/ Modified jan 16, 2013 4:19 p.m.

State 3rd Worst in 2012 Foreclosures

Numbers decline sharply from recession; more improvement seen

Arizona was third worst in the nation last year in foreclosure filings, with filings totaling 2.69 percent of all housing units in the state, a foreclosure marketplace company reported Thursday.

A total of 76,487 foreclosure filings were made on Arizona residential properties in 2012. That was down 33 percent from 2011 and down 51 percent from the peak in 2010, RealtyTrac reported.

RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif., tracks and publicizes foreclosure filings for the purpose of marketing foreclosed properties. It counts as foreclosure filings all default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, so its statistics could include more than one filing on a property.

Ahead of Arizona in 2012 were Florida, with the worst filing rate at 3.11 percent of all residential properties, and Nevada, with 2.7 percent of all properties. Nevada was ranked as the worst foreclosure state from 2007 to 2011, and Arizona was ranked second worst from 2009 to 2011.

Nationally, foreclosure filings affected 1.39 percent of all housing units in 2012, down 3 percent from 2011 and 36 percent from 2010, which was the worst year on record.

RealtyTrac Vice President Darin Blomquist said in the company's press release that the worst is behind in foreclosures, but there could be more activity toward the end of 2013 as deferred foreclosures are cycled through.

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