U.S. Foreclosure Filings Double in First Quarter, Led by Nevada

U.S. foreclosure filings more thandoubled in the first quarter as payments rose for subprimeadjustable mortgages and falling home prices left property ownersunable to sell or refinance without losing money.

Almost 650,000 properties were in some stage of foreclosureduring the quarter, or 1 in every 194 U.S. households, Irvine,California-based RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of foreclosure data,said today in a statement. The number was 112 percent above ayear ago. Nevada, California and Arizona had the highest rates.

The median U.S. home price may drop by a record 5.8 percentthis year, Fannie Mae, the world's largest mortgage buyer, saidApril 7. Congress, the Bush administration and regulators haveurged lenders to renegotiate terms for borrowers so they can stayin their homes, easing the glut of empty houses. Such efforts maymask the slump's extent by delaying foreclosures, RealtyTracChief Executive Officer James Saccacio said in the statement.

``This country needs a cleansing,'' billionaire real estateinvestor Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments LLC, saidyesterday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in LosAngeles. ``We need to clean out all those people who never shouldhave bought in the first place, and not give them sympathy.''

About $460 billion of adjustable-rate loans are scheduled toreset this year, according to New York-based analysts atCitigroup Inc.