–Foreclosure Filings +1.5% In 1st 6 months of 2012, -10.7% Y/Y

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the text of the RealtyTrac
Mid-Year 2012 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report published Thursday:

RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for
foreclosure properties, today released its Midyear 2012 Metropolitan
Foreclosure Market Report, which shows that foreclosure activity in the
first half of 2012 increased from the previous six months in 125 of the
nation’s 212 metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more.
Despite the increases from the second half of 2011, 129 of the metro
areas still posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity.

California accounted for seven of the 10 highest metro foreclosure
rates and 10 of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates during the first half
of the year. Florida accounted for four of the top 20 metro foreclosure
rates, and Illinois accounted for two of the top 20. Georgia, Arizona,
Nevada and Colorado each had one city in the top 20.

“Increasing foreclosure starts in many local markets helped push
total foreclosure activity higher in the first half of this year
compared to the second half of 2011,” said Brandon Moore, CEO of
RealtyTrac. “Those foreclosure starts are welcome news for prospective
buyers and real estate brokers in many local markets where a shortage of
aggressively priced inventory has been holding up sales activity.
Markets with increasing foreclosure starts will likely see more
distressed inventory for sale in the form of short sales and bank-owned
properties in the second half of the year.”

Top 10 metro foreclosure rates

Stockton, Calif., posted the nation’s highest metro foreclosure
rate, 2.66 percent of housing units (one in every 38) with a foreclosure
filing in the first half of 2012 – more than three times the national
average. There were a total of 6,218 Stockton properties with a
foreclosure filing during the six-month period, a decrease of 13 percent
from the previous six months and a decrease of 16 percent from the first
half of 2011.

Four other California cities ranked in the top 5 metro foreclosure
rates despite decreasing foreclosure activity: Modesto at No. 2 (2.61
percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing), Riverside-San
Bernardino-Ontario at No. 3 (2.59 percent), Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 4
(2.56 percent), and Merced at No. 5 (2.15 percent).

Atlanta was the only metro area with a top 10 foreclosure rate to
register increasing foreclosure activity in the first half of 2012. A
total of 46,267 Atlanta area properties had a foreclosure filing during
the six-month period, 2.14 percent of all housing units (one in every
47) – the nation’s sixth highest metro foreclosure rate. Atlanta area
foreclosure activity increased 3 percent from the previous six months
and was up 5 percent from the first half of 2011.

Other metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Phoenix
at No. 7 (2.08 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing),
Bakersfield, Calif., at No. 8 (2.07 percent), Las Vegas at No. 9 (2.04
percent), and Visalia-Porterville, Calif., at No. 10 (2.03 percent).

Trends in 20 largest metro areas

Half of the nation’s 20 largest metro areas in terms of population
documented increasing foreclosure activity from the previous six months,
led by the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area in Florida with a
47 percent increase.

Foreclosure activity during the first half of the year increased
more than 20 percent from second half of 2011 in Philadelphia (30
percent), Chicago (28 percent), New York (26 percent), and Baltimore (21
percent).

Seattle foreclosure activity in the first half of 2012 decreased 24
percent from the previous six months, the biggest drop among the
nation’s 20 largest metro areas. Other large metro areas where first
half foreclosure activity decreased more than 10 percent from the second
half of 2011 were San Francisco (21 percent), Detroit (17 percent), Los
Angeles (13 percent), Boston (12 percent), and San Diego (11 percent).

Despite a 9 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the
previous six months, the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area in
Southern California registered the highest foreclosure rate among the 20
largest metro areas, followed by Atlanta, Phoenix, Miami and Chicago.

Best metros for foreclosure buying and investing in second half of
2012

Second quarter foreclosure starts increased from the previous
quarter in more than 60 percent of all metro areas with a population of
200,000 or more, and those markets represent areas where more
foreclosure inventory will likely be available for sale in the second
half of the year.

Among the 132 metro areas with increasing foreclosure starts in the
second quarter, RealtyTrac ranked the 10 best markets for foreclosure
buying and investing in the second half of 2012. The top 10 list is
comprised of metros where the average foreclosure sales price is
increasing on an annual basis, average foreclosure sale discounts are
still 15 percent or higher, and the unsold inventory of bank-owned homes
represents a supply of 20 months or fewer.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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