Yesterday, two out of our three interviewees  told us that their homes were underwater – the amount of their mortgages greatly exceeds the value of their homes — and that they were facing the risk of foreclosure.  Their situation is common in Nevada, especially in the Las Vegas metro area, as reported by RealtyTrac:

Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in October, with one in every 79 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — nearly five times the national average. A total of 14,205 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, a decrease of 13 percent from the previous month but an increase of nearly 3 percent from October 2009 — the first year-over-year increase in Nevada foreclosure activity since September 2009.

Top 10 metro foreclosure rates in Nevada, California and Florida
Foreclosure activity in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., increased less than 1 percent from October 2009 and the metro area continued to post the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more — one in every 70 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.