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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Snohomish County foreclosures up 22 percent By Eric Fetters Herald Writer Home foreclosures rose in Snohomish County during April, but the rate of homeowners losing their properties locally is still less than half the national average. Foreclosure filings were issued for 256 properties across the county last month, a rate of one for every 1,057 households, according to RealtyTrac Inc. That was up 12 percent from March and 22 percent from last April. With the increase, the countywide rate was the seventh- highest in the state. The increase in local foreclosures followed an unusual drop in March. Island County's foreclosure rate of one in every 1,725 households was up 50 percent from March and 90 percent from a year ago. Washington ranked 26th among the 50 states for foreclosures last month, with statewide filings up almost 37 percent from a year ago. The foreclosure rate here still is relatively low compared with other places. The nationwide report from RealtyTrac showed one in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during April, up 4 percent from March and 65 percent from a year ago. In fact, the number of U.S. properties in foreclosure proceedings during April was the highest since RealtyTrac began issuing monthly reports in January 2005, said James Saccacio, the firm's chief executive officer. "Although only about 2 percent of households nationwide are in foreclosure, these properties contribute to already bloated inventories of homes for sale and put downward pressure on home values," he added in his summary of April's report. "Areas of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continue to be particularly hard-hit." For the 16th straight month, Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 146 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing in April. That was 3.6 times the national average, and Nevada's foreclosure filings were up 95 percent from April 2007. California, Arizona and Florida were also among the busiest states for foreclosure filings, according to RealtyTrac. While the downturn in new housing development and real estate sales has slowed down tax receipts to Snohomish County's government, communities with high foreclosure rates are getting hammered. Saccacio cited last week's decision of the City Council in Vallejo, Calif., a region with the sixth-highest foreclosure rate in the nation, to have the city file for bankruptcy. Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com

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