Illinois Takes Lead for Foreclosure Rate, REOs Continue to Fall

A new state took the spotlight in ""RealtyTrac's Foreclosure Market Report"":http://www.realtytrac.com/content/foreclosure-market-report/us-foreclosure-market-report-august-2012-7381 for August.

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For the first time since January 2005, which is when RealtyTrac began the report, Illinois ranked number one for its foreclosure rate. In August, one in every 298 Illinois housing units had a foreclosure filing.

The state also saw foreclosure activity hike 29 percent from July, and on a yearly basis, foreclosure starts were up 18 percent, scheduled foreclosure auctions shot up 116 percent, and bank repossessions increased by 41 percent.

Florida ranked second, where one in every 328 housing units had a foreclosure filing, followed by California, Arizona, and Nevada.

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""The increases in Florida and Illinois pushed foreclosure rates in those states to the two highest in the country - supplanting the non-judicial states of Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada. Previous to August, the nation's top two state foreclosure rates have been from those four non-judicial states every month since December 2010,"" said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.

RealtyTrac also found that after three straight months of yearly increases, foreclosure starts fell in August by 13 percent after a 17-month high in August 2011.

However, 18 states saw year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts. The states with significant yearly increases were Washington (143 percent), Pennsylvania (129 percent), Alabama (102 percent), New Jersey (101 percent), and New York (63 percent).

Bank repossessed fewer properties in August, with REO activity declining 2 percent month-over-month and 19 percent year-over-year, marking the 22 month in a row of yearly declines.

Seven California metros ranked highest for their foreclosure rates. Modesto, where one in every 172 housing units received a foreclosure filing, led took the first spot. Merced was second, followed by Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, and Chico.