Nevada is back on top — but no one will celebrate this No. 1 ranking.
The Silver State had the highest foreclosure rate in the country in March, with one in every 306 housing units receiving a foreclosure-related filing, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.
Filings include notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. Default notices, which start the foreclosure process, nearly doubled in March from a year ago, soaring to an 18-month high of 2,188.
Nevada’s foreclosure rate had held the No. 2 ranking for five consecutive months. Florida traded places with Nevada last month and fell to second, with one in every 317 units receiving a foreclosure filing.
Rounding out the top five in March were Illinois (one in every 441 units), Ohio (one in every 477) and Maryland (one in every 630). Nationally, one in every 859 units received a foreclosure filing last month, RealtyTrac said.
Nevada’s foreclosure rate led the nation for more than five years until March 2012, when it slipped to No. 2. It reclaimed the top spot last April but fell to No. 3 in May.