July Foreclosure Filings

A slow U.S. economy, poor housing sales, decreasing home values and stricter mortgage lending criteria led to over 77,000 properties getting repossessed by lenders throughout the United States in July 2008. Foreclosure filings increased from 2007 to 2008 in 42 states while Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Ohio had the highest rate of July 2008 foreclosure filings.

Foreclosure-related notices increased 8% from June 2008 to July 2008, which translated to one out of every 464 U.S. households receiving a foreclosure filing in July 2008. Moody's Economy.com predicts that approximately 2.8 million U.S. households will either face foreclosure, forfeit their homes to their lender or have to sell their properties for less than their mortgage's value by the end of 2009.¹

Fast Facts

1. Foreclosure notices, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions, increased by 55% from July 2007 to July 2008²
2. July 2007: Approximately 175,000 homes across the United States received at least one foreclosure-related notice¹
3. July 2008: Over 272,000 homes across the U.S. received at least one foreclosure-related notice¹
4. July 2008: 77,000 properties were repossessed by lenders across the U.S.¹
5. July 2008: 1 out of every 64 households received a foreclosure filing in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area, the highest rate in the U.S.³
6. 2008: 4.5 million U.S. homes were listed for sale¹

Assistance on the Way?

In June 2008, President Bush signed housing legislation that would help prevent home foreclosures by allowing homeowners to swap their current mortgages for more affordable loans. However, this would only be an option if the lender agreed to take a loss on the initial loan.¹

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