With one out of nearly every 2.2 foreclosures in the U.S. taking place in the Southwest, the region led the nation in foreclosure activity during 2006, according to a new report released today. California, Texas, and Colorado were among the region’s hardest hit states, according to numbers from ForeclosureS.com, a California based real estate investment advisory firm and publisher of foreclosure property information. The Southwest region includes Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington.
California topped the nation with 157,417 foreclosure filings, up a whopping 94.3 percent over 2005’s 81,012 filings. Colorado, with 68,310 foreclosure filings, was up only 55.4 percent over 2005’s 43,951. Texas fared better with its 106,845 filings in 2006, up just 35.2 percent over 2005’s 79,001. Nationwide, nearly one million (970,948) foreclosure filings were reported for the year, up more than 51 percent from just over 641,000 in 2005, according to the report. Other regions in the U.S. outside the Southwest also saw a surge in foreclosures during 2006, with the Midwest region’s filings up more than 70 percent from one year ago. Triple-digit increases in filings hit Iowa and Kansas, while many other states, including Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and North Dakota, struggled with increases of 80 to 96 percent. In the Midwest, the region ended 2006 with 96,101 foreclosure filings, compared with just 58,394 in 2005. In Massachusetts alone, 2006’s 24,137 foreclosure filings were up 184.3 percent over 2005’s 8,489 filings. In the Southeast region, foreclosures were up more than 37 percent in 2006 from one year ago. The region ended 2006 with 220,189 foreclosure filings compared with 160,259 in 2005. In spite of the rash of foreclosures hitting most U.S. regions during 2006, ForeclosureS.com CEO Alexis McGee see a brighter road ahead. “Although it’s impossible to know exactly when we hit the bottom on the price correction, I firmly believe that when the market heats up again this spring, we’ll look back at this winter season as our best buying opportunity in six years,â€? she said. For more information, visit http://www.foreclosureS.com.
