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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's foreclosure rate has increased 113 percent over the same period last year.
A new report says one in every 226 households in Utah was in foreclosure during the second quarter of 2008.
Nationally, Utah ranks 14th in the country in the rate of foreclosure filings in the second quarter.
Among the state's metro areas, St. George had the highest rate, with one in every 87 households in foreclosure. The report by RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif., says the St. George area saw filings jump 446 percent year-over-year and 56 percent from the first quarter of 2008 to the second quarter.
Utah ranked 14th in the nation in the rate of foreclosure filings in the second quarter of this year, up from 18th during the first quarter, according to a report released Thursday.
In Salt Lake City, one in every 217 households foreclosed. That was a 17.16 percent increase over the rate for the previous quarter and an 89.29 percent jump from the second quarter of 2007. The city's foreclosure rate ranked 52nd among the nation's 100 largest metro areas, the report said.
Real-estate broker David Seiler said the increase in foreclosures is giving prospective buyers more selection to choose from, which he said is helping to force home prices down.
Because of the bad loans made by many banks, some borrowers are in the process of deciding whether to try to work out a solution with their bank to avoid losing their house or just walking away, he said.
"The banking industry was stupid," Seiler said. "We're starting to see the ramifications all over the place."
Seiler said he expects to see home prices continue to decline.
"If it doesn't start to pick up in August, then we're going to start to see people start to lower their prices," he said. "They don't want to go into fall and winter and not sell, if they don't have to."
Nationwide, foreclosure filings increased almost 14 percent from the previous quarter and jumped 121 percent from the second quarter of 2007. One in every 171 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
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Information from: Deseret News
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
