Of all major U.S. metropolitan areas, the 10 with the worst foreclosure rates were in just three states — with two of those states located in the West. The four best areas were on the East Coast.
One out of every 20 housing units in the Las Vegas metropolitan area faced a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, RealtyTrac reported today. The rate of foreclosures in the Sin City area was higher than any other area in the country.
Another Nevada metropolitan area, Reno-Sparks, came in at No. 9 with one foreclosure filed on each 37 properties. Foreclosures increased 80 percent from a year earlier — thrusting the Sierra Nevada city into the top 10.
The foreclosure service said that filings included notices of default and lis pendens; auction notices, notices of trustee sale and notices of foreclosure sale; and real estate owned.
With one filing on every 27 properties, the Merced, Calif., region was No. 2. The high ranking came despite a 13 percent decrease from a year earlier for the area.
Other California metropolitan areas that were among the 10 worst were Stockton, with a rate of one-in-28; Modesto, where every 30 properties had a filing; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, which had a one-in-30 rate; and Bakersfield, where one-in 35 properties had a filing.
No. 3 was Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., with a foreclosure rate of one-in-27. The metropolitan area, however, did see a decrease in activity from last year.
The only other Florida region to crack the top 10 was Port St. Lucie, which had one filing for every 38 properties.
RealtyTrac said that compared to last year, the Boise City, Idaho, area saw the biggest year-over-year increase in foreclosures. Provo-Orem and Salt Lake City, Utah, also saw a huge increase.
Among areas with the lowest foreclosure rates were Utica-Rome, N.Y., with just one filing for every 5,441 properties; Burlington-South Burlington, Vt., where one filing was made on each 4,436, properties; and Fayetteville, N.C., which had a filing on every 2,902. Two other areas among the five best were Lynchburg, Va., with a foreclosure filed on every 2,631 properties, and Lincoln, Neb., where every 2,417 properties faced a filing.
