By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com 
Published Jan. 28, 2010

Data released this morning show that South Carolina’s major metro areas had some of the lowest foreclosure rates across the U.S. for 2009.

Of the 203 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed by RealtyTrac for the year, Spartanburg ranked the lowest in South Carolina, at 177, with about 0.5% of homes in the region having at least a notice of default. Nearby Greenville-Mauldin-Easley posted one of the higher foreclosure percentages in the state but was still well below 2%.

The Charleston-North Charleston region posted the largest percentage of homes in foreclosure, at 2.20%, or 6,198 homes in distress. Columbia posted the third-lowest in South Carolina with less than 1.5%.

Foreclosure numbers in the Palmetto State still rank much lower than many areas of the country. The highest percentages were posted in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., at 12.04%, and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at 11.87%. The MSA with the lowest percentage rate of foreclosure filings in the U.S. for 2009 was Burlington, Vt., at 0.05%.

Housing numbers in all areas of South Carolina — as in many areas of the nation — picked up with the extension and expansion of the federal homebuyer tax credits.

Foreclosures have been a lagging indicator with the bursting of the housing bubble in a recession wracked by mortgage-backed securities. In its annual report, RealtyTrac said data show that the foreclosure problem is spreading in parts of the West and Midwest as the recession recovery continues to shake out these so-called toxic assets.

“While it was expected that cities from states with the highest levels of foreclosure activity would top the charts, there is evidence that we’re entering a new wave of foreclosures, driven more by unemployment and economic hardship than what we’ve seen over the past few years,” said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio.

Areas like Provo, Utah, Fayetteville, Ark., Portland, Ore., and Rockford, Ill., all posted foreclosure rates above the U.S. average in 2009.

Source: RealtyTrac.com