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The Sunbelt States Are The Hardest Hit By Foreclosures

By admin on December 17th, 2011

The top 26 cities affected by foreclosure are all in the states that make up the Sunbelt.

1. California
2. Florida
3. Nevada
4. Arizona

These four states are the very states that saw the highest increase in real estate prices and sales during the booms at the beginning of the century.

These results show that the highest amount of growth is being followed by the greatest amount of loss and while the economy experts expect these areas will see even further climbs in the number of foreclosures they also expect others cities to follow suit.

There are several factors that have contributed to this high number of foreclosures.

1. The biggest factor for these areas is the high number of subprime loans that were used to purchase homes in these areas during the real estate boom. These loans now have high variable interest rates and as a result the payments of these homes have escalated beyond the financial ability of the owners.
2. The high unemployment rates have a direct effect on the homeowner's ability to pay their mortgages and as a result of being in default on their mortgages are now unable to refinance.
3. Overbuilding has placed more homes on the market then the demand for homes. This over abundance drives the prices of these homes and others down.
4. Double digit home price declines as a result of over building and other factors make the value of mortgaged homes decline which makes it more difficult to get a home refinanced.
5. As a result of the many foreclosures lenders have made it harder to get a loan. With loans hard top get less homes can be bought.

All of these factors have created a vicious downward spiral that is not showing any sign of recovering. However the lowering prices may be providing a little relief. As more and more homes are sold in foreclosure the prices continue to fall and this has allowed for a little growth in the number of homes being sold, but this is currently not enough to reverse the process.

A large portion of the homes currently in foreclosure have happened in the first three months of 2009. This is partly due to the temporary freeze that had been placed on foreclosures by creditors and the government controlled companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Many of the homes that had been affected by the freeze are now coming to foreclosure.

The foreclosure rate is so dramatic that one in every 159 U.S. households with mortgages got a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of this year.

While President Obama has implemented a bailout program and is now working with major creditors to make mortgage modifications available to the homeowner the success of this plan will probably not be seen till the end of 2009.

The 10 hardest hit cities were:

1. Las Vegas, Nevada - Las Vegas posted the highest metro rate of foreclosure activity in the quarter, with 4.48 percent of its housing units receiving a filing. That was one in every 22 households with loans, or more than seven times the national average.
2. Merced, California - Filings were received in one of every 24 housing units in Merced, California,
3. Cape Coral - Fort Meyers, Florida - one of every 26 households saw foreclosure filings.
4. Stockton, California
5. Riverside - San Bernardino, California
6. Modesto, California
7. Bakersfield, California
8. Vallejo, California
9. Phoenix, Arizona

10. Port St Lucie, Florida

Thirteen of the top 26 metro foreclosure rates were in California, nine were in Florida, and Nevada and Arizona each added two metro areas.

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