The topic of foreclosure has been on the minds of many Americans as the market makes it way towards recovery.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the mortgage delinquency rate declined in the third quarter.

They report that in the United States, it "declined last quarter amid hints of improvement in the job market, but headwinds from defaults and a rising rate of new foreclosure applications keep the housing outlook muddied."

Still, some experts say the winter will continue to be cold for many fearing default.

Zillow.com reports that foreclosure liquidations have reached a new peak, with over 1.17 of every 1,000 homes slipping into foreclosure.

Their analysts predict that this high rate of foreclosure will continue due to high negative equity rates which increased to 23.2% from 22.5% in the second quarter. And Zillow experts expect it "will be weighing on housing demand for the next few years."

And unfortunately, home values are fairing little better.

According to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, "Home value depreciation began to accelerate again in September, fueled by lower transactional volumes and increased inventory levels. Home values dropped 0.4% from August to September and 4.3% from September 2009. With home values 25% below their peak and 51 consecutive months of declines, the length and severity of the current downturn is fast approaching the length and depth of the Depression-era housing declines. From the end of 1928 to the end of 1933 (60 months), nominal home values fell 25.9% according to Robert Shiller's reconstruction of long-term home price appreciation in the United States."

The top five hardest hit cities in the nation are as follows: Las Vegas, NV; Miami, FL; Chicago, IL; Phoenix, AZ, and West Palm Beach, FL. (Realtytrac.com)

Realtytrac.com also reports that as of October, there are 2,171,120 homes in foreclosure, with an average foreclosure sales price of just $173,331.

Changing the face of foreclosure, however, will take time. And whether this is done through fundamental changes to the way banks deal with defaults, invigorating the job market through purchase of Treasury bonds, or other stimulation efforts on the economy, many homeowners may have to struggle a while longer to hold on to their homes.

Published: November 23, 2010

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Carla Hill, M.A., works on the Realty Times staff as Managing Editor for our online publication. She also is Producer for the real estate news channel, seen daily on RealtyTimes.com and on video newsletters nationwide.