Although Illinois has had a lot to celebrate recently thanks to the election of its senator for the office of president, the economic picture in the state has yet to have anything worth celebrating. In October 2008, one in every 410 homes in the state went into foreclosure. Those are huge numbers and a 24% increase over the statistics for September 2008.
Obviously, the real estate market is doing poorly around every corner in the United States. However, foreclosures in Illinois are particularly high because of its dependence on manufacturing, including a strong relationship to the Detroit automakers for whom many of their industries supply parts. Problems with all sectors of manufacturing and the economy have also caused a spike in the number of people who've become unemployed. High unemployment automatically means higher foreclosures in Illinois.
Overall, more than 125,000 homes in the state are now in some stage of foreclosure. That number has increased by more than 30% since October 2007 and shows no signs of reduction any time soon. If there is any good news available, its that some real estate agents are now helping people in the midst of foreclosure find ?short sells? which can help them get out from under their mortgage debt without ruining their credit. They can be a great solution.
