Nevada’s home foreclosure rate tops nation

By Tim Richardson

Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008 | 12:32 p.m.

Numbers released today show Nevada has once again claimed the top spot on the list of states with the highest foreclosure rates.

Irvine, Calif.,-based RealtyTrac Inc. reported that one in every 106 households in Nevada received a foreclosure filing in July. Foreclosure filings were up 15 percent compared to June and up 97 percent from July 2007.

More than 10,000 Nevada homes fell into foreclosure last month.

RealtyTrac reported that bank repossessions in Nevada were up 384 percent in the past year, while default notices were up 59 percent. California (one in every 182 homes) and Florida (one in every 186 homes) followed Nevada with the second- and third-highest rates of home foreclosures.

The Las Vegas area ranked No. 5 on the list of cities with the highest foreclosure rates. RealtyTrac reported that one in every 85 homes received a foreclosure filing last month.

The metro area with the highest rate of foreclosures last month was Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., (one in 64), followed by three cities in California: Merced, Stockton and Modesto. Rounding out the Top 10 were three more metro areas in California -- Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield and Vallejo-Fairfield -- followed by Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Phoenix.

Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June, RealtyTrac said. That means one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month.