Las Vegas had the highest U.S. foreclosure rate in 2009, according to a foreclosure report released today by RealtyTrac.

Other cities with the nation’s highest rates are:

• Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
• Merced, Calif.
• Riverside-San BerNARdino, Calif.
• Stockton, Calif.
• Modesto, Calif.
• Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
• Phoenix
• Port St. Lucie, Fla.
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.

A record 3 million homes will be seized this year, the report forecasts.

The dam will break and we’ll see a significant increase in foreclosures, Michael Lea, a finance professor at San Diego State University, said in an interview. The banks can’t continue to hope the economy starts growing.

Source: Bloomberg, Dan Levy