FORECLOSURE FILINGS BY REGION:

Southwest Region (Includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington)

The nation's Southwest region continues to lead the nation in pre-foreclosure and auction filings. In the first three months of 2007, 130,392 homeowners faced the prospect of losing their properties to foreclosure. A total 44,163 properties ended up as REO or bank-owned properties.

Looking closer at those numbers, the region had 70,073 pre-foreclosure filings, up 98 percent from just 35,487 for the same period a year ago. That means more than 70,000 homeowners faced mortgages in default. Notice of auction filings soared in the quarter too, to 60,319, up 83 percent from 32,937 a year ago. Adding to the dismal statistics, the region includes 17 of the Top 20 counties in the nation in numbers of notice of auction filings and 14 of the Top 20 counties in numbers of pre-foreclosure filings.

Looking closer at more Southwest regional numbers:

• Nevada leads the nation in pre-foreclosure filings per capita-10 for every 1,000 households in the state. Colorado takes the second spot with 5.9 for every 1,000 households, and California comes in No. 4 (after Florida) with 4.3 per 1,000 households.
  
• California leads the nation and the region in numbers of pre-foreclosures for the quarter (49,016 filings, up 30 percent from 37,605 fourth-quarter 2006) and auction filings (25,023 filings, up 66 percent from 15,036 the same time a year earlier).
  
• Texas leads the nation and the region in numbers of bank-owned, REO filings for the quarter (14,101, down 13 percent from 16,155 a quarter earlier.)
  
• The region's counties hit hardest by foreclosures include: in Texas-Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Travis, and Denton; in California-Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Joaquin, Orange, Sacramento, and Contra Costa; Clark, Nevada, and Maricopa, Arizona.

Midwest Region (Includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin)

Impending foreclosure hit home hard in the Midwest during the first quarter of 2007. A total 31,641 pre-foreclosures and notice of auction were filed in the first three months of the year. A total 36,021 properties also ended up as REO–reverted back to the lenders.

Illinois ranked fourth in the nation and tops in the region in pre-foreclosure filings with 12,061. On a positive note, that's down 6 percent from the 12,768 in the previous quarter. However, on a month-to-month basis, March's 4,907 filings were up 50 percent from February's 3,263.

Reeling from the effects of the region's economic woes, Michigan ranked No. 3 nationally with 11,401 REO filings, and Ohio at No. 4 with 11,027 filings. But those first-quarter numbers for Michigan represent a 14 percent drop from the fourth quarter 2006, and for Ohio, an 8 percent decline.

Looking at more Midwest regional statistics:

• Nine of the Midwest region's 11 states actually saw drops REO filings in the first quarter, with Indiana (2,800 filings) and Kansas (379 filings) registering significant drops–42 percent and 54 percent respectively.
  
• Pre-foreclosure numbers dropped 67 percent each in Indiana and Kansas, in the first quarter compared with fourth-quarter 2006. Unfortunately, Missouri, also hit by manufacturing cuts and job losses and the resulting economic fallout, didn't fare as well with 3,298 filings, up a whopping 377 percent over the last quarter's 692 filings.
  
• Ohioans continue to struggle with housing affordability issues. More than 1,376 notices of pending foreclosure auction were filed in the first quarter, up 100 percent from the previous quarter.
  
• On the positive side, in addition to Illinois, four other states in the region saw a drop in pre-foreclosure filings, including Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Southeast Region (Includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia)

Florida far outpaces the rest of the Southeast in the number of homeowners facing pending foreclosure. A total 46,023 pre-foreclosure and auction notices were filed in Florida during first quarter 2007. That's up 26 percent from just 38,512 filings in the last quarter of 2006, and accounts for more than two-thirds of the region's total 68,161 homeowners in financial trouble so far this year. On a per capita basis, 5.8 out of every 1,000 Florida property owners were in pre-foreclosure, and at risk of losing their homes so far this year. In the majority of other states in the region-West Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Kentucky, per capita numbers are negligible.

In terms of bank-owned or REO properties, Georgia barely trails Florida in the numbers, 5,555 vs. 5,699 at the end of the first quarter.

Georgia's problem counties continue to be in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and include Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett, though two of the three saw double-digit drops in their numbers during the quarter.

Looking closer at more Southeast regional numbers:

• Tennessee's pre-foreclosure filings climbed 40 percent to 4,545 in the first quarter, up from 3,239 in the final quarter of 2006.
  
• North Carolina REO filings dropped 10 percent for the first quarter to 3,877, from 4,320 the previous quarter.
  
• Month-to-month pre-foreclosure filings in North Carolina, however, climbed 27 percent to 2,516 in March, from 1,988 in February (full year-to-date data is not yet available)
  
• Six Florida counties made the list of the Top 20 counties nationwide with the most pre-foreclosure filings year to date 2007. They include: Miami-Dade, Florida (6,197 filings, up 90 percent from 3,262 for the same time last year); Broward (4,454 filings, up 62 percent from 2,750 a year ago; Palm Beach (3,439 filings, up 38 percent from 2,499 a year ago; Hillsborough (Tampa; 2,272 filings, up 90 percent from 1,195 a year ago); Pinellas (Clearwater/St. Petersburg; 1,696, up 92 percent from 883 a year ago), and Orange (Orlando; 1,599, up 62 percent from 987 a year ago.

Northeast Region (Includes Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont)

The nation's Northeast Region appears to be weathering the foreclosure storm better than much of the rest of the nation. Despite its major population centers, the Northeast trails in numbers of foreclosure auction and bank-owned real estate or REO filings. Only the Midwest trails it in fewest numbers of pre-foreclosure filings.

"The Northeast, with its many diversified economies, didn't have quite the mega-price appreciation or creative-financing frenzy of some other parts of the country," says McGee. "As a result, the region is recovering faster from the housing market slump and foreclosure fallout."

Pre-foreclosure filings in the region are up just 8 percent for the quarter-25,919 vs. 23,939 for fourth-quarter 2006. Auction filings, however, climbed 167 percent region-wide to 9,529 year to date vs. 3,571 in fourth-quarter 2006. But those numbers remain manageable compared with the bigger numbers elsewhere in the country.

Looking closer at more Northeast regional numbers:

• Monroe County, Pennsylvania, had the highest number of REO’s per capita in the region, 2.5 out of every 1,000 households. The county is in the eastern part of the state and its economy banks big on tourism and home construction.
  
• New Jersey had the most pre-foreclosure filings-7,821 in the first quarter, down 9 percent from 8,595 in the previous quarter. New York numbers were down, too-6,696 off 13 percent.
  
• Massachusetts led the region in notice of auction filings with 2,510 in the first quarter, up 60 percent from the 1,569 in the last quarter of 2006. New Jersey followed with just 1,256 and New York with 1,155.
  
• Pennsylvania led the region in REO’s with 2,031 for the first quarter, off 43 percent from the previous quarter. Numbers dropped in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts, too.