February home foreclosures fall sharply in Nevada

By Buck Wargo

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | 9 p.m.

Foreclosure filings fell sharply statewide in February, but that didn’t prevent Nevada from keeping its top spot in the nation.

Nationwide, the number of foreclosures filed in February rose 6 percent compared to February 2009, but Nevada bucked that trend with foreclosure filings down 30 percent, according to California-based RealtyTrac.

Nevada’s filings fell 7 percent compared to January, a bigger drop than the 2 percent reported nationwide.

Las Vegas foreclosure filings fell 9 percent in February compared to January, but the valley still lead the nation with one filing for every 90 housing units, RealtyTrac reported.

Analysts said the decline in foreclosures is attributed to lenders’ willingness to work with homeowners on modifying loans and their willingness to approve short sales — situations where the homeowner is allowed to sell the home for less than what’s owed on the mortgage.

Arizona ranked second in February with one filing for every 163 households. Foreclosure filings in the Phoenix metropolitan area dropped 18 percent in February.

In Nevada, 1,992 homes were repossessed in February and lenders filed 6,581 notices of default.