Nevada’s foreclosure rate remained one of the worst in the country last month as banks started the foreclosure process on a rising number of homes.
One in every 320 housing units in Nevada had a foreclosure-related filing in February, according to a new report from Irvine, Calif., research firm RealtyTrac. Filings include notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.
Nevada’s rate was down 14 percent from a year earlier but still more than double the national average. It also was the second-highest foreclosure rate nationwide last month for the fifth month in a row.
According to RealtyTrac, Nevada’s “foreclosure starts” — filings that start the auction process — jumped more than 330 percent year-over-year to 1,995 in February, a 17-month high.
Florida retained the dubious No. 1 spot for the sixth consecutive month in February, with one in every 282 housing units carrying a foreclosure filing.
Nationally, one in every 849 housing units had a foreclosure filing last month, down 25 percent from a year earlier.