According to a recent report on the Las Vegas Sun website, more than 80% of the state’s homeowners are underwater on their homes. And, it’s not looking like it’s going to get better soon.

What Exactly Does It Mean to be “Underwater?”

To put it simply, it means that a homeowner owes more on the home than it’s worth (than it is appraised at).

How Do Las Vegas Foreclosures Compare to the Rest of the Nation?

Overall Home Sales: In Las Vegas foreclosures sales were more than double (much more) than those in the rest of the country, ie: 47% of all home sales in September were foreclosures in Las Vegals. Nationally, foreclosures made up 20% of all sales.

Homes Sold for a Loss: Here again, Las Vegas numbers were way higher than the nation as a whole, eg, in September, 39% of homes sold in the city sold for a loss. Nationally, 27 percent of the homes sold during the same time period sold for a loss.

Get the full report from the Las Vegas Sun at Report: 80 percent of Las Vegas homeowners underwater on mortgage.

These numbers help to shed light on why so many residents are leaving, as discuss in this post on how foreclosures in Las Vegas are affecting the state’s overall population.

According to the report:

The length and depth of the current housing recession is rivaling the Great Depression’s real estate downturn and with encouraging signs fading, will easily eclipse it in the coming months.

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Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.