento (No. 6), Bakersfield (No. 7), Visalia-Porterville (No. 10), Fresno (No. 12), Oxnard-Thousand Oaks (No. 14), Chico (No. 18), and Santa Rosa-Petaluma (No. 20).

Reporting one in every 82 housing units with a foreclosure filing in the first quarter, the foreclosure rate in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area dropped to eighth highest nationwide thanks to a substantial drop-off in foreclosure activity. A total of 10,192 Las Vegas properties had a foreclosure filing during the quarter, down 26% from the fourth quarter and down 61% from the first quarter of 2011.

A total of 20,787 properties in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, metro area had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter, down 5% from the previous quarter and down 43% from the first quarter of 2011. That gave Phoenix the nation’s ninth highest metro foreclosure rate for the quarter: one in every 87 housing units with a foreclosure filing, says the report.

Other metro areas with foreclosure rates among the Top 20 included Atlanta (No. 11), Miami (No. 13), Orlando (No. 15), Rockford, IL, (No. 16), Chicago (No. 17), and Prescott, AZ (No. 19).

The Riverside-San Bernardino metro area in Southern California registered the highest foreclosure rate among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas: one in every 62 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the quarter—more than three times the national average, says RealtyTrac.

Seven other metros among the nation’s 50 largest registered foreclosure rates that were more than twice the national average: Sacramento, CA (one in 77 housing units), Las Vegas (one in 82 housing units), Phoenix (one in 87 housing units), Atlanta (one in 90 housing units), Miami (one in 95 housing units), Orlando (one in 101 housing units), and Chicago (one in 107 housing units).

Other recent RealtyTrac stories written by GlobeSt.com include:

*RealtyTrac Acquires Homefacts, Hires Founder

*Yearly Increase In Pre-Foreclosure Sales Hits 33%

*Foreclosure Filings Down 16% from Q1 ’07

*Foreclosure Activity Increases 3% in January

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