Foreclosure spike hits Reno area

RENO -- The number of foreclosures in Washoe County jumped in May after moratoriums on foreclosures imposed last fall expired.

The latest report by foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac shows foreclosure activity jumped more than 18 percent in May from April and 107 percent when compared with the same month last year.

The report includes notices of default, notices of trustee sale or auction and bank-owned foreclosures.

Real estate experts said the steep increase was not surprising.

"What we're essentially seeing now is the impact of the release on moratoriums, which were in place from Thanksgiving to April 1," Ken Wiseman, broker and owner of Reno Rancho Realty, told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

"Lenders are basically trying to remodify any loan they can before foreclosing right now," he said. "But we're also starting to see more people who are in danger of foreclosure just simply giving up because their home values have gone down so much."

Washoe County had 1,639 homes in foreclosure, amounting to one in every 108 housing units. Statewide, Nevada's foreclosure rate is one out of 64, the highest in the nation for the 29th straight month.