Metro Foreclosure Hot Spots Buck National Trend with Annual Declines

Data ""released by RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com/contentmanagement/pressrelease.aspx?channelid=9&itemid=8930 Thursday shows that cities in the typical foreclosure hot spots of California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona once again accounted for the nation's[IMAGE]20 highest foreclosure rates in Q1. But it's their long track record of debilitating foreclosure numbers that have locked them into those rankings.

RealtyTrac says the hardest-hit cities are actually seeing significant improvements in their foreclosure numbers, with many posting declines compared to a year ago. Instead, foreclosure activity now is running rampant in cities outside the Sun Belt.

Foreclosure filings increased 170 percent compared to a year ago in Columbia, South Carolina. In Baltimore, Maryland, foreclosures were up 141 percent. Salt Lake City, Utah, and Charlotte, North Carolina, also posted year-over-year increases of more than 100 percent.

These four cities posted the biggest annual increases for the quarter, continuing the trend of foreclosure activity spreading to areas previously protected from the brunt of the real estate slump.

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According to RealtyTrac’s study, foreclosure activity in Q1 increased on an annual basis in 159 of the 206 metro areas tracked by the company, and foreclosure activity nationwide jumped 16 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009. In contrast, foreclosure filings declined on a year-over-year basis in 14 of the cities on RealtyTrac’s top 20 list and in eight of the cities in the top 10.

James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO, says the decreasing activity within the nation’s foreclosure hubs is not a sure signal that these areas are out of the woods yet. He said the drops are largely the result of government intervention, as well as other non-market influences.

In particular, Saccacio points to the federal government’s new program designed to encourage short sales, which was launched April 5. He says it may have caused some lenders to delay initiating foreclosure against distressed properties â€" particularly in hard-hit housing markets where a short sale costs less than a foreclosure.

California accounted for 10 out of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates on RealtyTrac’s list, followed by Florida with seven, Nevada with two, and Arizona with one.

Las Vegas continued to post the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate in the first quarter, with one in 28 housing units receiving a filing. That equates to a foreclosure rate of 3.51 percent â€" 4.9 times the national average. A total of 28,480 Las Vegas housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, an increase of nearly 13 percent from the previous quarter but a decrease of 19 percent from the first quarter of 2009.