The 80/20 Rule Of Foreclosures in America (May 2008)

RealtyTrac's May 2008 foreclosure report looks terrible in the papers, but there's good reasons why we don't get our news from the headlines only.

A deeper look at the data shows that the whole country is not being impacted equally.

California is home to 8 of the 10 most foreclosure-heavy cities in the country.

Just 4 states accounted for more than half of the country's foreclosure activity
Many states -- including Ohio -- showed a reduction in foreclosure activity.

But of all of the interpretations, it's most astounding that the Pareto Principle is still (pretty much) in effect -- 80 percent of foreclosure activity was tied to just over 20 percent of the states.