Meanwhile, in “Immigration Nation,” the situation is somewhat different. Take Maricopa County, Ariz., which is home to El Mirage, a representative community in Patchwork Nation. This county has seen a 21 percent increase in foreclosures since January 2009. That may seem like a relatively low rate compared with the massive jumps in Eagle, Burley, and Provo. But if you look at more data, it becomes clear that Maricopa already had big foreclosure issues a year ago and the problem hasn’t improved.
In January 2009, 11,525 units were in some state of foreclosure. In January 2010, that number was 13,986, or 1 in every 112 homes. That’s much worse than the national average of 1 in every 409 units.
Thus an improvement in foreclosure rates in El Mirage will be a key factor in the town’s recovery.
At the beginning of February, the average list price in El Mirage was $79,500 – down 6.4 percent from a year ago, according to Zillow.com. However, median household income in “Immigration Nation” is lower than the national county average. So a low home price might not mean as much as you would think.
Overall, many people are experiencing financial challenges in different and sometimes hard-to-define ways. Foreclosures are just one piece, but a big one that isn’t out of the mud yet.
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