Foreclosures are still cranking in the U.S

Foreclosures are still cranking in the U.S. according the a new report out from RealtyTrac.  And this is true for out local market in the Prescott area including Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt.

One in every 357 homes received a foreclosure filing during the month of August, which includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, RealtyTrac reported. That’s an 18 percent increase in foreclosure activity compared to this time a year ago.

James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO, says the August report demonstrates that there is still an ample supply of properties filling the foreclosure pipeline, even with the outflow of bank-owned properties onto the resale market being more carefully regulated. “After hitting a high for the year in July, REOs dropped 13 percent in August,” Saccacio said, “but we also saw a record high number of properties either entering default or being scheduled for a public foreclosure auction for the first time.”

Based on RealtyTrac’s findings, more than 138,000 homeowners received a default notice in August, and another 144,000 received notification that their house was set to be auctioned.

Nevada and Florida once again retained the nation’s top two state foreclosure rates.

Nevada reigned supreme despite an 8 percent decrease in activity from the previous month. One in every 62 homes in the state was in some stage of foreclosure in August. In July, though, that quotient was one in every 56 homes.

Foreclosure activity jumped more than 10 percent in Florida, where one in every 140 homes received a foreclosure filing.

A 10 percent month-to-month decrease in foreclosure activity helped lower Arizona’s foreclosure rate from the nation’s third highest in July to fourth highest in August. California edged up to take the No. 3 spot.

Other states rounding out RealtyTrac’s ranking of top 10 foreclosure rates include Michigan, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Georgia, and Illinois.

Las Vegas continues to lead the country in foreclosure activity, with a rate more than 6.7 times the national average, and one in every 53 homes in foreclosure. The city’s foreclosure activity last month was down 11 percent from the previous month but still up 48 percent compared to August 2008.

Read the Full Report from RealtyTrac