There were quite a few interesting tibits in RealtyTrac’s year-end 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, released Jan. 13. For starters, a record 2,871,891 U.S. properties received foreclosure filings in 2010. That figure shows an increase of nearly 2 percent from 2009 and an increase of 23 percent from 2008.
Also worth note:

• 2.23 percent of all U.S. housing units received at least one foreclosure filing during 2010, up from 2.21 percent  in 2009. That’s one in 45 households.
• Five states — California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan — accounted for 51 percent of the nation’s total foreclosure activity in 2010.
• Nevada, Arizona and Florida have the highest rates of foreclosure.
  
• One in 11 homes in Nevada (more than 9 percent of its housing units) received at least one foreclosure filing in 2010. This is the fourth consecutive year Nevada topped the list. Nevada’s foreclosure activity in December was up 14 percent from December 2009 There was some good news, too:
• Foreclosure filings in December, reported at 257,747, were down nearly 2 percent from November –- and down 26 percent from December 2009. That’s the biggest annual drop in foreclosure activity since RealtyTrac began publishing its foreclosure report in January 2005.

States With the Highest Foreclosure Rates

1. Nevada (9% of homes received at least one foreclosure filing in 2010)
2. Arizona (5.72%)
3. Florida (5.51%)
4. California (4.08%)
5. Utah (3.44%)
6. Georgia (3.25%)
7. Michigan (3%)
8. Idaho (2.98%)
9. Illinois (2.87%)
10. Colorado (2.51%)

Want to know what’s happening on the foreclosure front in Oregon? Here’s a closer look at the foreclosure market in Central Oregon during December.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend.