With all the housing and finance related news these days, it is hard to stay focused on where the real problems are and what specific issues affect the real estate market.   

Today, we outline the issues and target in on facts about the specific problems in housing and real estate in the U.S.  

1. Real estate markets are Local:   The University of Virginia studied foreclosures in all 50 states; 35 metro area’s and 236 counties.  They found that 85 percent of the lost value in homes occured in only 4 states – Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.
2. Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida rank 1,2,3 and 4 in all foreclosure activity.    Combined together, these 4 states account for 55 percent of all foreclosures in the U.S.
3. The 4 sunbelt states, representing 55 percent of all foreclosed property, were also the playing grounds of investors, second home buyer’s and “flippers” who rode the out the bubble in search of riches.
4. 19 million homes are now vacant in the United States.  
5. Lenders forecast another 2.5 million home foreclosures before the end of the year.
6. The average value of a home today has fallen to less than $170,000, which is now well within the budget of the majority of workers in the country.  At the top of the bubble, the average home price in the US was $220,000, and hit $300,000 in California.
7. Uptrends:  Home sales have increased dramatically in California and Nevada in recent months.  Discounts of 50 percent or more are bringing the inventory of unsold homes to their lowest levels since the crash began.

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