The pace of foreclosure in Houston increased in June compared to the foreclosure rate during the same month in 2008, based on real estate data in the area covered by Houston, Baytown and Sugar Land.

In June, 1.1 percent of all outstanding mortgage loans in Houston had been foreclosed, a jump from the 0.8 percent rate in June 2008. But the June rate was lower than the nationwide foreclosure rate of 2.6 percent.

The city’s mortgage default rate also increased in June to 4.9 percent of all outstanding home loans. Loans are considered in default if three monthly payments or more have remained unpaid. The home loan delinquency rate in June last year was 3.4 percent.

For the one-year period from July 2008 through June 2009, nearly 52,000 foreclosure cases were filed, equivalent to approximately 142 foreclosure filings per day and representing an increase from total filings in the previous one-year period.

For the 12-month period from July 2007 through June 2008, more than 48,000 foreclosure cases were filed, equivalent to about 132 foreclosure filings per day.

In a study of foreclosures in 203 metro areas across the country for the first 6 months of 2009, the metro area covered by Houston, Baytown and Sugar Land had 14,213 households receiving a default or foreclosure notice.

One household out of 153 housing units in the metro area was hit with a foreclosure filing, putting the Houston metro area in 109th place among metro areas with the highest rates of foreclosure in the first 6 months of the year.

During the same period, the metro area covered by Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington posted more foreclosure filings than the Houston area. A total of 18,037 households were given default or foreclosure notices, representing 0.76 percent of all housing units in the area, higher than the 0.65 percent rate in Houston.

The other two Texas metro areas with higher foreclosure rates than Houston in the first 6 months of the year were the Browsville and Harlingen metro area and the San Antonio metro area. The Browsville area had 1,021 foreclosure filings, representing 0.71 percent of all area housing units. San Antonio posted more than 5,000 foreclosure filings, representing 0.68 percent of all its housing units.

Across Texas, more than 49,000 households received default or foreclosure notices in the first half of the year. In June, more than 12,000 received foreclosure filings, with more than 4,000 units already counted as foreclosure homes for sale.