LOS ANGELES – Foreclosures in California soared in the second quarter to the highest level in at least 20 years, as many homeowners who bought at the height of the housing boom failed to make mortgage payments, a real estate research firm said Tuesday.
In addition, the number of default notices – an indicator of possible future foreclosures – also jumped during the period between April and June, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
In all, some 63,061 homes were lost to foreclosure in the second quarter – the most in any quarter since 1988, when the firm began tracking foreclosures.
Foreclosures increased about 33 percent from the previous quarter and jumped 261 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
Notices of default, meanwhile, more than doubled from the year-ago period to 121,341.
A majority of the loans in default were originated between September 2005 and November 2006 and involved multiple loans on a single property.
