U.S. June Foreclosures Up 87% from Last Year

Web news digest MoneyNews.com reported some sobering statistics today.

U.S. foreclosures for the month of June were up 87% over the same month last year. The article reports that "a spokesman for RealtyTrac told Bloomberg that an estimated 58 percent of properties in the foreclosure process are linked to borrowers with sub-prime loans. RealtyTrac forecasts U.S. foreclosures will reach 1.8 million by the end of the year."

Sales of existing houses also continue to be sluggish, with the National Association of Realtors revising its sales forecast down for the remainder of 2007 for the fifth consecutive month and widening its predicted drop in existing home values. NAR predicted existing home sales will hit 6.11 million units this year, down from the 6.18 million units it predicted last month.

Arizona ranked 5th by RealtyTrac in foreclosure filings, with one Notice of Trustee Sale for every 383 households, behind Nevada, California, Colorado and Florida. The national average is one for every 704 households.