Foreclosure filings for 2006 nearly toppled 1 million, a 51-percent increase from 2005.

In the Northeast, foreclosures peaked at 64.6 percent. The region closed the books for 2006 with 96,101 foreclosure filings, up from only 58,394 in 2005. In the midst of rising foreclosures, the region did have states that actually showed decreases in foreclosure filings. Maryland (down 26.1 percent) and Delaware (down 32.9 percent) could be a glimpse of what may be ahead.

The Southeast region ended the year with a 37-percent increase. For 2006, the region reported 220,189 foreclosures compared with 162,259 in 2005. Florida alone filed 120,989 foreclosures but fell second to California for the highest number of foreclosures in one state.

Manufacturing layoffs and a tough economy fueled the 70-plus-percent increase for the Midwest region. The region filed 204,656 foreclosures. Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota faced increases of 80 to 96 percent, while Iowa and Kansas struggled with triple-digit increases.

The Southwest region led the nation in foreclosures for 2006, where one out of every 2.2 foreclosures in the nation took place. California, the nation’s leading state in foreclosures, filed 157,417 foreclosures. Colorado increased 55.4 percent with 68,310 filings. Texas increased only 35.2 percent to 106,845. Possibly indicating that better times are ahead, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Oregon showed slight drops in fourth-quarter filings compared to third quarter.

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