One in every 398 US household units received a foreclosure filing in May, according to data from Realty Trac, that is down 6% from April. But the figure is still up nearly 18% from last year.
May foreclosure activity is the third highest month on record, and marks the third straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000, RealtyTrac said.
'While defaults and scheduled foreclosure auctions were both down from the previous month, bank repossessions were up 2% thanks largely to substantial increases in several states, including Michigan, Arizona, Washington, Nevada, Oregon and New York,' said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac.
Nevada continued to post the highest overall foreclosure rate, with one in every 64 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.
California recorded the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate, despite a 4% decrease in foreclosure activity from the prior month. And Florida came in third, with one in every 148 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. Rounding out the top ten states are Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Texas and Virginia.
Foreclosure activity remains somewhat concentrated, with these 10 states accounting for almost 77% of total US foreclosure activity, Realty Trac pointed out.
In urban areas it is Las Vegas that continues to suffer the most with filings reported on 14,861 of its properties in May. That's one in every 54 housing units. Of the top ten hardest hit metropolitan areas, California cities accounted for six and Florida accounted for three.
In a separate report the Federal Reserve reported that the net worth of households fell by a $1.3 trillion during the first quarter of 2009, further inhibiting homeowners attempting to stay afloat on their mortgages.
