The Wall Street Journal-20080129-Foreclosure Filings Surged 75- In -07 as Subprime Mess Grew

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Foreclosure Filings Surged 75% In '07 as Subprime Mess Grew

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Foreclosure filings soared 75% in 2007 from a year earlier as credit trouble and falling home values fell on homeowners, a foreclosure- listing service said.

There were 2.2 million foreclosure filings last year. More than 1% of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during the year, up from 0.58% in 2006, RealtyTrac said.

In December, foreclosure filings zoomed 97% from a year earlier, giving the fourth quarter the highest quarterly total since RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif., began issuing its report in January 2005.

RealtyTrac Chief Executive James J. Saccacio said that for the year, properties in some stage of foreclosure increased 79%. That statistic, he noted, indicates "some properties may have just entered the initial stage of foreclosure in 2007 and could be going through the rest of the foreclosure process in 2008 unless lender and government intervention efforts begin to gain more traction."

Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rate for the year, with 3.4% of its households in some stage of foreclosure -- more than three times the national average. Trailing Nevada were Florida, Michigan, California, Colorado, Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Illinois and Indiana.

California had the highest number of foreclosure filings. Florida ranked second, followed by Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada.

Amid the subprime-mortgage debacle, lenders have tightened standards, making it tougher for individuals to obtain credit. In November, Mr. Saccacio said that "given the number of loans due to reset through the middle of 2008 and the continuing weakness in home sales, we would expect foreclosure activity to remain high and even increase over the next year in many markets."