Nearly 60 percent more U.S. homes faced foreclosure in February than in the same time last year, a California research firm reported Wednesday.
A total of 223,651 homes across the nation received at least one notice from lenders last month related to overdue payments, up 59.8 percent from 139,922 a year earlier, according to California-based RealtyTrac, Inc.
February marked the 26th consecutive month with a national year-over-year increase in foreclosure-related filings.
Most of the troubled properties were in California, Florida, Texas, Michigan and Ohio — states where home prices have plunged as the housing boom went bust.
Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate with one in every 165 households receiving at least one late notice — about four times higher than the national average, according to Realty-Trac. The state has 6,167 properties facing foreclosure, a 68 percent increase from a year earlier and up 1 percent from January.
The latest numbers indicate many homeowners continue to struggle with mortgage payments, despite highly publicized efforts by government, lenders and consumer groups to modify loan terms.
February's total represents a 4 percent dip from January, but the decline was just a seasonal blip, said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing.
From NPR and wire reports
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