LA foreclosures spread to Malibu, Santa Monica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New foreclosures more than tripled in Los Angeles and more than doubled in Miami in July from a year ago, with more than $2 billion of mortgages turning sour in Los Angeles alone, real estate research website PropertyShark.com said.

The number of newly scheduled auctions of foreclosed properties in Los Angeles County rose 249 percent to 5,982 from July 2007, PropertyShark.com said in a report. One in every 526 Los Angeles homes was scheduled for a first-time foreclosure auction in July, while in New York, only one in 10,000 homes was scheduled for auction.

Los Angeles saw foreclosure activity start to spread to wealthier areas, such as Malibu, Santa Monica, and Manhattan Beach, according to the report.

"We are still in the middle of a housing hurricane where foreclosure activity remains high, home prices have declined, and the number of sales transactions has fallen dramatically," said Chief Executive Bill Staniford.

Foreclosure auctions in Miami in July rose 137 percent to 1,099 from a year ago, passing 1,000 new monthly scheduled foreclosure auctions for possibly the first time ever, said Roxana Ognean of PropertyShark's foreclosure product team.

Foreclosure auctions rose in New York and Seattle as well, but by a much smaller percentage and from a much smaller base. In New York, 338 homes were scheduled for auction in July; in Seattle, 190.

That's a 67 percent increase in New York and a 157 percent increase in Seattle, year over year.

"New York City's foreclosure level is diminutive when compared to other cities like Los Angeles and Miami," the report said.

(Reporting by Helen Chernikoff; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)