RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, recently released its May 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report^TM, which shows foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – were reported on 321,480 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of 6 percent from the previous month but an increase of nearly 18 percent from May 2008.

"May foreclosure activity was the third highest month on record, and marked the third straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000 – a first in the history of our report," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "While defaults and scheduled foreclosure auctions were both down from the previous month, bank repossessions, or REOs, were up 2 percent thanks largely to substantial increases in several states. We expect REO activity to spike in the coming months as foreclosure delays and moratoria implemented by various state laws come to an end."

Florida posted the third highest state foreclosure rate in May, with one in every 148 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, behind Nevada (one in every 64) and California (one in every 144). Default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions in the state were all down from the previous month, but it still posted the nation's second highest number of properties with foreclosure filings: 58,931, up 50 percent from May 2008.

Georgia, Texas and Virginia were also on the list of the top 10 highest total foreclosure states. These top 10 states accounted for nearly 77 percent of total properties with foreclosure filings nationwide.

Foreclosures in SLC States: May 2005 - May 2009

State	May 2005	May 2006	% Change	May 2007	% Change	May 2008	% Change	May 2009	% Change	% Change: May 2005 - May 2009
Alabama	360	366	1.67	666	81.97 *	501	-24.77	1,967	292.61 **	446.39
Arkansas	1,496	784	-47.59	1,380	76.02	1,327	-3.84	1,671	25.92	11.70
Florida	10,477	8,898	-15.07	21,704	143.92	39,183	80.53	58,931	50.40	462.48
Georgia	4,288	5,769	34.54	8,294	43.77	10,651	28.42	10,516	-1.27	145.24
Kentucky	626	518	-17.25	729	40.73	750	2.88	1,078	43.73 **	72.20
Louisiana	295	158	-46.44	509	222.15 *	701	37.72	941	34.24	218.98
Maryland	236	260	10.17	1,766	579.23	2,345	32.79	3,539	50.92	1399.58
Mississippi	304	56	-81.58	219	291.07 *	185	-15.53	434	134.59	42.76
Missouri	1,223	1,423	16.35	2,751	93.32	4,989	81.35	2,796	-43.96	128.62
North Carolina	1,257	1,672	33.02	3,065	83.31	3,979	29.82	2,587	-34.98	105.81
Oklahoma	974	1,413	45.07	928	-34.32	1,235	33.08	877	-28.99	-9.96
South Carolina	644	539	-16.30	367	-31.91	1,398	280.93 **	3,092	121.17 **	380.12
Tennessee	3,225	2,442	-24.28	3,823	56.55	4,645	21.50	3,569	-23.16	10.67
Texas	7,557	14,506	91.95	9,653	-33.46	10,401	7.75	9,813	-5.65	29.85
Virginia	110	346	214.55	1,770	411.56	5,266	197.51	5,385	2.26	4795.45
West Virginia	63	71	12.70	154	116.90	42	-72.73	101	140.48	60.32
SLC States	33,135	39,221	18.37	57,778	47.31	87,598	51.61	107,297	22.49	223.82
United States	73,701	92,746	25.84	176,137	89.91	273,001	54.99	321,480	17.76	336.19

Notes:
* Actual increase may not be as high due to expanded data coverage
** Actual increase may not be as high due to data collection changes or improvements

Source: RealtyTrac®