a new report shows that the albuquerque area fared much better than most of the country when it came to home foreclosures last year. the report from realty-track says that 1.9 percent of albuquerque homes faced foreclosure in 2009. that’s compared to 2.2 percent nationwide. other southwestern cities like phoenix and las vegas saw as many as 8 and 12 percent of homes in foreclosure last year. realtors don’t expect foreclosure rates here to reach those of other cities. “our market is always insulated a little bit from other major cities in the southwest, so will we see the same kind of foreclosure rates that las vegas and phoenix have? probably not. have we seen the worst foreclosure rates yet? probably not, either.” experts say cities that rely more on tourism and conventions have taken the biggest hits. they say they’ve recently seen an increased interest in buying foreclosures and short sales. tax incentives and low prices are also enticing some first time home buyers, even with stricter lending rules.
