For Metro Foreclosure Rates, Las Vegas Continues to Hold the Top Spot

More than half of the cities with the highest foreclosures rates are located in California, Nevada and Arizona.

More than half of the cities with the highest foreclosures rates are located in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Las Vegas continues to be the metropolitan area with the highest number of people who could not avoid foreclosure during the first half of 2010.

According to RealtyTrac, the city saw 6.6 percent of its homes see a foreclosure filing during the first six months of this year, which comes to about one in 15 properties. The firm noted that is more than five times greater than the U.S. average.

"The fragile stability achieved in many local housing markets hinges on improvements in the underlying economy, specifically job growth," said James Saccacio, RealtyTrac chief executive officer.

Furthermore, of the top-20 metropolitan foreclosure rates, Nevada, Arizona and California account for more than half, RealtyTrac said.

The unemployment rate in the country has remained near double digits for a number of months, although it has seen some improvement. The government said that June posted a 9.5 percent jobless figure, down from the 9.7 percent seen the month before.