Home foreclosures skyrocketed by 75 percent between 2006 and 2007, according to foreclosure and realty tracking firm RealtyTrac, Inc. The firm's report tracked over 2.2 million foreclosure filings on over 1.2 million properties in a twelve-month period.
The report found that more than 1 percent of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure in 2007, up from .58 percent in 2006.
"[W]hile filings were up 75 percent, the number of properties in some stage of foreclosure was up 79 percent," said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio, "indicating that some properties may have just entered the initial stage of foreclosure in 2007 and could be going through the rest of the foreclosure process in 2008 unless lender and government intervention efforts begin to gain more traction."
The highest rates of foreclosures and filings came in states with formerly hot housing markets.
Nevada topped the list of statewide foreclosure listings, with 3.4 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year more than three times the national average, according to RealtyTrac. The state had 66,316 filings on 34,417 properties in 2007, up more than 200 percent from 2006's total.
Florida came in second, with 279,325 foreclosure filings on 165,291 properties for 2007, more than twice the number of filings reported in 2006. The state's foreclosure filing total in December increased 275 percent from December 2006, and its fourth quarter total was up 211 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006.
States with stagnant or dying job markets also saw high rates of foreclosure.
Michigan ranked third in the nation for statewide foreclosures, with 1.9 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. A total of 136,205 foreclosure filings on 87,210 properties were reported in the state during the year, a 68 percent increase in total filings from 2006.
Ohio recorded 153,196 total foreclosure filings, and 89,979 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, The state's foreclosure filings increased 88 percent from 2006, and its 2007 foreclosure rate was the nation's sixth highest.
Although California came in fourth for total foreclosures statewide, it recorded the highest number of foreclosure filings and properties in some stage of foreclosure in the country, with a total of 481,392 foreclosure filings on 249,513 properties during the year.
Spiking foreclosure rates are another symptom of the collapsing housing market, as homeowners choose to walk away from ballooning mortgage payments they can no longer afford.
Even as many homeowners rush to refinance from adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) into fixed 30-year loans, many others cannot get approved for new loans due to the tighter credit market.
Combined with high gas and utility prices, consumers are not only defaulting on mortgage payments, but on credit card debt as well.
