WASHINGTON — The number of homeowners stung by the dramatic decline in the U.S. housing market jumped last month as foreclosure filings grew by more than 50 percent compared with the same month a year ago, according to data released Thursday.
Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That means one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month.
In Colorado, July foreclosure filings fell 9.1 percent from a year earlier, placing the state eighth with a foreclosure rate of one in 390 households.
Colorado’s foreclosure rate led the nation in 2006 but has moved lower in the rankings after foreclosure activity accelerated in other states.
Irvine, Calif.-based Realty Trac monitors default notices, auction- sale notices and bank repossessions. More than 77,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in July, the company said.
Nevada, California, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia and Michigan had the highest foreclosure rates. Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but eight states.
The combination of weak housing sales, falling home values, tighter mortgage-lending criteria and a slowing U.S. economy has left financially strapped homeowners with few options to avoid foreclosure. Many can’t find buyers or owe more than their home is worth and can’t refinance into an affordable loan.
The mortgage crisis has moved far beyond the subprime loans that started to go bust last year, especially as borrowers start to default because they have lost their jobs in the sour economy, said Christopher Thornberg, a principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles.
