Home repossessions spiked across the United States
during 2007 leaving over one percent of all households in some
stage of foreclosure, an industry report showed Tuesday.
RealtyTrac, a California-based company which tracks foreclosure
activity, said 2.2 million foreclosure filings were lodged during
2007, marking a 75 percent increase compared with the prior
year.
The percentage of households in foreclosure almost doubled
from 0.58 percent in 2006, signalling the slump in the US housing
market has yet to abate.
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"Some properties may have just entered the initial stage
of foreclosure in 2007 and could be going through the rest of
the foreclosures process in 2008, unless lender and government
intervention efforts begin to gain more traction," RealtyTrac
chief executive James Saccacio said.
America's housing market has been in a downturn since early
2006 following a multiyear boom.
The foreclosure report followed a government survey a day earlier
which showed that sales of newly built homes across the country
plunged by a record 26.4 percent during 2007, compared with
the prior year, to an estimated 774,000 properties.
The foreclosure snapshot was released as Federal Reserve policymakers
gathered in Washington for a two-day meeting to mull interest
rates. Most economists expect the central bank to cut interest
rates again.
The Fed launched a rate-cutting drive in September to underpin
economic momentum which has been threatened by the housing downturn.
It cut its key federal funds rate by an historic three quarters
of a percentage point to 3.50 percent in a surprise move last
Tuesday.
The foreclosure report also showed that 215,749 foreclosure
filings were recorded in December, marking a 97 percent increase
from the same month in 2006.
Saccacio said December marked the fifth straight month in a
row with over 200,000 foreclosure filings reported.
The RealtyTrac report showed that the states of Nevada, Michigan,
California and Florida were suffering the highest rates of property
foreclosures.
