Los Angeles – The number of U.S. homes in some stage of foreclosure last year jumped 79 percent from 2006 and the number of homeowners falling behind on mortgage payments suggests more of the same this year.
The real estate tracking company RealtyTrac says about 1.3 million homes received foreclosure-related warnings last year, up from 717,522 in 2006.
The company said the number of home foreclosures jumped 82 percent in Alabama last year to put the state's ranking at Number 37 in the country. Nevada, Florida, Michigan and California posted the highest foreclosure rates.
More than one percent of all U.S. households were in some phase of the foreclosure process last year, up from about half a percent in 2006.
Nearly two million subprime mortgages are scheduled to reset to higher interest rates this year and next.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)