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Foreclosure Filings Exceed 100,000 for Fifth Straight Month, Up 35 Percent From December 2005
RealtyTrac(R) (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its December 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows that 109,652 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during the month, a decrease of nearly 9 percent from the previous month but an increase of 35 percent from December 2005. The report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 1,055 U.S. households.
RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with over 700,000 properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal.
"New foreclosure filings surpassed the 100,000 level for the fifth straight month, something we've not seen since we began issuing our foreclosure market report in January 2005," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "While the number of new foreclosure filings dropped back from the high point of 2006 in November, the combination of slower home sales and rising interest rates on adjustable mortgages continues to drive foreclosures at significantly higher numbers than a year ago."
Colorado reclaims top foreclosure rate
Colorado posted the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in December -- one new foreclosure filing for every 376 households -- despite a nearly 4 percent dip in foreclosure activity from the previous month. The state registered the highest monthly rate for the ninth time in 2006, reclaiming the top spot back from Nevada. Nevada's foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 392 households dropped to second highest in the nation thanks to a nearly 12 percent decrease in foreclosure activity
Georgia also reported a decrease in foreclosure activity, but the state's foreclosure rate -- one new foreclosure filing for every 480 households -- ranked third highest in the nation for the third month in a row.
Texas documents most new foreclosure filings
Texas recorded the most new foreclosure filings of any state in December, taking the top spot from California. The state reported 14,195 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during the month, an increase of nearly 4 percent from the previous month and a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 567 households -- 1.9 times the national average. December was the eighth month that Texas has reported the most new foreclosure filings in 2006.
After claiming the top spot for the three previous months, California's monthly foreclosure total fell to second place thanks to a sharp month-over-month drop in foreclosure activity. The state reported 12,623 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 34 percent decrease from the previous month but still up nearly 65 percent from December 2005.
Florida documented 8,321 properties entering some stage of foreclosure in December, the third most of any state but 11 percent below the number reported in the previous month. Florida's foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 878 households dropped out of the nation's 10 highest state foreclosure rates but remained above the national average.
Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York also reported state foreclosure totals among the nation's 10 highest.
Top three metro foreclosure rates in Colorado, Texas and Michigan
For the fifth month in a row, Greeley, Colo., posted the highest foreclosure rate among the nation's 200-plus largest metropolitan areas. The Greeley metro area (Weld County) documented 391 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a decrease of nearly 9 percent from the previous month and a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 169 households -- more than six times the national average.
Fort Worth, Texas, documented the nation's second highest metro foreclosure rate in November, with one new foreclosure filing for every 242 households -- more than four times the national average. The metro area reported 2,862 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during the month, up nearly 48 percent from the previous month.
Foreclosure activity decreased less than 1 percent in the Detroit metropolitan area (Wayne County), and the city's foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 250 households ranked as the third highest metropolitan foreclosure rate in the nation.
The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of homes entering some stage of foreclosure nationwide and by state over the preceding month. Data is also available at the individual county level. RealtyTrac's report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Defaults -- Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auctions -- Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

          U.S. Foreclosure Market Statistics by State - Dec 2006

  Rate Rank  State Name     NODs    NTSs    NFSs   LISs    REOs    Total
  --         U.S.          26,593  41,292  5,472  15,887  20,408  109,652
  29         Alabama            2     418      0       0     232      652
  24         Alaska             0      72      0       0       7       79
  12         Arizona            0       6  2,352      13     154    2,525
  19         Arkansas          10     684      0       0      73      767
  14         California     9,638   2,348      0       1     636   12,623
  1          Colorado          57   3,955      0       0     852    4,864
  17         Connecticut      952     122      0       0       0    1,074
  44         Delaware           4       6      0       0      22       32
             DC                 1       3      0       0       0        4
  13         Florida            0      16  1,224   6,826     255    8,321
  3          Georgia           14   4,698      0       0   1,743    6,455
  43         Hawaii             4      37      0       0       2       43
  37         Idaho             33      43      0       0       4       80
  8          Illinois           0     111    748   5,641     403    6,903
  9          Indiana        1,157   1,565      0       0     714    3,436
  25         Iowa              31     208      0       0     234      473
  30         Kansas           111     244      0       0       0      355
  31         Kentucky          87     298      0       0     132      517
  34         Louisiana         28     262      0       0     105      395
  49         Maine              1       5      0       0       0        6
  45         Maryland           9     180      0       0       6      195
  4          Mass.*         4,416     427      0       0       0    4,843
  6          Michigan       1,079   3,069      0       0   2,664    6,812
  28         Minnesota         41     572      0       0     104      717
  39         Mississippi        2     123      0       0      44      169
  16         Missouri          13     665      0       0   1,297    1,975
  33         Montana            0      83      0       0       4       87
  27         Nebraska           4     205      0       0      47      256
  2          Nevada         1,416     748      0       0      49    2,213
  48         New Hampshire      0      10      0       0       2       12
  10         New Jersey     3,466     281      1       0     117    3,865
  23         New Mexico       192      85      0       0      37      314
  20         New York           0       9  1,147   3,405     129    4,690
  26         North Carolina   346     133      0       0     781    1,260
  47         North Dakota       1       0      0       0      13       14
  7          Ohio             165   3,062      0       0   4,122    7,349
  22         Oklahoma         222     366      0       0     168      756
  36         Oregon            26     223      0       0      19      268
  18         Pennsylvania   2,148   1,217      0       0     339    3,704
  42         Rhode Island*      0      51      0       0       0       51
  35         South Carolina    35      83      0       1     229      348
  46         South Dakota       1      19      0       0       0       20
  11         Tennessee        164   1,762      0       0     926    2,852
  5          Texas              8  10,702      0       0   3,485   14,195
  15         Utah             341     344      0       0      37      722
  50         Vermont            0       1      0       0       0        1
  41         Virginia           8     273      0       0      88      369
  21         Washington        23   1,149      0       0      89    1,261
  40         West Virginia      2     108      0       0       0      110
  32         Wisconsin        335     222      0       0      32      589
  38         Wyoming            0      19      0       0      12       31

  Rate Rank  State Name   1 for every #HH      % change      % change
                                              from Nov 06   from Dec 05
  --               U.S.        1,055            -8.88         34.89
  29         Alabama           3,011            -5.51        715.00
  24         Alaska            2,597           -26.17        -20.20
  12         Arizona             867           -17.00          7.54
  19         Arkansas          1,529            -5.77        -20.19
  14         California          968           -34.42         64.49
  1          Colorado            376            -3.70        284.81
  17         Connecticut       1,290            -9.52          6.13
  44         Delaware         10,721             0.00        113.33
  DC         68,711             0.00           -66.67
  13         Florida             878           -11.12          3.37
  3          Georgia             480            -8.52        114.67
  43         Hawaii           10,710           -41.89        -30.65
  37         Idaho             6,573           -65.52        -63.13
  8          Illinois            708            13.74         65.30
  9          Indiana             735            -8.01          1.45
  25         Iowa              2,606            -4.83         42.90
  30         Kansas            3,177           -14.46         24.56
  31         Kentucky          3,386            -3.18         39.73
  34         Louisiana         4,768           -16.31        287.25
  49         Maine           108,649            50.00          0.00
  45         Maryland         10,987           -54.01        -47.44
  4          Mass.*              541           130.62        937.04
  6          Michigan            620            -4.97         52.67
  28         Minnesota         2,884            24.05        205.11
  39         Mississippi       7,508            49.56        131.51
  16         Missouri          1,234            22.75         96.91
  33         Montana           4,737            -2.25         14.47
  27         Nebraska          2,807           -51.70         12.78
  2          Nevada              392           -11.69         96.89
  48         New Hampshire    45,585            -7.69         71.43
  10         New Jersey          856           -24.33         44.76
  23         New Mexico        2,486            26.10        -53.41
  20         New York          1,637            -3.91          4.22
  26         North Carolina    2,794           -22.94        -15.94
  47         North Dakota     20,691             7.69        133.33
  7          Ohio                651           -10.38          8.60
  22         Oklahoma          1,977           -17.83        -53.68
  36         Oregon            5,432           -65.95        -47.45
  18         Pennsylvania      1,417            15.71         12.11
  42         Rhode Island*     8,624           -67.10       2450.00
  35         South Carolina    5,036           -33.33        -37.30
  46         South Dakota     16,160           -35.48         81.82
  11         Tennessee           860           -20.65         43.82
  5          Texas               567             3.89         11.31
  15         Utah              1,065           -21.09        -17.11
  50         Vermont         294,382             0.00        -83.33
  41         Virginia          7,822            23.83         -0.54
  21         Washington        1,897           -12.43         12.79
  40         West Virginia     7,678           129.17         -6.78
  32         Wisconsin         3,910           -33.14         40.57
  38         Wyoming           7,221           -13.89        106.67

  *  Actual increases may not be as high due to expanded data coverage in
     this state.

About RealtyTrac Inc.
Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix and No. 53 on Inc. magazine's 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (www.realtytrac.com), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.
Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new construction properties, with more than 1 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal. For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.
Source: RealtyTrac

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