Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Denver and Miami Top List of Nation's 10 Highest Metropolitan Foreclosure Rates

Irvine, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- RealtyTrac (http://www.realtytrac.com/), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its Q3 2006 U.S. Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report today. After two consecutive quarters featuring Indianapolis, Atlanta and Dallas as the three cities with the highest foreclosure rates, the third quarter report showed three new cities -- Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale and Denver -- posting the nation's highest metropolitan foreclosure rates. Completing the top 10 list were Miami, Dallas, Indianapolis, Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Memphis.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with nearly 650,000 properties from more than 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal.

"The third quarter saw a marked increase in the number of properties entering some stage of foreclosure," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "It appears that a combination of factors, including a slowdown in home sales and lower home appreciation rates are contributing to higher numbers of delinquencies. It's also likely that part of the reason for the increased foreclosure rates is the long-anticipated effect of the first wave of adjustable rate mortgages re-setting at higher monthly payments, putting homeowners into financial distress."

Of the top 10 cities on the list only Indianapolis reported lower foreclosure rates, with 2 percent fewer foreclosures than reported for the second quarter. The two Florida cities -- Ft. Lauderdale and Miami -- reported the highest foreclosure growth for the quarter with 87 percent and 97 percent respectively.

National leader Detroit reported 42 percent growth in foreclosure activity for the quarter, with Denver reporting 30 percent growth and Dallas reporting 10 percent growth. Ft. Worth reported a 14 percent increase in foreclosures, Atlanta had a 5 percent increase over second quarter activity, Las Vegas reported a 59 percent increase, and foreclosure activity in Memphis was up 2 percent over the previous quarter.

Detroit's foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 80 households was more than 4.5 times the national average. Ft. Lauderdale and Denver reported foreclosure rates that were more than four times the national average, with Miami just short of four times the average. Foreclosure rates in the remaining top 10 cities exceeded three times the average except for Memphis with a rate that was 2.5 times the national average

Although it ranked 19th among the top 100 metropolitan areas, Chicago posted the most new foreclosure filings for the third quarter, reporting 16,155 properties entering some stage of the foreclosure process. Second highest total was in Atlanta, reporting 13,562 properties entering the process, followed closely by Dallas reporting 13,422 properties in the foreclosure pipeline.

                Top 10 Metro Foreclosure Rates -- Q3 2006

  Metro Area            % of Households   # Households for
                         in Foreclosure   Every Foreclosure   National Avg.

  1.  Detroit, MI            1.249                80              4.535
  2.  Ft. Lauderdale, FL     1.138                88              4.132
  3.  Denver, CO             1.113                90              4.043
  4.  Miami, FL              1.101                91              3.997
  5.  Dallas, TX             1.007                99              3.658
  6.  Indianapolis, IN       0.998               100              3.623
  7.  Ft. Worth, TX          0.991               101              3.600
  8.  Atlanta, GA            0.935               107              3.397
  9.  Las Vegas, NV          0.869               115              3.158
  10. Memphis, TN            0.696               144              2.528

While the majority of the nation's 100 largest metros reported increased foreclosure activity during the third quarter -- a marked difference from the previous two quarters -- a handful did report declining foreclosure numbers. Of particular note were Houston, reporting a 15 percent decline in activity for the quarter, and New York, reporting a 13 percent decline from last quarter. Reporting one new foreclosure filing for every 659 households, the New York metropolitan area had the 74th highest foreclosure rate among the top 100 MSAs.

Chicago, which reported a 72 percent increase last quarter, reported another 4 percent increase during the third quarter. The city's foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 180 households was the 19th highest in the country during the quarter. Los Angeles, which reported a 46 percent increase in foreclosures for the quarter, ranked 55th among the top 100 MSAs in foreclosure rate, reporting one new foreclosure filing for every 416 households.

The RealtyTrac 2006 U.S. Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of properties entering some stage of foreclosure in each of the nation's 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas. RealtyTrac's report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Pre-foreclosures -- Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Foreclosures -- Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been re-purchased by a bank).

   Foreclosure Statistics for the Nation's 100 Largest MSAs -- Q3 2006

  Foreclosure    MSA               Q3 2006    1/ Every #     Natl
  Rate Rank                         Total     Households     Avg   % from Q2

  --     United States             318,355        363          --     17.00

  1      Detroit-Livonia-
         Dearborn, MI               10,316         80       4.535     41.90
  2      Ft. Lauderdale, FL          8,431         88       4.132     86.53
  3      Denver-Aurora, CO           9,825         90       4.043     30.41
  4      Miami, FL                   9,380         91       3.997     97.18
  5      Dallas, TX                 13,422         99       3.658      9.94
  6      Indianapolis, IN            6,383        100       3.623     -2.50
  7      Ft. Worth-Arlington, TX     6,854        101       3.600     13.80
  8      Atlanta-Sandy Springs-
         Marietta, GA               13,562        107       3.397      4.51
  9      Las Vegas-Paradise, NV      5,215        115       3.158     58.85
  10     Memphis, AR-MS-TN           3,929        144       2.528      2.08
  11     San Antonio, TX             3,788        145       2.508     14.86
  12     Riverside-
         San Bernardino, CA          8,183        145       2.506     59.86
  13     Palm Beach, FL              3,643        153       2.378     37.89
  14     Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria-
         Mentor, OH                  5,781        158       2.304     23.42
  15     Columbus, OH                4,128        165       2.204     33.72
  16     Dayton, OH                  2,205        165       2.198     56.49
  17     Houston-Baytown-
         Sugarland, TX              10,184        177       2.055    -15.44
  18     Lake-Kenosha, IL            1,264        179       2.032      1.53
  19     Chicago, IL                16,155        180       2.019      3.78
  20     Stockton, CA                 1050        180       2.018    -14.50
  21     Akron, OH                   1,584        184       1.977     18.12
  22     Jacksonville, FL            2,516        189       1.924      3.37
  23     Camden, NC-NJ               1,359        191       1.903    131.91
  24     Salt Lake City, UT          1,672        205       1.774     -1.70
  25     Tampa-St Petersburg-
         Clearwater, FL              5,542        206       1.760     51.67
  26     Austin-Round Rock, TX       2,378        209       1.741    -32.13
  27     Little Rock-
         North Little Rock, AR        1177        223       1.634     12.10
  28     Oklahoma City, OK           2,120        223       1.631     12.95
  29     Warren-Farmington Hills-
         Troy, MI                    4,211        231       1.575     36.50
  30     Orlando, FL                 2,882        231       1.573     -1.40
  31     Tulsa, OK                   1,516        242       1.504     -2.19
  32     Phoenix-Mesa, AZ            5,492        242       1.498     35.47
  33     Charlotte-Gastonia, NC      2,190        250       1.456     25.43
  34     Oakland, CA                 3,532        253       1.434     35.95
  35     San Diego, CA               4,069        256       1.421     56.74
  36     Sacramento, CA              2,509        260       1.395    -16.98
  37     Louisville, IN-KY           1,837        268       1.356     72.33
  38     Fresno, CA                    973        278       1.305     32.20
  39     Gary, IN                      890        296       1.225     37.13
  40     Bakersfield, CA               768        302       1.205     98.96
  41     Tucson, AZ                  1,143        321       1.132     15.92
  42     Tacoma, WA                    843        329       1.105      7.25
  43     Suffolk-Nassau, NY          2,973        330       1.101    -21.60
  44     Newark, NJ                  2,456        330       1.100     46.98
  45     Cincinnati, IN-KY-OH        2,494        334       1.087     29.96
  46     Toledo, OH                    854        334       1.086    -10.20
  47     Worchester, MA                823        362       1.003     90.07
  48     Pittsburgh, PA              2,944        366       0.991     18.90
  49     El Paso, TX                   608        369       0.984     -9.25
  50     Omaha-Council Bluffs, IA-NE   824        375       0.969    464.38
  51     Raleigh-Cary, NC              862        382       0.950      5.77
  52     Philadelphia, PA            4,089        383       0.949      4.42
  53     Sarasota-Bradenton-
         Venice, FL                    814        394       0.923     25.42
  54     St. Louis, IL-MO            2,838        403       0.901     16.60
  55     Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA  7,860        416       0.873     46.12
  56     Springfield, MA               654        423       0.859     70.76
  57     Edison, NJ                  2,058        425       0.854     29.84
  58     Kansas City, KS-MO          1,802        436       0.832     23.51
  59     Buffalo-Cheektowaga-
         Tonawanda, NY               1,154        443       0.819    128.97
  60     Orange, CA                  2,058        471       0.771     39.53
  61     New Haven-Milford, CT         720        473       0.768    -15.59
  62     Birmingham-Hoover, AL         878        481       0.756     71.48
  63     Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-
         Hazleton, PA                  525        481       0.755  1,593.55
  64     Nashville-Davidson, TN      1,115        496       0.732     -2.28
  65     Bridgeport-Stamford-
         Norwalk, CT                   677        501       0.724    -10.09
  66     Albuquerque, NM               602        508       0.715    -61.99
  67     Seattle-Bellevue-
         Everett, WA                 1,805        542       0.670     -7.34
  68     Hartford, CT                  845        558       0.650    -21.18
  69     San Jose-Sunnyvale-
         Santa Clara, CA             1,014        588       0.618     20.00
  70     Ventura, CA                   415        607       0.599     27.69
  71     Essex, MA                     471        610       0.596    117.05
  72     Greenville, SC                370        646       0.563     27.15
  73     Milwaukee-Waukesha-
         West Allis, WI                943        656       0.554     24.41
  74     New York-Wayne-
         White Plains, NJ-NY         6,467        659       0.551    -12.68
  75     Knoxville, TN                 415        665       0.546     -3.04
  76     Wichita, KS                   352        678       0.537    -12.00
  77     Rochester, NY                 622        687       0.529     72.78
  78     Boston-Quincy, MA           1,048        696       0.522     74.38
  79     Portland-Vancouver-
         Beaverton, OR-WA            1,037        763       0.476    -72.46
  80     Minneapolis-St Paul-
         Bloomington, MN-WI          1,511        774       0.469     18.32
  81     Providence-New Bedford, RI    551        798       0.455     68.50
  82     Cambridge-Newton-
         Framingham, MA                664        868       0.418     79.46
  83     Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-
         Middletown, NY                257        890       0.408     -9.19
  84     Baton Rouge, LA               298        920       0.395    277.22
  85     Greensboro-Highpoint, NC      298        923       0.394    -22.40
  86     San Francisco, CA             743        958       0.379     20.03
  87     Washington-Arlington-
         Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV     1,435      1,049       0.346     56.83
  88     Syracuse, NY                  206      1,350       0.269    -26.16
  89     Columbia, SC                  197      1,367       0.266    -51.95
  90     Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ          186      1,399       0.260     97.87
  91     Charleston, SC                160      1,456       0.250    -23.81
  92     Allentown-Bethlehem-
         Easton, PA                    174      1,662       0.219     20.83
  93     New Orleans, LA               340      1,757       0.207    190.60
  94     McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, TX    106      1,818       0.200     41.33
  95     Baltimore-Towson, MD          511      2,051       0.177     -0.97
  96     Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY   163      2,232       0.163    -27.23
  97     Norfolk-Virginia Beach-
         Newport News, NC-VA           227      2,423       0.150     18.85
  98     Honolulu, HI                  103      3,068       0.118    -28.97
  99     Richmond, VA                  114      3,874       0.094      3.64
  100    Bethesda-Frederick-
         Gaithersburg, MD               74      5,505       0.066      4.23



  About RealtyTrac Inc.

Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix, and No. 53 on Inc. magazine's 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (http://www.realtytrac.com/), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.

Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new construction properties, with more than 1 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and the Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal. For more information, visit http://www.realtytrac.com/.