Several realty watch organizations have been putting out the numbers but the message is clear.?The real estate market is in the throes of some important structural corrections. The upward rise in prices has not sustained.?As a result, those who bought property believing to trade on equity with further increase in market prices saw their calculations go terribly wrong. Lenders, who financed such transactions, are left facing a contracting market and less-than-satisfactory client portfolio.?Add sub-prime mortgages and the scenario gets more bizarre.



The largest number of foreclosures, nearly one-tenth of the total national figure, was in the Northeast.?The foreclosure rate stood at 65% and the number of foreclosure was roughly 95,658 showing a steep hike from 57,985 in 2005.?The only silver lining was in Maryland and Delaware, where the foreclosure rate actually fell by 25.9% and 33% respectively. It is difficult to predict whether this could be a foreboding of what is to come.

The trend continues the same in the Southeast region as well. It showed a rise of 38% and the absolute numbers were 221,230 up from 160,310 in the previous year. Florida topped with 121,000 foreclosures second only to California for the highest number in one state.

The Midwest region bore the brunt of a slowdown in the manufacturing sector and the tough economic condition. The increase for the region stood overall at 72%.?Nearly 205,000 foreclosures were filed. While Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and North Dakota showed increases in the range of 85-95%, Iowa and Kansas grappled with 103-108% rise.

In the Southwest region, the foreclosures touch an average of one out of every two filed in the whole nation. California filed the highest number with over 156,000.?Colorado came second with an increase of 55% with 69,211 filings. Texas showed a rise of only 36% with 107,235.?Here again, the cheerful news came from Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Oregon all of which showed a dip in foreclosure filings for the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Could this be an indication of good tidings ahead? Keep your fingers crossed.?