Foreclosure filings rose to a record level for the second consecutive month in April, RealtyTrac Inc. said Wednesday.
The number of properties that received a default or auction notice or were seized last month jumped 32% from a year earlier, to 342,038, the Irvine, Calif., property data service provider said. One in 374 households got a filing — the highest monthly rate since RealtyTrac began issuing such reports in 2005.
Foreclosure filings were little changed from March, RealtyTrac said, as some states delayed seizures. Ten states accounted for three-quarters of all filings in April, with California leading the nation.
James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer, said that even though price declines are slowing, bank seizures are likely to increase in the coming months.
"Lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria," Saccacio said.
California filings increased 42% from a year earlier, to 96,560, according to RealtyTrac. Florida filings climbed 75%, to 64,588. Nevada filings rose 111%, to 16,266, and Arizona filings rose 40%, to 16,245.
Illinois filings climbed 54%, to 13,647.
Rounding out the top 10 states in filings were Ohio (12,324), Georgia (11,521), Texas (11,314), Michigan (10,830) and Virginia (6,254).
Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate; one in every 68 households there received a filing, or more than five times the national average. Bank seizures there dropped 44% from the previous month, RealtyTrac said.
Florida had the second highest rate, with one in 135 households, or almost three times the national average. Bank seizures there fell 7% from March.
California had the third-highest rate, one in 138 households, followed by Arizona, with one in 164.
Utah, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado and Ohio were among the other states with the 10 highest foreclosure rates.
Las Vegas had the highest rate among metropolitan areas with populations of 200,000 or more. A total of 14,073 properties, or one in 56 households, received a filing — almost seven times the national average, RealtyTrac said.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., has the second-highest rate, one in 57 households.
Miami ranked ninth in foreclosure rate, and Orlando ranked 10th.
California markets ranked third through eighth — Merced, Modesto, Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Vallejo-Fairfield and Stockton, according to RealtyTrac, which collects default data from 2,200 counties making up about 90% of the U.S. population.
