Local foreclosure filings triple

Sonoma County foreclosure filings more than tripled in September as homeowners struggled to keep up with their mortgage payments, according to a study released Thursday.

Foreclosure filings soared to 272 in Sonoma County last month, up from 75 a year ago, reflecting an accelerating housing downturn across California, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine-base real estate research firm.

"Sonoma County is following the trend statewide, which is up quite a bit from last year," said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac spokesman.

While foreclosure filings are surging, Sonoma County ranked 32nd among California's 58 counties in the rate of filings based on population. There was one foreclosure filing for every 711 households in the county. A year ago, the county ranked 37th with one filing for every 2,442 households.

"It's inched up a little. But it's -- at the worst -- middle of the pack," Blomquist said.

Across the United States, a total of 223,538 foreclosure filings were reported in September, up from 112,210 in the same month a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.

The September figure represents the second-highest total for filings in a single month since the company began tracking monthly filings two years ago.

The total includes default notices, foreclosure sales and properties that have gone back to lenders. Some properties are counted more than once if owners have multiple mortgages.

Typically, borrowers must be 60 to 90 days past due on their mortgage payments before their lender will consider them in default, the first stage of the foreclosure process. If a homeowner can't find a way to get current on payments, the home is often put up for auction, and if it doesn't sell, it eventually goes back to the bank.

In all, 39 states saw a decline in foreclosure filings, the firm said.

The foreclosure rate for the nation in September was one foreclosure filing for every 557 households, the firm said.

For would-be buyers who have been waiting to enter the market, the flood of foreclosure activity should be good news, but they may want to wait until early next year for prices to fall further in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and other once high-flying markets, said Pat McPherron, an economist at Moody's Economy.com.

"People have a tendency to try to catch the bottom of the trough and really ride it to the top," McPherron said. "If someone said, 'is that now?' my answer is no."

The U.S. housing market has seen sales decline and home prices fall or remain flat, making it harder for homeowners who can't afford to make mortgage payments to sell their homes or seek refinancing.

Many of the troubled homeowners were among those who took on adjustable-rate mortgages that are now adjusting to a higher interest rate, translating into payments they cannot afford to make.

The rising delinquencies and foreclosures this year have led the mortgage industry to tighten lending standards, further narrowing options for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage.

Nevada, Florida and California had the highest foreclosure rates in the country last month, the firm said.

Nevada reported one foreclosure filing for every 185 households, earning the state the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for the ninth month in a row. The state had 5,504 filings in September, down 11.1 percent from August and more than triple the total from September 2006.

Florida had one foreclosure filing for every 248 households. The state reported 33,354 foreclosure filings in September, down just less than 2 percent from August but more than three times greater than a year ago.

California's foreclosure rate was one filing for every 253 households. The state reported the most foreclosure filings of any single state with 51,259, down 11 percent from August but a fourfold increase from September of last year.

Rounding out the states with the top 10 foreclosure rates last month were Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Texas and Indiana.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Michael Coit at 521-5470 or mike.coit@pressdemocrat.com.