U.S. foreclosures rise 23% in Q1 and 112% in past year

Posted Apr 29th 2008 2:42PM by Joseph Lazzaro
Filed under: Bad News, Economic Data, Housing, Recession

Home foreclosure activity jumped 23% in Q1 2008 and a whopping 112% in the past 12 months, as the housing sector's deep recession continues. And substantially more default notices, auction sales notices, and bank repossessions were reported in Q1, research firm RealtyTrac announced Tuesday.

In Q1 2008, one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure notice, RealtyTrac said, adding that foreclosure activity increased in 46 of 50 states and in 90 of the nation's 100 largest cities in the same period.

State foreclosure rates

In Q1 2008, Nevada (one in 54 households) had the U.S.'s highest foreclosure rate, followed by California (one in 78 households), and Arizona (one in 95 households). Vermont (one in 103,186 households), North Dakota (one in 6,156 households), and West Virginia (one in 6,138) had the nation's lowest foreclosure rates.

Meanwhile, California reported the most foreclosure filings, with 169,831, a 212% increase from Q1 2007. Florida was second, with 87,893, a 178% increase from Q1 2007.

Housing Sector Analysis: The key statistic (but not the sole downbeat number) in the report is the enormous 112% increase in foreclosure activity from Q1 2007 to Q1 2008. During the 12-month period, U.S. foreclosure activity more than doubled. Given the triple-digit increase in foreclosure activity, it's unlikely that foreclosures can maintain that pace throughout 2008, and no economist or policy maker wants to see the nation try. Nevertheless, the elevated foreclosure rate reveals a housing sector in deep recession -- its worse slump in more than 15 years -- and the sector is not likely to register a recovery in the U.S median home price in 2008. If the median home price started to recover before next year at this time (April 2009), that would be an unexpected (and cheered) accomplishment.

Tags: foreclosures, housing, inthenews, median home price, mortgages, RealtyTrac