San Joaquin County is now second, Stanislaus is third, and Merced county is fourth out of 229 metro areas according to Realty-Trac.
Foreclosure proceedings were started on more than 3,000 homes in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties in February. Nearly 1,300 were repossessed by lenders.
It typically takes four to six months after a default notice has been filed before a house can be repossessed by lenders.
