Foreclosure Activity Remains at Record Levels in April

May 21, 2009

Total U.S. foreclosure activity is up 32 percent from April 2008.

On May 12, 2009, RealtyTrac released its April 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings—default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions—were reported on 342,038 U.S. properties during April. This is an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous month but an increase of 32 percent from April 2008. This is the highest monthly foreclosure rate ever posted since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005.
 
“Much of this activity is at the initial stages of foreclosure—the default and auction stages—while bank repossessions, or REOs, were down on a monthly and annual basis to their lowest level since March 2008,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This suggests that many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria.”
 
Nevada, Florida and California remain the top states in regard to foreclosure rates. Despite an 18 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month, Nevada continued to post the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 68 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing—more than five times the national average.

A 37 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure activity boosted Florida's foreclosure rate to second highest among the states in April. One in every 135 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. In California, foreclosure activity decreased 10 percent from the previous month, but the state still posted the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 138 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation's 10 highest were Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado and Ohio—although the foreclosure rates in Illinois, Colorado and Ohio were below the national average.
 
The 10 states with the most properties with foreclosure filings in April accounted for more than 75 percent of the national total. California documented the highest total (96,560), followed by Florida (64,588), Nevada (16,266) and Arizona (16,245). 
 
View the list of foreclosure filings for of all 50 states.