Rust and Sun Belt cities lead '07 foreclosures

Detroit, Stockton and Las Vegas are top activity centers for troubled homeowners, according to a new study.

Rust Belt and Sun Belt cities led the nation in metro-area foreclosure rates for 2007, according to a new report released Wednesday.

Detroit led the list with nearly 5% of its households entering some stage of foreclosures, which is 4.8 times the national average, according RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

Of the 100 largest U.S. cities surveyed by RealtyTrac, 86 reported higher foreclosure rates.
Separately, a RealtyTrac spokeswoman told CNNMoney.com that the number of homes that were repossessed, or taken back by the bank, jumped 50% nationwide last year to 404,849 from 268,532 in 2006.

After Detroit, the city with the second highest foreclosure rate was Stockton, Calif., with 4.8% of its households experiencing some foreclosure action, followed by Las Vegas, where 4.2% of households were hit with foreclosure.

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