Foreclosures by State

Check out the image and find your state. (If you don’t know what your state looks like, ask a friend or go back to 7th grade geography.) Notice the interesting shades of green. (If you’re color blind, again, ask a friend or guess randomly.)

Now this is a map of the severity of the foreclosure crisis that has swept the nation. These are the final tallies for 2009. The darker the shade, the more foreclosures.

(How did your state do? How do you feel your local housing market has been affected?)

The two hardest hit states, as we’re all aware, are Nevada and Florida. These two states have had foreclosure rates of over 17%.

But let’s consider housing prices for a second. Average home prices in Miami rose by 1%, the highest percent in the country last year. On the other hand, Nevada recorded the worst losses of the year. Los Vegas prices fell from $342k in 2007 to $166k in 2009.How do you explain that? The two highest foreclosure states show opposite movements in housing prices? What does that tell us about housing demand in Florida and Nevada?

But anyway, we’ve got to keep an eye on both of these key figures. They’ll help us understand the strength of the recovery. And they’ll give us an indicator of housing trends on a national level. Where should we focus our strengths? Do we push first-time buyers, renters, etc.?

I’d like to know your thoughts.