July foreclosures up a bit in Pa., down in N.J.

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, August, 2008 by Alan J. Heavens Inquirer Real Estate Writer

Foreclosure filings nationwide rose 8 percent from June to July, while Pennsylvania's rose just under 3 percent and New Jersey's dropped 7.56 percent. RealtyTrac Inc., the Irvine, Calif., company that tracks foreclosure filings, reported that the largest increases were, as usual, in Nevada, California and Florida.

Nevada leads the list, followed closely by California and Florida. Pennsylvania is 31st on the list, New Jersey 19th. Filings year-over-year rose 55 percent nationwide, RealtyTrac reported, with Pennsylvania up more than 39 percent and New Jersey up 11.9 percent. Only six states showed declines. The effect of the higher foreclosure rates on existing-home median sale prices year-over-year is clear from data provided yesterday for the second quarter by the National Association of Realtors. In metropolitan Philadelphia, median prices fell just 3 percent. In Las Vegas, they dropped almost 24 percent; in Los Angeles, about 30 percent; and Miami, 20 percent. Nationally, prices dropped ...