US repossession rate doubles
The number of US homes heading towards repossession more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier.
Weakening property values and tighter lending has left many owners powerless to prevent them from being auctioned to the highest bidder, a research firm has said.
Among the hardest hit states are Nevada, Florida and, in particular, California, where Stockton led the nation with a foreclosure rate that was 6.6 times the national average, RealtyTrac said.
Nationwide, 649,917 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in the first three months of the year, up 112% from 306,722 during the same period last year, RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, California, said.
The latest tally also represents an increase of 23% from the fourth quarter of last year.
RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
All told, one in every 194 households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings increased in all but four states.
The most recent quarter marked the seventh consecutive quarter of rising foreclosure activity, RealtyTrac noted.
However, the unavailability of loans for people without perfect credit and a significant downpayment is slowing the process, it claims.
The surge in foreclosure filings also suggests that much-touted campaigns by politicians and the mortgage lending industry aimed at helping at-risk homeowners are not paying off.
