10 Worst Places For Foreclosures

If San Luis Obispo California is the Happiest Place to Live and Pleasanton California is one of the Best Places to Live than what are some of the places that may not be so great?

Well this next list would probably be one I wouldn't want to be on. It's the '10 Worst Cities for Foreclosures' list which was released today by CBS MoneyWatch.

Here's the scoop - RealtyTrac actually collected the data and published the list, CBS just reported on it.
And here's the list of the Worst Places in America for Foreclosures:

#1 Las Vegas - Paradise(?) Nevada

#2 Cape Coral - Fort Myers Florida

#3 Modesto California

#4 Phoenix - Mesa - Scottsdale Arizona

#5 Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Pompano Beach Florida

#6 Riverside San Bernardino Ontario California

#7 Stockton California

#8 Merced California

#9 Orlando Kissimmee Florida

#10 Vallejo Fairfield California

Here's what really strikes me first about this list - 5 of the top 10 cities for foreclosures are in California. Isn't that ironic considering we just looked at two places in California which hit two very different lists. It also goes back to a post I made a few days ago about Germany and how shocked they were to find prices varied from one city to the next in the same country. Here we have cities that are almost in the same county on opposite ends of the scale!

Back to the list and to put it in even starker reality, RealtyTrac found that in Vegas one out of every 9 'housing units' was foreclosed upon. That's almost 11% of all house in the Las Vegas metro area! WoW! I know that there are what have been referred to as the cheapest times to go to Vegas and considering the real estate market there now, it would not be a great time to buy in Nevada... or would it?

Not to belittle the stress and strain that has places on so many families but these areas might also make our 'Cheapest Places to Live' list if this trend continues. Sad but true.

When it comes to being on a 'Best Places' list this is one list you probably don't want to be on!

Source: CBS MoneyWatch.com

Best and Worst Cities

In our last post we discussed the idea of home values having a big impact on the best place to live. Interesting that just now I read a new article by Morgan Brennan about U.S. home values in 2011. The data in this article could very well help you decide if you fit in that 'sell high' category for where you are living right now. Of course if you're looking for the best places to retire - that is places that offer a lower cost of living - this data will help you too!

So, cutting right to the chase - the epicenter of the real estate bust, California appears to be rebounding. However, the other sunshine state, Florida is still wallowing under a near collapsed real estate market with no turn around evident, at least in the short term. The best cities to live in Florida are sometimes elusive but they are there.

The Local Market Monitor out of North Carolina recently presented their lists for the best and worst cities for home values in 2011.

The Best cities for home values in 2011

The following list represents the top 5 cities where home values are expected to rise this year.

#1. San Jose, CA - home values expected to rise 3% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#2 - Santa Ana, CA - values also expected to rise 3% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#3 - Bethesda, MD - home values expected to rise 2% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#4 - Pittsburgh, PA - values also expected to rise 2% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#5 - San Diego, CA - - home values expected to rise 2% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

The Worst cities for home values in 2011

The following list represents the 5 cities where home values are expected to decline more this year.

#1 - Daytona Beach, FL - home values expected to drop by 11% this year.

#2 - Lakeland, FL - home values expected to drop by 7% this year.

#3 - Orlando, FL - values expected to decrease by 6% this year.

#4 - Boise City, Idaho - home values expected to drop by 7% this year.

#5 - Las Vegas, NV - home values expected to decrease by 5% this year.

So, what does this all mean and how can you take advantage of it?

Well, it's a matter of following the math. If you happen to live in one of those 'Best Cities' this could be your year to sell high and then turn around and buy low in one of those 'Worst Cities'. Oh, and don't be afraid those cities on the worst list are going to continue to slide in value to oblivion. According to LMM almost all of those cities are expected to rebound and experience an increase in value over the next three years.

There's some food for thought as you explore your options for the Best Place to Live or perhaps the Best Places to Retire.

Source: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance