US home foreclosures rose 9 percent in July from June and soared 93 percent from a year ago as states that once enjoyed a white-hot housing market are now seeing the greatest number of loan failures, a real estate survey reported on Tuesday.
The July foreclosures - a tally of default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - totalled 179,599, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. Five states accounted for more than half of the country's foreclosure activity in the month and two of those - California and Florida - saw some of the biggest price gains during the recent housing boom.
Ohio and Michigan, two other states among top five in foreclosures in July, have seen a jump in job losses while Georgia has also suffered a high level of home losses.