Imgae courtesy of cozy-cabin.us

RealtyTrac, a real estate data provider, has reported that three out of four large U.S. metropolitan areas saw a rise in foreclosures during the first half of 2010. This hit to the housing market will probably rule out any continued home price gains until 2013. The major cause for the spike in foreclosures totaled 1.6 million, according to RealtyTrac is the high levels of unemployment.

While the rate of unemployment remains near the 10 percent mark in most areas, home prices will not see a shift for the better. The real estate market price peaks of four years ago are now down 29 percent.

“If unemployment remains persistently high and foreclosure prevention efforts only delay the inevitable, then we could continue to see increased foreclosure activity and a corresponding weakness in home prices in many metro areas,” James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac said.

The states that reported the highest rates of foreclosure were Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida.

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