Florida Third in 2010 Foreclosure Rates

According to a report released Thursday by Realty Trac, a California-based company that tracks foreclosed properties, 2010 set a record for foreclosure activity in the United States, with more than 3.8 million foreclosure filings on more than 2.8 million properties -- an increase of 2 percent over 2009 and 23 percent over 2008.

Florida's foreclosure rate was third in the nation behind Nevada and Arizona, with one in every 18 properties recieving a foreclosure filing last year. Florida had the second-highest total of filings in 2010 with 485,286, and was one of five states -- along with California, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan --to make up more than half of all the foreclosure activity in the nation.

Foreclosure activity in Florida affected more than 5.5 percent of all housing units, but still represents a 6 percent decrease from 2009.