Pre-Foreclosures on the RISE

Pre-foreclosures hit record highs in July 2008 both nationally and in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to new figures from ForeclosureS.com.

Alexis McGee, president of ForeclosureS.com, said the Southwest and Southeast regions have been hardest hit, with three and four times the number of pre-foreclosures in July 2008 than in the Northeast and Midwest. The Southwest region had 86,625 pre-foreclosures and the Southeast, 65,458, compared with 20,541 in the Northeast and 19,640 in the Midwest.

The states with the most pre-foreclosure filings per 1,000 households year to date through July include:

* Nevada (59.1 per 1,000, up 126.44 percent from year to date 2007)
* Arizona (54.9 per 1,000, up 403.67 percent from YTD 2007)
* Florida (48.3 per 1,000 up 176 percent from YTD 2007)
* California (25.2 per 1,000, up 119.13 percent from YTD 2007)

The 14 states with monthly record totals for July pre-foreclosure filings for 2008 include:

* Nevada, 7,993
* New York, 5,157
* North Carolina, 4,888
* Tennessee, 3,499
* Oregon, 3,199
* Missouri, 2,561
* Utah, 1,973
* Pennsylvania, 1,520
* Nebraska, 820
* New Mexico, 495
* Montana, 371
* Hawaii, 373
* District of Columbia, 206
* Louisiana, 30

California-based ForeclosureS.com bases its analysis on the number of formal notices filed against a property during the foreclosure process, including a notice of default, a foreclosure auction and/or lender-owned real estate after a foreclosed property reverts back to the lender.

Pre-foreclosure filings are the first notice and not all such properties end up foreclosed.