Foreclosure activity increased in the first quarter compared to the last quarter in 2011in more than half of the metropolitan areas that have at least 200,000 residents, according to a RealtyTrac report.
Out of 212 markets tracked by RealtyTrac’s metropolitan foreclosure market report, 114 had more foreclosures take place for the first three months of 2012 than the final quarter of last year.
First quarter foreclosure activity increased from the previous quarter in 26 out of the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, led by Pittsburgh (up 49%), Indianapolis (37%), Philadelphia (30%), New York (24%), Raleigh, N.C. (23%), and Virginia Beach, Va. (22%).
The biggest quarterly decreases in foreclosure activity among the 50 largest metropolitan markets were in Portland, Ore. (down 28%), Las Vegas (26%), Providence, R.I. (24%), Salt Lake City (22%), Boston (21%), and San Jose, Calif. (21%).
“First quarter metro foreclosure trends were a mixed bag,” said Brandon Moore, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “While the majority of metro areas continued to show foreclosure activity down from a year ago, more than half reported increasing foreclosure activity from the previous quarter—an early sign that long-dormant foreclosures are coming out of hibernation in many local markets.”
However, over the course of the entire year, foreclosure activity is still down in 64% (135 out of 212) of the markets.
The cities with the largest year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity were Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Texas, Salt Lake City, Utah and Buffalo, NY, which were down 61%, 53%, 51%, 49% and 47%, respectively.
Orlando, Indianapolis, Miami, Philadelphia and Hartford, Conn., experienced the largest annual increases in foreclosure activity out of the 50 largest metropolitan cities.
Nationally, Stockton, Calif., had the highest metropolitan foreclosure rate in the first quarter where one in every 60 housing units had a foreclosure filing. This figure is more than three times the national average, the Irvine, Calif.-based analytic provider said.
Besides Stockton, 11 other California cities were among the nation’s top 20 metropolitan foreclosure rates. Modesto had the second highest foreclosure rate, while Riverside-San Bernardino was third, Vallejo was fourth and Merced rounded out the top five. Sacramento, Bakersfield, Chico and Santa Rosa are some of the other notable markets that also made the list.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas dropped to eighth in foreclosure rate where one in every 82 housing units filed for foreclosure during the first quarter. This occurred mainly because of Nevada's Assembly Bill 284, which was implemented last October, that requires lenders to use an independent foreclosure trustee, which is responsible for administering the foreclosure process and providing notice to the borrower.
