Las Vegas foreclosure rate increases in March

By Buck Wargo

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.