Richmond-area foreclosure activity up 69%

Foreclosure activity in the Richmond area rose 69 percent from a year ago -- worse than the state as a whole, but better than the national average, according to a report released this morning by an online foreclosure researcher.

One in every 255 households here, or a total of 2,001, had trouble making their mortgage payments during the quarter, RealtyTrac reported.

In all, 0.39 percent of housing units here received a notice of default, foreclosure sale or repossession in the quarter.

The 26 cities with the worst foreclosure problems were concentrated in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.

A week ago, RealtyTrac reported state foreclosure data for the first quarter and March, which showed repossession activity in Virginia up 12 percent and 17 percent, respectively, from a year ago.

The Richmond area was ranked No. 96 among 203 metropolitan areas in the quarter, up from No. 153 a year ago.

By comparison, the U.S. rate was 0.63 percent or one in every 159 households received a foreclosure filing in the quarter.

"Richmond did post a big increase from the previous year, and it is moving up in the rankings," said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac spokesman. "We are seeing other areas bubble up that we didn't see high on the list before."

Higher unemployment rates are driving the new rash of foreclosures, Blomquist said.

Unemployment in the Richmond area was 7.9 percent in February, up from 3.7 percent a year ago, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

The Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Newport News area was ranked No. 92, with one in every 241 households there, or a total 2,828, receiving foreclosure notices.

Las Vegas was No. 1 with the highest foreclosure rate, with 4.48 percent of housing units receiving a foreclosure notice -- one in every 22 households.

No. 2 was Merced, Calif., followed by the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., area.

"The metro areas with the highest levels of foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2009 paint a picture of concentrated problems in a relatively small number of hard hit areas," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "Sales activity appears to be increasing in some of these markets as home prices have fallen to levels that are attractive to first-time homebuyers and investors."

Other metro areas in the top 10 were the California localities of Stockton, Riverside-San Bernardino, Modesto, Bakersfield and Vallejo-Fairfield, along with Phoenix, and Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Contact Carol Hazard at (804) 775-8023 or .