U.S. Foreclosure Sales Slowing in Worst Markets

Discovery Bay, CA, Oct. 29, 2010 -- Foreclosure sales in the U.S. are slowing in the states hardest-hit by the real estate crash, according to according to ForeclosureRadar, a real estate tracking service.

In Arizona, California and Nevada, foreclosure auctions are down 42% since September 20, ForeclosureRadar said.

In a real estate market where as many as 7 million homes face foreclosure or have already been seized by lenders, according to Zillow Inc., a clog in the pipeline may delay a housing recovery, which won’t occur until home prices stop falling, according to a Bloomberg News story.

“If what’s a hiatus turns into a moratorium, that’s quite problematic,” Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, a Seattle-based real estate data provider, told Bloomberg. “It will delay the ultimate bottoming process in the market.”