Las Vegas, Fort Myers, Florida, Leading U.S. Metro Areas in Foreclosures

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Las Vegas, Fort Myers, Florida Lead U.S. Cities in Foreclosures
By Brian Louis


July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida led U.S. metropolitan areas in foreclosures in the first half of the year as unemployment and falling home prices forced home-loan defaults, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

The Las Vegas area had the highest rate of foreclosure filings, with 7.5 percent of households receiving a default or auction notice or being seized by a lender. That rate was six times the national average. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers region, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, was second, with a rate of 7.2 percent.

“Foreclosure activity continued its upward trajectory nationwide and in the majority of metro areas in the first half of the year,” James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. “While some of the markets that had the highest saturation of foreclosures over the past few years have seen declining rates, new markets like Provo, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, have seen large increases.”

Home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas dropped 17.1 percent in May from a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. Nationwide, home prices have fallen 21 percent since peaking in July of 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors in Chicago. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent in June, the highest in almost 26 years, the U.S. Labor Department said on July 2. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZejjD7U1FNw