Florida leads nation in foreclosures in first half of 2010

From the Associated Press on July 29:

LOS ANGELES — Florida led the nation in foreclosures in the first six months of the year, according to new data released this morning.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metropolitan area received more foreclosure-related warnings in the first half of this year than any other, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said.

Florida accounted for nine of the top 20 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates.

The latest data echo broader, national foreclosure trends.

Households across a majority of large U.S. cities received more foreclosure warnings in the first six months of this year than in the first half of 2009, the firm said.

The trend is the latest sign that the nation's foreclosure crisis is worsening as homeowners battling high unemployment, slow job growth and an uneven rebound in home prices continue to fall behind on their mortgage payments.

In all, 154 out of 206 metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents posted an annual increase in foreclosure activity between January and June, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Read more.