Reno Foreclosure Blog

Report from Trulia.com

A record number of borrowers once judged the most creditworthy are heading into foreclosure as the job market leaves more homeowners unable to keep up with mortgage payments.
Foreclosures among borrowers with prime conforming loans have shot up 425% since January 2008, according to Lender Processing Services, which compiles mortgage data. Conforming loans are those eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal agencies that buy mortgages from lenders.

Jumbo prime loans not eligible for purchase by Fannie or Freddie have done even worse — foreclosures on those have increased nearly 600%.

Jumbo loans are typically mortgages worth more than $729,750.

“Jobs is a major impact. It’s a huge factor,” says Ken Shuman, a spokesman with Trulia.com, a real estate search engine. “A lot of homeowners on the higher end are also savvy investors. They’re seeing their home has lost 30% of their value - we’re now seeing a lot of strategic defaults on Jumbo loans.”

RealtyTrac findings:

Las Vegas continued to post the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate in the first half of 2010. One in 15 of its housing units received a foreclosure filing — more than five times the U.S. average.