Record U.S. foreclosures

Foreclosures are up 81% across the country, with many states hitting new highs in 2008.

Well, 2008 was a very rough year for the economy and a particularly rough year for the housing market. Foreclosure filings spiked by more than 81% last year. That is a record increase and there are up 225%, believe it or not, from just 2006.

Here are the cold hard facts: more than 3.1 million families in this country received foreclosure notices last year. That is one in every 54 homes. More than 860,000 families lost their homes to foreclosure last year. That is more than the entire population of South Dakota. For the folks in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona, they've been hit the hardest. The most foreclosures in 2008 were in California, more than double what we saw in 2007. And in Nevada, foreclosure filings were up 126% from 2007 levels. They were up 133% in Florida and they were up an astounding 203% in Arizona.

The only good news from all of these, mounting foreclosures has meant falling prices. So if you are in the market for a home, there are plenty of bargains out there.