In the unending saga of he foreclosure crisis, more and more tenants are becoming innocent victims. Even though they have no mortgage payments to worry about, they still lose their homes to foreclosure. Of course, when this happens, the lives of these tenants are seriously disrupted.

Prices of houses in Phoenix have fallen more than 20 when compared with 2007 according to the Arizona State University – Repeat Sales Index. Karl Guntermann, Professor of Real Estate Fred E. Taylor, and Alex Horenstein, a research associate, put together this report. Guntermann said that with prices of houses waning for 15 months now, the housing sector now is getting to the stage where it would resemble the duration that was experienced in the beginning of the 1990’s. This, for Phoenix foreclosure homes, will not be good.

According to a report recently published by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or Freddie Mac, very few distressed homeowners contact their lenders when having problems with their mortgage debt. The reason behind this lack of action is their belief that lenders are only after their homes.

Considering that current market conditions have made it favorable to invest in foreclosure homes, buyers and investors alike should do their homework in order to determine whether or not a property is worth buying. The most important thing that you should check is whether the property has a judgment lien attached to it.

One of the venues where real estate buyers and investors can grab the chance to enjoy considerable savings is at foreclosure auctions. Most of the time, lenders are able to unload their inventory of foreclosed properties in these auctions with very good outcome. But lately, things have not been going well for many lenders as the number of repossessed properties end up reverting to their lenders has increased considerably.

Last month, home sales activity in Southern California rose for the very fist time since 2005. The said increase is believed to be the result of the huge discounts being offered for both existing and foreclosure homes. Across this region, home values have plunged 31 percent in the last twelve months.

Another effort to help distressed homeowners facing foreclosure comes in the form of an internet tool that will help track the status of workout requests. The said tool will both help homeowners as well as credit counselors.

Considering that the current housing market is embroiled in a crisis, it is certainly easy to forget that buyers are actually enjoying the great investment opportunities being offered. For instance, buying an affordable home in a high end neighborhood is no longer challenging – thanks to foreclosure properties.

When buying a home, the ultimate deciding factor is the price. As long as the home buyer can afford it, then there is no reason not to close the sale. Considering that the nation is in the throes of a slowing economy, many home buyers are wondering whether current market conditions are just right for them to make the plunge.

According to data gathered by ForeclosureS.com, the number of foreclosure filings for the month of July has surpassed previous months’ records both for national and at least fourteen states. Americans at risk of leaving their homes due to foreclosure has increased by 7.8 percent from last month and 88.62 percent from last year.