Foreclosures are up in Seattle area

[meshugy]

Home foreclosures were up in and around Seattle in the first three months of the year, but the area continued to have fewer foreclosures than most of the country, according to statistics released Wednesday.

King County foreclosures were up 37.6 percent from the previous quarter,

The Seattle area, which RealtyTrac counts as King and Pierce counties, had one foreclosure for every 464 households, putting it 73rd among the largest 100 metro areas for foreclosure rates.



Seattle's employment is strong, its percentage of subprime loans is below the national average and its market never did heat up as much as some places or build up as much excess inventory.

"It looks like both Seattle and the state are doing better than most places," Sharga said.