Midway into 2010, 1.65M Properties Have Received Foreclosure Filings

""RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com released its Midyear 2010 Foreclosure Report Thursday, which shows that 1,654,634 U.S. properties received a foreclosure filing during the first half of this year.

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That figure means that one in every 78 homes received at least one foreclosure filing between January and the end of June. The midyear total represents a 5 percent decrease from the previous six months but an 8 percent increase from the first six months of 2009.

""The midyear numbers put us on pace to exceed 3 million properties with foreclosure filings by the end of the year, and more than 1 million bank repossessions,"" said James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac.

""The roller coaster pattern of foreclosure activity over the past 12 months demonstrates that while the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface, a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market,"" Saccacio added.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 895,521 U.S. properties during the second quarter alone. Default and auction notices were down, but bank repossessions (REOs) increased 5 percent from the previous quarter and 38

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percent from Q2 2009. During the second quarter of this year, 269,962 homes were taken back by lenders - a new quarterly high for RealtyTrac's report.

""The second quarter was a tale of two trends,"" Saccacio said. ""The pace of properties entering foreclosure slowed as lenders pre-empted or delayed foreclosure proceedings on delinquent properties with more aggressive short sale and loan modification initiatives. Meanwhile the pace of properties completing the foreclosure process through bank repossession quickened as lenders cleared out a backlog of distressed inventory delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts in 2009.""

Narrowing the scope, the numbers fare a little better. Foreclosure filings were reported on 313,841 U.S. properties during the month of June, a decrease of nearly 3 percent from the previous month and a decrease of nearly 7 percent from June 2009. June marks the third straight monthly decline in overall foreclosure filings.

Back to the midyear numbers, nearly 6 percent of all Nevada housing units, or one in 17, received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010, giving the state the nation's highest foreclosure rate during the six-month period despite decreasing foreclosure activity. A total of 64,429 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing from January to June.

Arizona registered the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate in the first half of this year, with 3.36 percent of its homes, or one in 30, receiving a foreclosure filing. Florida registered the nation's third highest rate, with 3.15 percent, or one in 32 homes, in some stage of foreclosure.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation's 10 highest were California (2.54 percent), Utah (1.91 percent), Georgia (1.79 percent), Michigan (1.73 percent), Idaho (1.68 percent), Illinois (1.61 percent), and Colorado (1.40 percent).