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A new foreclosure report is out, and the numbers actually are going down. Utah saw 5 percent fewer filings in January 2009 than in December 2008.
Utah's December numbers put us 12th in the nation, with one filing for every 517 households. That's up 85 percent from last year at the same time.
RealtyTrac Inc. is a California-based company that tracks foreclosures. Senior President Rick Sharga says nationally, numbers will be high for the rest of the year.
"Driven both by some of the toxic loans that are still in the marketplace, as well as increasing unemployment which typically leads to more foreclosure activity," he explained.
Sharga says filings were down 10 percent across the nation. "But December's (numbers) were almost at a record-setting level, and we can attribute the decrease to moratoria that were extended both by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae," he said.
Sharga says 2009 likely will be a peak year. Some Utah economists say it could see a turnaround by the middle of the year.
Among Utah's metro areas, St. George ranked 41st nationally; Ogden/Clearfield ranked 55th; the Salt Lake City metro area, including Summit County, ranked 69th; and Provo/Orem ranked 95th.
Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rate with one filing for every 76 households.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
