Homes in Foreclosure Up 79 Percent in 2007

Breaking News from MoneyNews.com Homes in Foreclosure Soar 79 Percent From 2007 The number of U.S. homes that slipped into some stage of foreclosure in 2007 was 79 percent higher than in the previous year, a real estate tracking company said Tuesday. Many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the last three months, setting the stage for more foreclosures this year. About 1.3 million homes received foreclosure-related warnings last year, up from 717,522 in 2006, Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. said. Foreclosure filings rose 75 percent from the previous year to 2.2 million. More than 1 percent of all U.S. households were in some phase of the foreclosure process last year, up from about half a percent in 2006, RealtyTrac said. Nevada, Florida, Michigan and California posted the highest foreclosure rates, the company said. The filings included notices warning owners that they were in default, or that their home was slated for auction or for repossession by a bank. Some properties may have received more than one notice if the owners had multiple mortgages. Store continues below . . . http://moneynews.newsmax.com/money/archives/articles/2008/1/29/081735.cfm