Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 252,363 U.S. properties during the month, a three percent decrease from the previous month but still a 53% increase from June 2007, according to RealtyTrac's June 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, released last week.

The report also shows one in every 501 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month. "June was the second straight month with more than a quarter million properties nationwide receiving foreclosure filings,” says James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Foreclosure activity slipped 3% lower from the previous month, but the year-over-year increase of more than 50% indicates we have not yet reached the top of this foreclosure cycle. Bank repossessions, or REOs, continue to increase at a much faster pace than default notices or auction notices. REOs in June were up 171% from a year ago, while default notices were up 38% and auction notices were up 22% over the same time period.”

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, publishes a national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with more than 1.5 million properties from more than 2,200 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

Despite slight monthly decreases in foreclosure activity, Nevada, California and Arizona continued to document the three highest state foreclosure rates in June. Foreclosure filings were reported on 8,713 Nevada properties during the month, up nearly 85% from June 2007, and one in every 122 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing — more than four times the national average.

One in every 192 California properties received a foreclosure filing in June, the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate and 2.6 times the national average.

One in every 201 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate and nearly 2.5 times the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 12,950 Arizona properties, down less than 1 percent from the previous month but still up nearly 127% from June 2007.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana and Utah.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 68,666 California properties in June, down nearly 5 percent from the previous month but still up nearly 77% from June 2007. California’s total was highest among the states for the 18th consecutive month.

Florida continued to register the nation’s second highest foreclosure total, with foreclosure filings reported on 40,351 properties in June — an increase of nearly 8% from the previous month and an increase of nearly 92% from June 2007. One in every 211 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate and 2.4 times the national average.

Source: http://www.creditandcollectionsworld.com/

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