Foreclosures To Continue Heavy Pace in 2008

Irvine, CA, January 29, 2008--The number of U.S. homes in foreclosure last year rose 75 percent from 2006, according to real estate tracking firm RealtyTrac.

In addition, many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the last three months, which could lead to more foreclosures this year.

Roughly 1.3 million homes received foreclosure warnings last year, up from 717,522 in 2006. Foreclosure filings rose 75 percent from 2006 year to 2.2 million.

RealtyTrac noted that in 2007 more than 1 percent of all U.S. households were in some phase of foreclosure process, up from about half a percent in 2006.

The highest rates were in Nevada, Florida, Michigan and California.

RealtyTrac predicts that the pace of foreclosure filings will remain steady during the first half of this year and that most of the worst performing loans will have been affected.

Over 1.8 million subprime mortgages are scheduled to reset to higher interest rates this year and next.

Recent efforts by government and mortgage lenders to help at-risk homeowners have had a small impact on the foreclosure rate, RealyTrac said.

Foreclosure filings skyrocketed 97 percent in December from a year ago to 215,749, the fifth consecutive month in which filings exceeded 200,000, RealtyTrac said. They also increased 7 percent over November.