Calif. town leads in foreclosures

N.C. metro areas at midpack in poll

WASHINGTON -- A central California farming town, the world's automobile capital and a down-on-its-luck gambling hotspot had the nation's highest rates of foreclosure filings for the first half of 2007.

Stockton, Calif., Detroit and Las Vegas -- three areas with vastly different economies and demographic trends -- have been hit hard by the nation's growing foreclosure crisis, which is ravaging major urban areas and Middle America.

North Carolina metro areas -- Raleigh-Cary, Greensboro-High Point and Charlotte-Gastonia -- ranked in the middle of the 99 cities according to RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm.

Averaging one foreclosure filing for every 27 households during the first six months of 2007, Stockton had the highest filing rate among the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S., the survey said.

Located in the heart of California's famous Central Valley, where tomatoes, almonds, apricots, grapes and cotton are grown, Stockton and the surrounding area have become a respite for Bay Area and Southern California residents seeking cheaper housing.

In the Stockton metro area of San Joaquin County, foreclosure filings were made on 4,239 properties -- more than double the number in the previous six months and more than three times that in the first six months of 2006, RealtyTrac reported.

Placing second with a rate of one filing for every 29 households was Detroit, where job losses in the auto industry have wreaked havoc on the local economy and housing market.

Las Vegas had the third-highest rate, with one foreclosure filing for every 31 households, as a glut of new homes and condominiums and a rash of speculative buyers walking away from properties continued to drive down home values, despite the area's record population growth.

The percentage of subprime, adjustable-rate mortgages in foreclosure jumped to 3.23 percent in the first quarter of 2007. Compounding the foreclosure problems are predatory loans, mortgage fraud and speculative home buyers with properties whose values have fallen below their purchase prices, leaving owners unable to sell them for a quick profit.

Rounding out the areas with the top foreclosure filing rates are Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Sacramento, Calif.; Denver; Miami; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Memphis, Tenn. Cleveland and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., tied for 10th place.

The problem was less severe in areas such as Charlotte, which averaged a foreclosure filing for every 101 households. Raleigh logged one filing for every 158 households, and Greensboro had one in 225.

Not all areas are being flooded with foreclosures, said James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac. "While foreclosure activity has skyrocketed over the past year in many cities, particularly in California, Ohio and the Northeast, foreclosure activity seems to be subsiding in parts of Texas, South Carolina and other states," Saccacio said.

Cities that seem to be escaping the foreclosure problem include Columbia, S.C., with one filing for every 757 households, and Norfolk-Virginia Beach, with one in 787.