Foreclosures in Maricopa County jumped 171 percent last year compared with 2007, with Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa among the hardest-hit cities.

Once it was clear Arizona's foreclosure numbers were hitting chart-topping numbers, an ad hoc group of people banded together in June 2007 to track the state's foreclosure rate and help residents in crises.

Home prices across the Valley dropped for the 18th straight month in August, breaking the region’s record for consecutive months of falling prices, according to the latest Arizona State University–Repeat Sales Index.

 Nothing about the stucco and red tile roof of the suburban Gilbert home with neat, personal touches like wall art doubling as light fixtures screams foreclosure. Yet that’s the predicament Heather Gray finds herself in due to personal circumstances.

The Valley's struggling real estate market may be on the eve of finally bottoming out, according to a new forecast by real estate brokerage Grubb & Ellis/BRE Land Group.