10 states where foreclosures are soaring

The property market is improving and foreclosures are falling — except in these 10 markets.

Some 317,171 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings in the third quarter, down 16% on the same period last year, according to real-estate website RealtyTrac. However, default notices in the third quarter increased from a year ago in certain states, including Indiana (up 59%), Oklahoma (up 49%), Massachusetts (up 38%), New Jersey (up 19%), Iowa (up 12%) and New York (up 2%).

States with the five highest foreclosure rates in the third quarter were among those hit hardest by the 2008 property crash: Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, and Illinois. Some 58,589 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing in the third quarter of 2014. That was down 4% from the previous quarter and down 17% from a year ago, but it still meant that in every 153 housing units had a foreclosure filing.

RealtyTrac

Orlando, Fla., Atlantic City, N.J., and Macon, Ga., had the top metro foreclosure rates in the third quarter. With one in every 117 housing units with a foreclosure filing, Orlando had the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more. A total of 8,052 Orlando-area properties had a foreclosure filing, down 1% on the quarter but up 16% from a year ago.

While the Ohio property markets have seen a decline in the number of available foreclosures on the market over the last year, “We have equally noticed an increase in activity of lender servicers acquiring properties at sheriff sales and deed-in-lieu workouts,” says Michael Mahon, who covers the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton markets as executive vice president at HER Realtors.

One explanation: Many Americans are choosing foreclosure over short sales. A couple of years ago, 18 out of 20 clients underwater who couldn’t afford to keep their home chose a short sale, says Frank Duran, a broker in Denver, but now only 2 out of 20 opt for a short sale. One explanation: In a short sale, canceled debt — or the difference between the value and sale price of the house — is often treated as taxable income.

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