The director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Business and Economic Research has said Utah's foreclosure rate could nearly double in 2009.

Jim Wood said the Utah rate could hit 3 percent over the next year if the local job market continues to decline and financial markets struggle.

The weakness in those markets is going to create difficulties for families who bought housing in 2006 through adjustable-rate mortgages and who will have their mortgage rates reset this year, he said. "There's a greater likelihood that they are going to have trouble."

Wood said the state's all-time high foreclosure rate was just over 2 percent in 2002, and he would not be surprised to see filings equal or exceed that figure this year. He said some analysts predict a national foreclosure rate of around 3 percent, and Utah could approach that figure.

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The number of Utah households with a foreclosure filing jumped 99.5 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to a report released by RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif. The state's foreclosure rate is expected to jump even higher this year.

The data from the online market researcher showed that Utah ranked 13th in the nation for its 2008 foreclosure rate of 1.65 percent, just under the national average of 1.84 percent.

Last year, 18,657 foreclosure filings were recorded in Utah, the report said. The report defined foreclosure filings as default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions.

E-MAIL: jlee@desnews.com

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