There were more foreclosures in the United States in the second quarter, and Ben Valley entered the top ten on the list

There were more foreclosures in the United States in the second quarter, and Ben Valley entered the top ten on the list (Alberta Times) According to statistics from RealtyTrac, a California real estate data agency, 20...

There were more foreclosures in the United States in the second quarter, and Ben Valley entered the top ten (Alberta Times) According to statistics from RealtyTrac, a California real estate data agency, in the second quarter of 2012, a total of 986,355 home sales were completed across the United States, of which 22.8% were "foreclosure sales", which means that when the house is sold, the property is already in the foreclosure process by default or the house has completed the foreclosure and belongs to the bank. Nationally, the average sales price for non-foreclosure homes is $249,090 and the average sales price for foreclosures is $170,040, a discount of nearly 31.8%. RealtyTrac noted that nationwide, on average, one in 236 housing units received a foreclosure notice or entered foreclosure proceedings in the second quarter of 2012. And in some areas with high foreclosure rates, the numbers are much higher. Particularly in metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, home prices have fallen significantly since peaking in 2006 or 2007. The Wall Street Journal reported that home prices in all metropolitan areas across the country fell by an average of 33.3% between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2012. In some metro areas with high foreclosure rates, home prices have even dropped by half. Areas with depressed housing markets also tend to have high unemployment rates. The Sun Valley region, centered around Phoenix-Mesa-Scottishdale, has had the highest foreclosure rate in the country since the housing bubble burst. From peak prices in the second quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2012, housing prices in the Phoenix area fell 52.7%. Huge price drops have made the area's housing market very popular with homebuyers. In the second quarter of 2012, a total of 39,531 homes were sold in the area, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the United States. With foreclosure properties selling for 24.6% less than the average non-foreclosure home price, one-third of sales are foreclosure properties. Although foreclosed homes are already cheap, below the national average of $170,040, prices in the area are expected to drop another 9.5 percent in 2012. In the first quarter of this year, the region's average mortgage repayment accounted for 11% of median household income, down significantly from its peak of 28.4%.