The real estate market around the country has been hard hit by an increase in foreclosures. Easy credit to underqualified buyers led to a marked rise in the number of homes in foreclosure, and this is now putting pressure on prices in the hardest hit markets around the country.

According to data from the data from the Associated Press, the hardest hit areas are in Nevada, California, Colorado, Florida, and Arizona, which have all seen high rates of foreclosures in recent months.

Banks and lenders who made the loans are facing pressure to get back as much as their original investment as possible, leading many to accept deeply discounted prices for foreclosed homes. The percentage of homes sold in Nevada under foreclosure quadrupled to 17.5 percent in 2007.

The areas hardest hit by foreclosures are generally lower income neighborhoods, due to the lax requirements from banks and lenders for underqualified buyers during the past few years. However, even some expensive developments are seeing the effects of foreclosures, particularly in markets that have experienced a rise in speculative developments, such as Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The Chicago Real Estate market has seen a marked increase in foreclosures. However, the area has not been as hard hit as other markets around the country. According to the Chicago Association of Realtors, the average sales price for homes sold around the suburbs rose by four percent during the third quarter.

Technorati Tags: Chicago Homes For Sale, Chicago Real Estate, North Shore Chicago Real Estate News

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Evanston Real Estate(t) , Northbrook Real Estate(t) , Northfield Real Estate(t) . You can leave a response.