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Some 323,102 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in the
first quarter of 2006, a 38 percent increase from the previous quarter and a
72 percent year-over-year increase from the first quarter of 2005, according
to a press release from RealtyTrac yesterday. The nation's quarterly
foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure for every 358 U.S. households was
higher than in any quarter of last year. States with first-quarter
foreclosure rates ranking among the nation's 10 highest included Georgia,
Colorado, Indiana, Nevada, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and
Florida. "With the current market conditions, it's unlikely that
foreclosures will return to the historically low levels they were at in
recent years when interest rates hit rock bottom and home price appreciation
skyrocketed in many areas of the country," said James J. Saccacio, chief
executive officer of RealtyTrac. Despite a 19 percent decrease in new
foreclosures in March, Georgia documented the highest state foreclosure rate
in the first quarter of 2006 with one new foreclosure for every 127
households. The state reported 24,419 properties entering some stage of
foreclosure, more than two times the number reported in the previous quarter
and nearly three times the number reported in the first quarter of 2005.
Colorado's quarterly foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure for every 138
households registered as the nation's second-highest state foreclosure rate.
The state reported a total of 13,267 properties entering some stage of
foreclosure in the first quarter of 2006, more than twice the number
reported in the previous quarter and a 96 percent increase from the first
quarter of 2005.