Las Vegas foreclosure rate increases in March
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 | 9 p.m.
The number of foreclosure filings on Nevada homes rose nearly 34 percent in March compared to February, and the delinquency rate for homeowners is also on the rise, according to statistics released by research firms.
It’s too soon to say whether foreclosures will swell in Nevada because of the downturn in the economy, but analysts said the good news is the filings are below where they were a year ago.
California-based RealtyTrac said foreclosure filings during the first quarter rose 15 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 but fell 16 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009.
Despite the 34 percent increase in filings in March over February, filings fell nearly 26 percent compared to March 2009.
Analysts pointed out that lenders had a moratorium on foreclosures during the first quarter of 2009 and that may have skewed the numbers.
Nevada held its top spot in the nation in March as well as the first quarter for its rate of foreclosures. It has been No. 1 since January 2007.
Nevada had 6,217 notices of default filed in March and 2,601 homes foreclosed upon, RealtyTrac reported.
Nationwide, RealtyTrac reported foreclosures rose 7 percent in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 and were 16 percent higher than the first quarter of 2009. In March, RealtyTrac reported foreclosures rose 19 percent from February and 8 percent from March 2009.
Arizona was ranked No. 2 in the nation in the first quarter for the rate of foreclosures. Arizona reported foreclosures rose 22 percent from the fourth quarter and were up 13 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
In California, which ranked No. 4 after Florida, foreclosure filings rose nearly 5 percent from the fourth quarter and fell 6 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
Foreclosures are jumping dramatically in Utah, rising 75 percent in the first quarter over the first quarter of 2009. The state is now ranked No. 5 in the nation.
First American CoreLogic reported that the delinquency rate in Nevada for 90 days or more rose to 19 percent in February, up from 12 percent in February 2009. In Las Vegas, the rate rose to 22 percent in February, up from 14 percent in February 2009. That contrasts to the U.S. rate of nearly 9 percent in February, up from 5.75 percent in February 2009.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed





Realtors telling me to buy quick, foreclosures being scooped up fast.
Are they kidding?
TomD1228 -- they are. Try buying one for under $150K in a decent area and best wishes. Most banks won't even look at your offer unless it's a cash deal..
Until somebody reins in some of the unscrupolous local realtors and loan officers this foreclosure problems will keep on going in circles. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who knows this but these people are still selling homes to homeowners with upside down mortgages to collect their huge fees. So what's happening is once the buyers move in to their bigger and cheaper new homes, they let the upside down homes go on foreclosures. It does not take a genius to figure this out but it is still happening as you read this comment. They should investigate if the prospective buyer owns a home with an upside down mortgage before selling him another home!!!!!
Tie the #1 foreclosure rate with the nearly 25% commercial vacancy rate, and I'd say that it's time to move on Tonto, and head for the hills. It's only going to get worse. Even with all those Cali investors buying houses on the cheap to rent to minimum wage casino workers, where are they going to get them when they are mostly laid off?
Not good, Kemo Sabe.
To "unclegig" its ok Nevada is a recourse state. The banks have up to six years to come after you for the difference between what you owed on your home and what it sold for when you foreclose. For the most part they have not done this but dont put it past them to come after people in a couple of years..The only way to avoid this is to file backruptcy.
I don't think that is accurate, not what I heard from a real estate attorney. According to the lawyer, the mortgage company has six months to sue the homeowner for the difference between the loan amount and the foreclosure sale price on first mortgage loan but has six years for a second mortgage loan. He also said that the mortgage companies are only going after the big ones so it's worth their time to go to court. I am not a lawyer or a real estate person but correct me if I'm wrong.
things are going to get worse double dip recession is looming
more idiots trying to blame realtors for buying a house they can't afford.
stevem :
Real Estate agents are idiots also for selling houses to people who can't afford them..
steve do you work for remax?
All of those foreclosures will have to be sold before new construction can begin. That will takea year or two.
Steve is trying to shed blame..as usual..He wants to blame Obama for selling people their homes.
First mortgage has six months after foreclosure for recourse. This is the law in NV. Second mortgage, however, can be up to 6 years.
This ain't ending anytime soon, and all you need to look at is the delinquency rate. In LV 22% of all mortgages are 90 days or more behind.
If the average borrower is that far behind, how likely is it that they will be able to come current? Not very likely at all.
And the hits just keep on comin'!!
It takes two to tango- greedy and unscrupulous real estate sellers and buyers who are too dense for getting into something they know they can't afford.
I'm more inclined to place blame on the populace for this housing mess. Sure, there are many stories of scummy real estate agents preying on the elderly and the poor with ARMs, but there are many, many more stories of people thinking they can flip houses and buying up properties they couldn't really afford because of cheap credit.
Plenty of blame to go around.
Buyers trying to make a quick buck, real estate agents trying to make a quick commission and lets not forget the mortgage brokers. They were encouraged to "get the buyer qualified."
please explain to me why i as a real estate agent am "at fault" or "to blame" for YOU signing your name to a LOAN document that you know you can't afford...and then later signing a purchase contract to a home you can't afford.
how am i to blame for that?
if i am to "blame" for that. then i am also to "blame" for when all the people that bought in 2001-2002 sold their homes 3 years later for a 30% profit, huh?
but, no...you never seem to want to talk about that.
"real estate agents preying on the elderly and the poor with ARMs"
that sentence RIGHT there shows your ignorance...
i ( and most REALTORS ) are not LENDERS. i don't make your loan.
I went to that government foreclosure conference at the Gold Coast last week. After being treated like cattle for the most part -- herded here and there, take a number and wait to be called -- finally got to see "Counselor 47." A pleasant "I'm here to help you" lady who turned quite unpleasant when asked about the Note issues. You know, the part on every Note that clearly says only the Note Holder is entitled to receive payments.
She made it quite clear the only party who has to do anything is the homeowner, who has to pay whoever demands it or the home will be taken.
Who says organized crime isn't here any more?
"If you're going to take my house away from me, you better own the note." -- Joe Lents (who hasn't made a payment on his $1.5 million mortgage since 2002) in Bloomberg's 2/22/08 "Banks Lose to Deadbeat Homeowners as Loans Sold in Bonds Vanish"
it is in the interest of real estate agents to push prices up as they earn more income, this came first, banks then had to react to a market rising in value faster than they could cope, therefore they had to relax mortgage lending even further, as without lending banks would have collapsed years ago..
so it is the chicken and egg situation
i would say the blame lies with greed and pushing prices up in the beginning to gain extra money from commission
so who do you think gets the best commission by marketing houses at higher prices?
correct answers on a postcard please
Comment removed by moderator. Comment was in all caps.
This is no surprise. No Jobs = no money.
Hey wizardofoz, I own two houses, going to purchase a commercial property this year and yes I am living the American Dream....and loving it. So put that in your pipe and smoke it before you vomit!
The only way this turns around is when people have a decent job, can afford a home with putting down 10-20% of their own money. At that point the inventory of homes will go down and home prices will start to climb; and that my friends will take years. The fact is the banks aren't going to hand out loans to just anyone cuz the feds are making them get their books in order or they shut them down. We're on pace for 160+ banks being shut down this year. Anyone think thats going to make it easier to get a loan?
This is not just in Vegas:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36547572/ns/...
@Stevem Did you read my entire comment before you get all lathered up in your typical fashion? Yes, there are plenty of dishonest and disreputable real estate brokers selling to the elderly et al and taking advantage of them with fine print tactics et al.
However, I immediately followed up by saying our greed as buyers is to blame for this mess for the most part.
Read something in it's entirety before you make a weak attempt to comment intelligently. Actually don't bother commenting on my comments because you're exactly the type of conservative personality type with your bitter and moldy small world views.
I can discuss topics with many conservatives and agree to disagree, but really, review all your comments and not one positive comment in the bunch.
wizard
Haven't you learned yet to NOT post in caps??? Your posts have been removed because of that...
Get a clue already.
Stevem:
I'm not saying that all realtors and loan officers are contributing to the foreclosure problem but since you are in this business, you should know that I am speaking the truth. If we look closely, some of the people who have upside down homes are still playing the game by buying cheaper homes and adding more homes to the foreclosure list. Someone should regulate this but it boils down to "money greed" and some real state people are still actively and knowingly contributing to the problem.
i help you sell a house.
i help you buy a house.
what you do after that transaction is YOUR business, not mine.
real estate agents don't raise the price of homes. the MARKET raises or lowers the price of homes.
don't like the price of a home?
don't buy it.
LOL! More homes being foreclosed upon. That is nothing new. Currently, Banks have so many residential properties (REO) NOT on the market that if they do place them all on the market at once, they would kill the housing market. I'm waiting to buy AFTER the Nov 2010 elections. Then, we'll see where home prices are.
CTWOMP: You are thinking about AZ home ownership. Nevada does NOT have a law that allows Banks to sue you for the difference owed after a trustees sale. e.g. wage garnishments, judgements, etc.
I don't own an upside down home but the reasoning that Stevem gave us above is part of the problem. People with upside down mortgages are paying premium fees to realtors and loan officers to get a new cheaper home so they can unload their upside down homes. These homeowners are still employed, making good money, and still have good credits until they foreclose their existing homes. Loan officers and realtors know this but are keeping a blind eye to the upcoming problem, they are more interested in their commisions than help stop the bleeding. They still think that it is not their problem but they should be held accountable for knowingly contributing to the housing mess.
I don't know if I would go as far as to say homeownership is the American Dream but I sure do enjoy owning my own home and not being at the mercy of landlords or Homeowners Associations.
During his last visit here, didn't Obama announce a plan to help with foreclosures in NV and a couple other states? I'm guessing it hasn't kicked in yet. Anyone?
jim-Nevada -- pay attention and look at my first post. Obama's latest promise amounts to just passing more taxpayer $$ to the banks, even though they can't prove they own the loans!
"The paper bubble is then burst ... there will be a general revolution of property in this state." -- Thomas Jefferson by letter to John Adams, 1819, from "The Works of Thomas Jefferson" Vol. 12
As it kills me to say so I have to agree with Stevem, I also am in Real Estate but I work for a local builder. When the market was very good and we had buyers coming in and buying homes why was is it our fault, that they could not make the payments on there new home, I will tell you why... the banks was giving loans to anyone who had blood running Thur there body, the mortgage on there new homes was $2,000 a month but they only brought home $2,200 a month,or they did not put any money down on there new home and got a 80-20 loan with adjustable rate mortgage but they still got the loan.... we did not hold a gun to there head and say signed on the line... they did this all by them self, and now they are upset that there home is in foreclosure. Not are Fault, ..
As for new homes being built, they are all over the valley, and home buyer are now looking at new instead of the foreclosures
its so sad when people can't pay for there new homes. their just in over there heads. at least nobody put a gun to they're heads.
Gee, another day, another story.....most of us all along has said that the realtors in this town are so full of crap, and this just proves it!
And by the way, any of you realtors out there that say you had nothing to do with what is happening, your a liar! You are the ones who keep telling people, and the media, the market is bouncing back, buy now or lose out, on and on and on. Anyone else who would do such things is sued! Or brought up on criminal charges!
You all know what is going on in the market down here, how many homes have been abandoned, foreclosed, or in the process and the banks are sitting on them. Everyone knows that means the market will be flooded sooner or later if not already, which will lower prices even further. You know the market has not hit bottom, yet do you tell people this?
Yet you have no responsibility in what is happening.....unbelievable!
Rwal....why do you say Realtors are full of crap?
Did we make you buy that house.... NO!!!! We showed you what you wanted to buy and the price you wanted to be in..... That is all... We can't MAKE you buy something you didn't want, in the end it was all up to YOU and no one else if you wanted to buy the home..... Now that you are upside down in your home it's the realtors, banks,and lenders, fault....Take some owner ship No One Made You Buy Your Home... 90% of Home owners in Las Vegas are upside down..
Stevem get real- Tell me that you (and all real estate agents) don't work with mortgage brokers who you know and who have a history of getting your clients into the house they want (whether the client can afford it or not). During the boom real estate agents and their crooked brokers knowingly pressured unqualified clients to take out loans they couldn't afford, often falsifying the loan paperwork, and made big bucks doing it. You guys made a lot of cash by preying on the vulnerable and now most of you are making what you deserve for the unskilled "service" you provide. I think it is a shame the hard workers at in and out burger now make the same as you.
Snowelk, you are so miss guided, do you really think we told buyers you have to buy this house or else..... come on get real...You as a buyer should have know if you could afford the house or not, just by what the monthly note was going to be.... if you make $2000 a month you can not afford a house payment of $1800.... simple math, so stop blaming the realtors, banks, lenders and anyone else, you had a say if you wanted to buy the home
Stevem
You are a realitor is time to buy?
stevenm
Don't spend too much energy justifying what you do for a living...too many people that post here clearly need a parent to help them decide what to do regarding their finances. It's sad to see how many blame others for their inability to make a an intelligent decision and subsequently look for the nearest person to lay blame for their stupidity.
@environprotector -
"Real Estate agents are idiots also for selling houses to people who can't afford them."
I agree there are a whole lot of morons hocking real estate in this city. However, out of the 2 agents I've used for my purchases, NEITHER called me out of the blue and forced me to buy a house. I called THEM and told them that I wanted to buy. Now, my home's value is dismal, but I would be crazy to blame the agent. The same goes for loan hockers, too. If your loan officer or Realitor works full-time as a dealer and does loans/real estate "on the side," then find someone else who performs those services full-time for a living (with experience).
If you (collective) sign on the line which is dotted, then you should accept responsibility for your actions. In only very rare cases does "predatory lending" and "predatory realty" take place.
I Understand we have an "EXCESS SUPPLY" of housing now..... but...
WE DID NOT BUILD TOO MUCH....
WE BUILT TOO LITTLE....
Why was the average home prices 300K????
Answer: EXCESS DEMAND..LITTLE SUPPLY....
During the boom....WE NEEDED MORE HOUSES!!!
Why did Home prices go up???
Stupid and insane Bureau of Land Management Land Restrictions blocked room for housing developments... and HOME PRICES JACKED UP!!!
Then Fannie and Freddie... screwed mortages to make housing affordable.....
THE LOANS WERE UNSTABLE = MASS FORECLOSURES!!
Stop BLM, Fannie, and Freddie!!! Or else.....
I WILL AND I WILL BE HEARD!!! Cyrus will be the superhero for the Las Vegas Valley!!
What suprises me is...
WHY IN THE WORLD... THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY DID HAVE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE!!??? People wake up!!
Remember in the 1990's when we built the masterplans of Summerlin, Green Valley, etc......and tons of mortgages were given????
WHY IN THE WORLD THE 90'S MORTGAGES TURN INTO FORECLOSURE!!???
Answer no dump crap BLM laws or Fannie Mae!!!!
WAKE UP PEOPLE!! As a young individual... I am doing this.. because...
I CARE!!!
blaming a realtor for you not paying your mortgage is like blaming the motorcycle dealer when you drive 80 miles per hour through traffic and then you get killed.
"You are a realitor is time to buy?"
no. but i am a REALTOR.
how about you learn to SPELL the profession you are trying to criticize?
s-n-a-p.
And the Government media complex continues to spin the myth that the recession is over.........
Yeah, Right!
NJGirl
You have a job??? You would never know it by the poor grammar, punctuation and spelling in your posts.
Something is wrong with that picture.
Do any of you ever give a realtor credit when the house price continues upward after you purchased it? please raise your hand. Then, why blame the realtor when the price goes down.
Most people bought during bubble, not recognizing it's a bubble, were done out of greed and fear.
"if i buy now, I can make tons of money by leveraging"
"if I don't buy now, the price will continue to go up and I will miss the chance of buying low"
What's the difference here comparing to chasing stocks during bubble? do you sue/blame your broker for your purchase?
It's all your own action.
And yet the american idiots still move here. Hmm, let me see, no jobs, worse housing market, bad schools, that sounds like a great place to raise a family. Sorry to say, just bought a house in San Antonio where the economy is ten fold of Las Vegas, see you all, would not want to be ya! LOL!!!!!!
My friend tried to re-fi his mortgage, but the bank wouldn't allow it because he was current on his payments. So, he stopped making payments. Perhaps this is why the delinquency rate is steadily increasing. Banks don't want to listen to reason.
as long as the builders are building new
homes
why buy a short sale or FORECLOSURE
get more for less
BEWARE !!! The saying...."if it sounds too good, it is" Times are still changing and if you think you've just bought something at a low price, you haven't.I would love to buy...but with prices still dropping,I might just loss the value of my investment before the ink dries on my contract.
"Do any of you ever give a realtor credit when the house price continues upward after you purchased it? please raise your hand. Then, why blame the realtor when the price goes down."
exactly. THANK YOU.
and you'll notice that ANYTIME that question is presented to the "realtors are evil" types...they never seem to want to answer it, do they?
everyone is approaching this from the BUYER side. like it's my fault that people bought a house they couldn't afford.
what if i was your LISTING agent. not a buyer agent, but a LISTING agent. i was trying to SELL your home...not trying to BUY your home...
if i was trying to SELL your home...how long would you keep me as your realtor if i asked every person that presented an offer "ummm...now are you SURE you can afford this house? it's A LOT of money. i really, really think you should think twice about buying this house. how about you wait a few years?"
lol...you'd fire me in about 30 seconds.
if i choose to consume 3 cheeseburgers a day and get fat do i blame who sold me the burgers? do i blame the people who do burger commercials? do i blame cows grazing the pastures?
if i get my wife pregnant, do i blame the mattress company? do i blame the 5-hr energy drink? do i blame the radio station broadcasting rap music at the moment of climax?
if i pull a muscle at the gym, do i blame the front desk clerk? do i blame the hot chick strutting by (well...maybe)? do i blame the security guard roaming the gym parking lot? do i blame the guy cleaning the gym toilets?
we make choices. live by them.