RealtyTrac: Bakersfield No. 12 for foreclosures in 2009
| Thursday, Jan 28 2010 12:01 AM
Last Updated Thursday, Jan 28 2010 12:01 AM
2009 U.S. Metro Foreclosure Markets
Percent of housing units with filings
1. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. 12.04 percent
2. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. 11.87 percent
3. Merced, Calif. 10.10 percent
4. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. 8.80 percent
5. Stockton, Calif. 8.62 percent
6. Modesto, Calif. 8.53 percent
7. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla. 8.17 percent
8. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. 8.03 percent
9. Port St. Lucie, Fla. 7.58 percent
10. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. 7.16 percent
11. Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. 7.14 percent
12. Bakersfield, Calif. 7.13 percent
The Bakersfield area ranked No. 12 nationally for the most properties in or near foreclosure last year, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine-based real estate data firm.
The company collected filing statistics from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, including notices of default, real estate lender litigation and foreclosures, the company announced Thursday.
All but two of the markets in the top 12 nationally were in California or Florida. The exceptions were Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., at No. 1, and the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area in Arizona, which came in at No. 8. The report examined markets with populations of 200,000 or more.
California accounted for nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates last year. The state's weakest real estate markets were Merced, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Stockton, Modesto, Vallejo-Fairfield and Bakersfield.
There were a total of 7,885 foreclosures in Kern County last year, according to the Kern County Recorder's Office. That's down almost 8 percent from 8,560 in 2008, but more than double the 3,007 foreclosures in 2007.
"Things are bad, but not as bad as they have been," said Tony Ansolabehere, the county's assistant assessor-recorder.
The number of lender-owned properties in the county has been fairly consistent for the last six months, he said, and so have home prices.
"It's not great, but at least it's staying at the same level," Ansolabehere said.
There isn't likely to be any relief until the economy starts generating jobs again, said James Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac.
"There is evidence that we're entering a new wave of foreclosures, driven more by unemployment and economic hardship than what we've seen over the past few years," he said.
