RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that the three highest foreclosure rates among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas last year were recorded in Detroit; Stockton, Calif.; and Las Vegas. The company's Year-End 2007 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report is based on the company's database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, which it says includes more than 1 million properties in nearly 2,500 counties across the country. "As expected, the number of properties entering some stage of foreclosure in 2007 was up in the vast majority of the nation's 100 largest metro areas, with 86 metros reporting increases from 2006," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "Most of the metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates were either cities like Stockton and Las Vegas, which experienced meteoric growth and unsustainable price appreciation over the past few years, or cities like Detroit, which are undergoing a more widespread economic downturn along with higher unemployment rates." The company said 15 of the metro areas with the 20 highest foreclosure rates were located in four states: California, with six; Ohio, with four; Florida, with three; and Michigan, with two. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.
