Tuesday, Jan 4 2011 7:50PM
Rural homeowners facing foreclosure often have no options for relocation in their area.
From major cities to small towns, the housing crisis has been felt full force across the nation over the past few years. However, while big name cities like Phoenix and Miami have received national attention for their mounting foreclosures, the financial and housing struggles in rural areas of the country have largely been ignored.
Many rural communities lack job opportunities and strong rental markets, according to the Sierra Vista Herald, causing some areas to lose longtime residents to foreclosures. Arizona's Coconino, Mohave and Santa Cruz counties had about 5,360 properties go into foreclosure in 2010, resulting in some residents leaving the area for job opportunities elsewhere.
Cher Ferry, a housing counselor with nonprofit organization Bothands, told the newspaper that the loss of even a few families in rural parts of the state like Flagstaff, where nearly 60 percent of workers have lower-paying service jobs, can be devastating for the community.
"If you take 10 people out of an area here, it's like taking 50 people out of a neighborhood in Phoenix,"he said. "It's almost like you have an abandoned area."
According to RealtyTrac, almost 66,000 Arizona homes were lost to foreclosure in the first 11 months of 2010, 12 percent more than the previous record set in 2009.