Stockton, Detroit, Las Vegas Post Top Metro Foreclosure Rates According to RealtyTrac(R) 2007 Midyear MSA Report(TM)

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- RealtyTrac(R) (http://www.realtytrac.com/), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its 2007 Midyear Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report(TM), which shows Stockton, Calif., Detroit and Las Vegas documenting the three highest foreclosure rates among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas during the first six months of the year. McAllen, Texas, Greenville, S.C., and Richmond, Va., registered the three lowest metro foreclosure rates in the report.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 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.

"This report clearly demonstrates that not all local housing markets are flooded with foreclosures," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "While foreclosure activity has skyrocketed over the past year in many cities, particularly in California, Ohio and the Northeast, foreclosure activity seems to be subsiding in parts of Texas, South Carolina and other states. Still, the overall trend is toward escalating foreclosure rates, with 82 of the top 100 metro areas reporting year-over-year increases in the number of homes affected by foreclosure.

Stockton, Detroit, Las Vegas document highest metro foreclosure rates

With one foreclosure filing for every 27 households, Stockton, Calif., reported the highest foreclosure rate among the nation's 100 largest metro areas during the first half of 2007. The metro area, comprised of San Joaquin County, reported a total of 8,169 foreclosure filings on 4,239 properties, more than twice the number of properties reported in the previous six-month period and more than triple the number reported in the first six months of 2006.

Detroit documented the second highest foreclosure rate among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas -- one foreclosure filing for every 29 households. The metro area, comprised of Wayne County, reported 28,705 foreclosure filings on 20,231 properties, a 26 percent increase from the previous six-month period and nearly double the number reported in the first six months of 2006.

Las Vegas documented the third highest foreclosure rate among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, with one foreclosure filing for every 31 households during the first half of 2007. The metro area, which comprises Clark County, reported 22,928 foreclosure filings on 13,028 properties, a 72 percent increase from the previous six-month period and more than twice the number reported in the first six months of 2006.

Other cities in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., Sacramento, Calif., Denver, Miami, Bakersfield, Calif., Memphis and Cleveland.

Riverside-San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Atlanta report most foreclosure filings

The Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area in Southern California reported 41,351 foreclosure filings on 22,291 properties during the first half of 2007, the most total filings of any metro area and a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 33 households -- fourth highest among the top 100 metro areas. The number of properties with foreclosure filings in Riverside-San Bernardino nearly tripled from the first six months of 2006.

The Los Angeles metro area reported the second highest total, with 38,199 foreclosure filings on 20,288 properties during the first half of the year. The city's foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 87 households ranked 29th among the top 100 metro areas.

Atlanta's total of 36,502 foreclosure filings on 22,412 properties was the third highest among the 100 top metro areas. The number of properties with foreclosure filings during the first half of 2007 increased 17 percent from the first half of 2006, and the city's foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 54 households ranked No. 12.

Other cities with foreclosure filing totals among the 10 highest included Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Sacramento.

Report methodology

The RealtyTrac Metro Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of foreclosure filings by metropolitan area, along with the number of households per foreclosure filing. The household numbers are based on the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 estimates of total housing units.

Beginning with the Midyear 2007 report, the report also includes counts of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported against them. This new metric only counts a property once, even if there were multiple foreclosure actions filed against the property during the time period covered by the report.

Data is also available at the individual county level. RealtyTrac's report includes documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default -- Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction -- Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

  Foreclosure Activity for the Nation's 100 Largest MSAs - Jan to Jun 2007

                                                                    %Change
                                  Fore-  1 filing Properties %Change First
                                 closure  for        with     prev 6  Half
    Rate                         Filings every #HH  Filings   months  2006
    Rank    MSA
      1 STOCKTON, CA               8,169    27       4,239     116     256
      2 DETROIT/LIVONIA/DEARBORN,
        MI                        28,705    29      20,231      26      99
      3 LAS VEGAS/PARADISE, NV    22,928    31      13,028      72     142
      4 RIVERSIDE/SAN
        BERNARDINO, CA            41,351    33      22,291      80     198
      5 SACRAMENTO, CA            20,516    36      10,708     162     241
      6 DENVER/AURORA, CO         23,842    42      13,149      14      11
      7 MIAMI, FL                 20,275    46      10,191      24      74
      8 BAKERSFIELD, CA            5,365    47       2,721      85     222
      9 MEMPHIS, TN               10,800    49       5,401      12      17
     10 CLEVELAND/LORAIN/ELYRIA/
        MENTOR, OH                18,844    50      13,444      54     106
     11 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL       15,720    50       7,162      16      72
     12 ATLANTA/SANDY
        SPRINGS/MARIETTA, GA      36,502    54      22,412      20      17
     13 FORT WORTH/ARLINGTON, TX  13,221    57       6,250       7     -10
     14 FRESNO, CA                 4,867    60       2,679      66     183
     15 INDIANAPOLIS, IN          11,677    62       8,093      -3      -6
     16 DAYTON, OH                 5,966    63       3,881      56      96
     17 DALLAS, TX                23,284    65      12,725      -9     -15
     18 AKRON, OH                  4,378    70       3,686      65      85
     19 OAKLAND, CA               13,482    70       7,491      63     152
     20 COLUMBUS, OH              10,706    70       7,363      55      85
     21 JACKSONVILLE, FL           7,513    73       4,881      42      20
     22 PHOENIX/MESA, AZ          21,378    74      11,596      66     139
     23 SAN DIEGO, CA             14,859    75       8,929      65     164
     24 TAMPA/ST PETERSBURG/
        CLEARWATER, FL            15,905    79      10,173      41      68
     25 WARREN/FARMINGTON
        HILLS/TROY, MI            13,093    80       9,192      34      92
     26 TOLEDO, OH                 3,530    84       2,464      33      47
     27 VENTURA, CA                3,100    86       1,863     103     183
     28 NEWHAVEN/MILFORD, CT       4,017    86       1,734     275     547
     29 LOS ANGELES/LONG BEACH,
        CA                        38,199    87      20,288      65     125
     30 CHICAGO, IL               34,818    88      23,988      17      45
     31 SARASOTA/BRADENTON/
        VENICE, FL                 3,919    94       2,594     100     166
     32 EDISON, NJ                 9,462    98       4,117      36      58
     33 ORLANDO, FL                8,325    98       6,098      60      49
     34 CINCINNATI, OH             8,949   100       7,335      68     166
     35 WORCESTER, MA              3,097   101       1,459      71     374
     36 LAKE/KENOSHA, IL-WI        2,454   101       1,777      12      27
     37 CAMDEN, NJ                 2,761   101       1,402     -17      56
     38 CHARLOTTE/GASTONIA, NC     6,498   101       4,925     109     116
     39 PALM BEACH, FL             6,063   102       4,414      16      32
     40 GARY, IN                   2,614   108       1,593      15      49
     41 LITTLE ROCK/NORTH LITTLE
        ROCK, AR                   2,617   108         870     -24     -39
     42 KANSAS CITY, MO-KS         7,703   111       4,989      45     117
     43 SAN ANTONIO, TX            6,409   112       3,710     -15      -1
     44 HARTFORD, CT               4,326   112       1,851     168     446
     45 ORANGE, CA                 9,012   113       5,330      73     153
     46 AUSTIN/ROUND ROCK, TX      5,155   115       2,635     -12     -21
     47 SPRINGFIELD, MA            2,424   116         954      41     234
     48 BRIDGEPORT/STAMFORD/
        NORWALK, CT                2,847   122       1,115     186     552
     49 TUCSON, AZ                 3,323   122       1,984      42      55
     50 NEWARK, NJ                 6,745   124       3,417       1      20
     51 TACOMA, WA                 2,427   125       1,485      24      23
     52 HOUSTON/BAYTOWN/
        SUGAR LAND, TX            16,057   127      11,780     -14       1
     53 ESSEX, MA                  2,179   135         987      67     409
     54 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK          3,660   138       2,280     -22     -22
     55 TULSA, OK                  2,712   143       2,015      -8     -12
     56 SAN JOSE/SUNNYVALE/SANTA
        CLARA, CA                  4,197   148       2,407      62     105
     57 SUFFOLK/NASSAU, NY         6,624   150       4,815      22      17
     58 ST LOUIS, MO-IL            8,023   151       7,038      23      55
     59 BOSTON/QUINCY, MA          4,862   153       2,062      59     342
     60 RALEIGH/CARY, NC           2,505   158       1,906     108     105
     61 NASHVILLE/DAVIDSON, TN     3,788   161       2,403      32      31
     62 LOUISVILLE, KY             3,150   169       1,975     -20       7
     63 SALT LAKE CITY, UT         2,185   172       1,682     -14     -39
     64 EL PASO, TX                1,306   187         813      -8      -2
     65 CAMBRIDGE/NEWTON/
        FRAMINGHAM, MA             3,045   193       1,264      93     313
     66 WASHINGTON/ARLINGTON/
        ALEXANDRIA, DC-VA-MD       8,483   195       6,275     225     430
     67 PHILADELPHIA, PA           8,086   198       6,918       1       2
     68 ALBUQUERQUE, NM            1,635   208       1,147      10     -38
     69 ROCHESTER, NY              2,041   215       1,873      58     208
     70 GREENSBORO/HIGHPOINT, NC   1,336   225       1,270     100      75
     71 BIRMINGHAM/HOOVER, AL      1,986   227       1,672      27     157
     72 OMAHA/COUNCIL BLUFFS,
        NE-IA                      1,480   229       1,393      -9     158
     73 MILWAUKEE/WAUKESHA/
        STALLIS, WI                2,782   231       2,128       7      22
     74 SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE/
        HAZLETON, PA               1,076   239         469      28     110
     75 MINNEAPOLIS/ST
        PAUL/BLOOMINGTON, MN       5,270   245       4,663      60     201
     76 SEATTLE/BELLEVUE/EVERETT,
        WA                         4,302   246       2,689      26       7
     77 KNOXVILLE, TN              1,211   246         762      26       9
     78 SAN FRANCISCO, CA          2,765   263       1,475      48      83
     79 NEW ORLEANS, LA            2,178   267       1,342     122     610
     80 PITTSBURGH, PA             3,917   281       3,046     -21     -22
     81 PROVIDENCE/NEW BEDFORD,
        RI                         1,489   301         504     129     473
     82 NEW YORK/WAYNE/WHITE
        PLAINS, NY                14,300   305      10,666      27      47
     83 BUFFALO/CHEEKTOWAGA/
        TONAWANDA, NY              1,565   332       1,010     -36      76
     84 PORTLAND/VANCOUVER/
        BEAVERTON, OR              2,426   353       2,279       7       7
     85 BETHESDA/FREDERICK/
        GAITHERSBURG, MD           1,196   368         954     826     581
     86 BALTIMORE/TOWSON, MD       2,816   387       2,325     227     275
     87 WICHITA, KS                  633   399         420      -1       0
     88 POUGHKEEPSIE/NEWBURGH/
        MIDDLETOWN, NY               566   428         377     -30       2
     89 ALBANY/SCHENECTADY/TROY,
        NY                           690   544         376     198      82
     90 CHARLESTON, SC               483   547         436      29     -23
     91 WILMINGTON, DE               469   588         398      60     108
     92 SYRACUSE, NY                 441   643         225       4       3
     93 BATON ROUGE, LA              456   668         423     -78     265
     94 ALLENTOWN/BETHLEHEM/
        EASTON, PA                   403   756         341      56      34
     95 COLUMBIA, SC                 392   757         368      -8     -49
     96 NORFOLK/VIRGINIA
        BEACH/NEWPORT NEWS, VA       747   787         613      96     191
     97 HONOLULU, HI                 286 1,151         252      25      68
     98 MCALLEN/EDINBURG/PHARR, TX   155 1,494         150     -18     -35
     99 GREENVILLE, SC               151 1,721         133     -75     -66
    100 RICHMOND, VA                 213 2,319         196      22      -1


  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 homes, 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 current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, visit our blog at http://www.foreclosurepulse.com/.