FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY DECREASES 10 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER

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Foreclosure Filings Up 68 Percent From November 2006

IRVINE, Calif. – Dec. 19, 2007 – RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its November 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 201,950 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported during the month, down 10 percent from the previous month but still up nearly 68 percent from November 2006. The national foreclosure rate for the month was one foreclosure filing for every 617 households.
RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

“The 10 percent drop in November is the first double-digit monthly decrease we’ve seen since April 2006,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This could indicate that foreclosure activity has topped out for the year, but the true test of whether this ceiling will hold will come at the beginning of next year — when we anticipate that a seasonal surge in foreclosure filings and another possible wave of resetting mortgages could place further pressure on the housing market. But if the trend of flat or decreasing foreclosure activity we’ve seen over the past three months continues in the first quarter, it would certainly bode well for 2008.”

Nevada, Florida, Ohio post top state foreclosure rates
With one foreclosure filing for every 152 households — more than four times the national average — Nevada continued to register the nation’s top state foreclosure rate for the 11th straight month. A total of 6,694 foreclosure filings were reported in the state for the month, up 1 percent from the previous month and up 167 percent from November 2006.

Florida’s November foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 282 households ranked second highest among the states — up from the state’s ranking of third highest the previous month despite a 3 percent month-to-month decrease in foreclosure activity. A total of 29,238 foreclosure filings were reported in the state for the month, up 212 percent from November 2006.

Foreclosure activity in Ohio was down nearly 6 percent from the previous month, but the state’s foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 307 households still ranked third highest among the states — up from fourth highest the previous month. A total of 16,308 foreclosure filings were reported in the state for the month, an increase of nearly 99 percent from November 2006.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation’s 10 highest were Colorado, California, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Indiana and Illinois.

California, Florida, Ohio report highest foreclosure totals
A total of 39,992 foreclosure filings were reported in California in November, the most of any state despite a 21 percent decrease from the previous month. The state’s November foreclosure activity was still up nearly 108 percent from November 2006, and the state’s foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 325 households was 1.9 times the national average and fifth highest among the states.

Florida documented the nation’s second highest state foreclosure filing total in November, and Ohio documented the third highest total. Other states with foreclosure filing totals among the nation’s 10 highest were Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Colorado and New York.

Top metro foreclosure rates
California cities accounted for five of the nation’s top 10 metro foreclosure rates in November, one fewer than in the previous month. Stockton, Calif., took the top spot, with one foreclosure filing for every 99 households — more than six times the national average. Modesto, Calif., took the No. 2 spot, with one foreclosure filing for every 104 households, and Merced, Calif., took the No. 3 spot, with one foreclosure filing for every 106 households. Other California cities in the top 10 were Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 6 and Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 9.

Las Vegas registered a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 122 households, fourth highest metro rate in November, and Detroit’s foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 138 households ranked No. 5. Other cities in the top 10 were Greeley, Colo., at No. 7; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 8; and Miami at No. 10.

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of foreclosure filings — both nationwide and by state — over the preceding month. Data is also available at the individual county level. RealtyTrac’s report includes documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

 U.S. Foreclosure Market Statistics by State – Nov 2007

Rate Rank State Name NODs NTSs NFSs LISs REOs Total Filings HH per Filing %Change from Oct 2007 %Change from Nov 2006

32

Alaska

1

98

0

0

57

156

  1,758

-38.10

45.79

22

Arkansas

37

977

0

0

126

1,140

  1,096

-23.80

40.05

4

Colorado

70

3,323

0

0

3,032

6,425

     320

19.45

27.20

36

Delaware

0

2

119

4

7

132

  2,840

0.76

312.50*

2

Florida

0

38

4,901

21,953

2,346

29,238

    282

-3.15

212.31

44

Hawaii

13

100

0

0

0

113

  4,346

-13.74

52.70

10

Illinois

0

29

872

6,018

1,319

8,238

     624

-14.84

35.74

31

Iowa

45

301

0

0

402

748

  1,747

11.14

50.50

35

Kentucky

0

7

292

142

317

758

  2,461

-6.65

41.95

45

Maine

44

62

0

0

12

118

  5,795

-19.73

2,850.00*

15

Mass.

0

8

895

2,170

284

3,357

     801

15.60

59.86

33

Minnesota

16

924

0

0

270

1,210

  1,861

-26.67

109.34

13

Missouri

560

1,644

0

0

1,135

3,339

     777

-6.86

107.52

30

Nebraska

0

0

391

14

79

484

  1,585

43.20

-8.68

28

New Hampshire

3

306

0

0

111

420

  1,389

-26.83

3,130.77*

39

New Mexico

0

0

10

207

42

259

  3,238

-46.04

4.02

19

North Carolina

2,763

100

0

0

1,108

3,971

     992

-1.34

142.87

3

Ohio

0

67

5,192

4,271

6,778

16,308

     307

-5.60

98.88

25

Oregon

809

338

0

0

75

1,222

  1,275

11.60

55.27

29

Rhode Island

0

275

0

0

21

296

  1,513

-18.23

90.97

48

South Dakota

0

1

20

1

0

22

15,815

15.79

-29.03

14

Texas

78

8,087

0

0

3,434

11,599

     778

-5.61

-15.11

50

Vermont

3

3

0

0

0

6

51,224

-33.33

500.00

21

Washington

44

2,214

0

0

215

2,473

  1,072

12.77

71.74

20

Wisconsin

0

24

401

1,591

369

2,385

  1,048

-4.83

170.72

*Actual increase may not be as high due to improved or expanded data coverage in this state.

About RealtyTrac Inc.
Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix and No. 53 on Inc. magazine’s 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (realtytrac.com), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.

Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new homes, with more than 1 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. For current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, visit our blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

By RealtyTrac Inc.

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