Nevada led nation in '09 foreclosure rate

With more than one in 10 homes in Nevada receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009, the Silver State once again had the nation's highest foreclosure rate for the third consecutive year, according to a real estate tracking firm.

California-based RealtyTrac reported Wednesday that Nevada's December foreclosure activity increased 27 percent from the previous month, but was down 22 percent from December 2008.

Meanwhile, fourth quarter foreclosure activity in Nevada was down 37 percent from the previous quarter as a result of substantial decreases in October and November.

Arizona and Florida followed Nevada in their foreclosure rates, with 6 percent and 5.93 percent respectively.

Nationwide, nearly 4 million foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions, were reported on about 2.8 million homes in 2009 - a 21 percent increase from 2008 and a 120 percent increase from 2007.

In December, foreclosures filings were up 14 percent from November, but foreclosures filings saw an overall dip of 7 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter.

"As bad as the 2009 numbers are, they probably would have been worse if not for legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.