Foreclosures Up, Up and Away
U.S. home foreclosures rose 9% in July from June and soared 93% from a year ago as states that once enjoyed a white-hot housing market are now seeing the greatest number of loan failures, a real estate survey reported today. Five states accounted for more than half of the country’s foreclosure activity in the month and two of those — California and Florida — saw some of the biggest price gains during the recent housing boom. Six California metropolitan areas reported foreclosure rates among the nation’s top 10 in July including: Stockton; Merced; Modesto; Vallejo-Fairfield; Riverside-San Bernardino and Sacramento.Many states that avoided the housing boom have seen a drop in home loan failures and could now be drawing investors scorched out of other markets. States like Texas, South Carolina and Utah have seen slow but steady price appreciation over the past five years, making them much more attractive and affordable.
