Seattle-Area Foreclosures Increase 64 Percent in 2008

Seattle was hard hit by the housing crisis last year, and the trouble isn't over, according to a company that monitors foreclosure data. King, Pierce and Snohomish counties saw foreclosure activity increase 62 percent, 62 percent and 71 percent, respectively. The data was gathered by Default Research, the provider of Seattle's pre-foreclosure data.
The highest foreclosure rate was found in Pierce County with 1.66 percent of households having a Notice of Trustee Sale, followed by Snohomish County with 1.1 percent, and .73 percent in King County. 
"The Seattle region avoided the foreclosure crisis in 2006 and 2007, but the area was not as fortunate last year," said Serdar Bankaci, founder of Default Research. "Even though the foreclosure rates are up all over Seattle, the number of households in foreclosure is far below the national average of nearly three percent."
According to the company, real estate market indicators are strong for the region with median home prices remaining relatively stable while inventories have decreased. Even so, the area is not totally through the foreclosure problems plaguing the rest of the country.
"We expect to see some increases in foreclosure activity in 2009, but it will still be much lower than the other major regions we cover," said Bankaci, whose daily foreclosure lists are e-mailed directly to real estate professionals in the region.
Foreclosure statistics of the hardest hit cities gathered by Default Research:
• King County –Seattle (135), Federal Way (56), Renton (43), Kent (42) and Renton (43);
• Pierce County – Tacoma (177), Puyallup (80), Spanaway (47), Gig Harbor (36) and Bonney Lake (21);
• Snohomish County –Everett (61), Snohomish (30), Marysville (30), Iynnwood (29) and Arlington (21);
Default Research provides Seattle foreclosure listings, reporting Trustee Sales Notices mere days after being recorded. The foreclosure statistics are a count of the number of Notice of Trustee Sales filed. Properties are counted once in a 12-month period. For more detailed Washington State foreclosure statistics listed by county, please visit http://market.defaultrsearch.com.