Foreclosures in the Southern Utah Real Estate Market

The following information comes from RealtyTrac, which is an online foreclosure tracker/seller on a national level. Though foreclosures are extremely financially and emotionally difficult on the families of those losing their homes, it is a necessary part of the market re-adjusting itself to meet the standards dictated by the market.

This is part of the ugly aftermath that was created by the perfect storm in real estate that in my mind started in the Spring of 2004 and lasted until about October of 2005.

Through this difficult process, home prices are currently adjusting back to levels where the working class citizen can actually purchase a home, and hopefully the lending institutions will establish some guidelines that will safeguard us from the affects of our past.

Contrary to my opinion in a previous post, there just may be some foreclosures coming out of the woodwork that are going to start to make sense through this process.

St. George Foreclosure Rate Among Nation's Highest
Ranks 27th among metro areas

ST. GEORGE - The St. George area ranked 27th among metro areas nationally for its rate of home foreclosure filings in June, with one foreclosure for every 245 properties - the highest rate among cities in Utah.

St. George had a 13 percent hike in foreclosure filings from May to June of this year and 174 percent year-over-year increase, according to a report from RealtyTrac.

The number of Utah homeowners who received a foreclosure filing in June jumped nearly 141 percent, compared with the same month last year, according to RealtyTrac.

The 140.54 percent increase was almost three times the national increase of 53.28 percent for the same period.

The most dramatic increase came from Utah County, where the Provo/Orem area ranked 37th among metro areas nationwide in the rate of foreclosures and experienced an 810 percent increase in foreclosure filings from June 2007 to June 2008.

The Beehive State had a rate of one foreclosure for every 600 households last month. The national average for the period was one foreclosure in every 501 households.

Overall, Utah ranked 10th among the states in the rate of foreclosure filings.

Salt Lake City was ranked 89th in the nation, with a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 662 households. The percentage change from June 2007 to this past June was 60 percent.

The states of Nevada, California and Arizona continued to lead the nation in the rate of foreclosure filings, the report said.

Nevada was up nearly 85 percent from June 2007, with one in every 122 households receiving a foreclosure filing. California had second-highest rate, with one in every 192 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in June, while Arizona ranked third at one in every 201 households.

This information confirms the fact that this is a national epidemic, and not just our neighborhood. So what does it mean? I still maintain it is a good time to buy. As some of these foreclosures come out, they are worth taking a look at, but do not step over a motivated seller that has equity. Sometimes they are the best to deal with.

Once again, if you need to sell soon, it is time to do it.

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