Surge reported in foreclosures

The number of foreclosures in the US property market has continued to rise, new figures have revealed.

Housing research firm RealtyTrac's mid-year report showed that the first half of 2009 saw 1,905,364 foreclosure filings placed on 1,528,364 properties, representing one in 84 US homes.

The company noted that this represented a nine per cent rise on the tally for the previous six months and a 15 per cent increase on the figure for the opening six months of 2008.

Florida, Nevada and California were the states with the highest foreclosure levels. Of these, Nevada was worst hit, with one in 30 homes receiving at least one filing.

Such findings may suggest that those keen on buying a property in the US will still have plenty of chances to pick up a foreclosed bargain.

Realtytrac commented that unemployment is responsible for many of the repossessions, a factor that may start to diminish in the near future.

Speaking in London this week, US treasury secretary Tim Geithner predicted that the US economy will begin to recover from the recession before the end of this year.

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