Foreclosure Activity Spikes in Northern Illinois

RealtyStore.com, the Nation's leading provider of foreclosure listings, released its quarterly report on Northern Illinois foreclosures, showing a 45% increase in the "Prairie State's" foreclosure rate since January 2007. This comes as no surprise as foreclosure notices doubled last year in many states.

Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) June 23, 2008 -- RealtyStore (www.realtystore.com) recorded nearly 16,500 Notices of Default (NOD's) in northern Illinois counties for Q1 in 2008. An NOD is filed by the lending institution, when a homeowner falls behind on mortgage payments. NOD's provide important information about which home owners have home loans they cannot afford.

A sample of 10 northern counties (Champaign, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Rock Island, and Winnebago) shows a 45% increase in NOD's since January 1, 2007. DuPage County, spanning approximately 352,000 homes and housing nearly 0.31% of the U.S. population, saw a 77% increase in NOD's. Lake County also saw a drastic foreclosure hike of 78%. Between the two counties, Lake County was impacted most drastically, as more than half of its NOD's occurred during the last six months (October 2007 through March 2008). Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States (over 5.2 million people), fared far better, with a 37% increase from Q1 2007 and an 11% increase in six months.

Two northern counties experienced a decrease in NOD's during the past six months, though the decrease was minor. Champaign County saw a 4% drop in foreclosure filings. The other, small County of DeKalb has few NOD's compared to other northern counties, so a 5% decrease in foreclosure in that area can be a difference of one home owner clearing the default. At a glance from Q1 2007 to Q1 2008, both counties continue to experience a rise in pre-foreclosure property.

Overall, northern Illinois has seen its NOD rate almost double in the last 15 months. "As the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate, the latest wave of ARM's (adjustable rate mortgages) combined with rising unemployment, inflated oil prices, and the falling value of the U.S. Dollar, it is plausible that the foreclosure problem will continue to get worse," stated Tim Chin, RealtyStore CEO. "If you are thinking about buying foreclosure property, I always recommend working with an experienced real estate professional for advice on whether to buy now or wait on the sidelines a little longer."

About RealtyStore.com: Founded in 2005, RealtyStore.com is the fastest growing, most trusted provider of foreclosure listings and information in the nation with over 1 million pre-foreclosure, foreclosure auction, bank-owned, and tax sale property listings. Collected from hundreds of public and private sources, RealtyStore's proprietary database includes extensive property characteristics (including pictures and maps), default and tax information, comparable home values, and neighborhood demographics information. For more information, visit http://www.realtystore.com.

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