By Andy Owens 
aowens@scbiznews.com 
Published Jan. 28, 2011

Foreclosure rates rose slightly across South Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas in 2010, according to data released this week, but the percentage of homes in distress was well below 3%.

In its year-end report on the 206 largest areas in the United States, the national foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac indicated a precipitous drop in bank defaults filed against homes in South Carolina’s largest areas, compared with 2009 numbers.

The lowest percentage of homes with foreclosure filings in 2009 was in the Columbia metropolitan statistical area, at 1.23%. In 2010, Columbia’s filings had risen to 1.55%.

The Charleston-North Charleston MSA had the highest percentage of homes in foreclosure for 2010, at 2.74%, up slightly from 2.20% in 2009. A trend toward lower national numbers in 2010 seemed to reflect a broader cross-section of the country, said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio.

“Foreclosure floodwaters receded somewhat in 2010 in the nation’s hardest-hit housing markets,” Saccacio said in a statement.

Continuing high unemployment rates should cause concern for those in the residential housing sector, he said, adding that foreclosures spread beyond the metropolitan areas in 2010 because of a lack of jobs.

California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continue to be pummeled by the housing crisis, RealtyTrac numbers show. Metro areas in those four states account for 19 of the 20 regions with the most foreclosure activity in 2010.

Foreclosures fall in South Carolina’s largest areas 
RealtyTrac data show foreclosure activity fell to less than 3% across South Carolina’s largest metro areas. Charlotte and Augusta are included because those areas include homes in South Carolina.