Housing is still hemorrhaging, Chicago’s foreclosure rate jumps 30 percent in first half

BY MEGAN MOLLMANN – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Although there was good news this week that housing prices are on the rebound, the aftershocks of the housing bubble are still being felt.

Chicago’s foreclosure rate shot up 30.3 percent in the first half of 2009 compared with January through June of 2008, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac.com. Chicago’s rate of foreclosure filings is one in every 59 houses or approximately 1.7 percent.

The report said unemployment trends may be a factor in some inconsistencies in the nation’s foreclosure patterns.

“While some of the markets that had the highest saturation of foreclosures over the past few years have seen declining rates, new markets like Provo, Utah and Boise, Idaho have seen large increases,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac Inc.

Chicago was 39th on the list of 203 cities across the U.S., following other major metropolitan areas such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, Miami, San Diego and Los Angeles.  Chicago was the highest ranked area in the state, with Rockford, Ill. coming in second.

Las Vegas topped the list of U.S. cities with the highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 13 houses filing for foreclosure in the first half of 2009, up 56.2 percent from a year ago.

Too bad what happened in Vegas, could not have stayed in Vegas.

Tags: Chicago, foreclosures, Housing, Las Vegas, real estate