INLAND EMPIRE--The foreclosure rate on Inland homes is being eclipsed in other areas of California.

New figures from DataQuick show the second-quarter rate more than doubled from the same quarter last year. But, the Central Valley and Northern California have seen the rate explode by as much as 250 percent.

The Inland Empire once had the nation’s fourth-highest rate. But, DataQuick’s John Karevoll says, “We may be plateauing.”

Karevoll says the future depends on the economy’s growth.

“If it’s not, we can anticipate some more distress. If we avoid a nationwide recession, then it’s likely we’ve seen the worst of this.”

During the spring, lenders started foreclosures on a record number of California homeowners. That included nearly 27,000 in the Inland Empire.

Story Date: July 25, 2008