Foreclosures in Utah up dramatically

Utah's foreclosure rate jumped dramatically in March — 93.40 percent — from the same period a year ago, according to a monthly report released Monday by market research firm RealtyTrac.

On a month-to-month basis, however, Utah saw a 4.50 percent decrease in filings from February.

The March 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicated that Utah ranked 22nd in the rate of foreclosures, with one in every 733 households. Topping the list was Nevada with one in every 139, followed by California with one in 204, Florida was third with one in 282, Arizona fourth with one in 283, and Colorado was fifth with one in every 339 households foreclosing.

On average, the report showed that one in every 538 households in the U.S. had a foreclosure filing during March.

"Our 733 is much better than not only the national average, but the states that have been growing like we have been growing — like Arizona, California and Nevada — are also worse off," said Wells Fargo economist and Executive Vice President Kelly Matthews.

The RealtyTrac report tabulated foreclosure filings, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions, that were reported on 234,685 properties nationwide during March. That was a 5 percent hike from the previous month and a 57 percent increase from March 2007.

RealtyTrac publishes a national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties from approximately 2,500 counties across the country.

"The March numbers show that overall foreclosure activity so far this year continues to run nearly 60 percent above the levels we saw last year," said RealtyTrac chief executive officer James J. Saccacio in a prepared statement.

Nevada had the highest state foreclosure rate for the 15th consecutive month, the report stated, with foreclosure filings reported on 7,659 properties during March. That total was 24 percent higher than the previous month and up nearly 62 percent from March 2007, according to the report.

For the fourth consecutive month, foreclosure rates in California and Florida ranked second- and third-highest, respectively, among all the U.S. states.

California also had the highest total number of reported foreclosure filings for the 15th straight month. The Golden State's foreclosure activity rose almost 21 percent from the previous month and nearly 106 percent from March 2007.