Hawaii foreclosures reach record high for December; climb 183 percent to 9,002 for all of 2009

Hawaii foreclosures reach record high for December

HONOLULU — The real estate research firm RealtyTrac says there were a record-high 1,534 foreclosure filings in Hawaii last month.

The previous high of 990 was reached in July.

The December count was about triple the 499 filings in December 2008.

According to RealtyTrac, Hawaii now has the 10th-highest rate of foreclosures among states as measured by the number of households per foreclosure filing. Previously Hawaii had not ranked worse than 15th.

The December rate in the islands was equal to one filing for every 330 households. Nationally, the rate was one filing per 366 households.

For all of 2009, RealtyTrac says Hawaii foreclosures rose 183 percent to 9,002, or one in every 56 island households.