EDGE Philadelphia

Foreclosures made up roughly one-third of all home sales this spring. While that’s a smaller share of sales from the previous quarter, it’s six times the percentage of foreclosures in a healthy housing market.

The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes fell in July, further evidence that the depressed housing market remains a drag on the economy. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its index of sales agreements fell 1.3 percent.

The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure is rising, reflecting the U.S. economy’s continued struggles.

The number of people who bought previously occupied homes fell in July for the third time in four months. This year is on pace to be the worst in 14 years for home sales, as more Americans worry that the economy could slip back into another recession.

A new wave of Boston area and Northeast foreclosures have hit the market and Auction.com, a global leader in real estate auctions, has begun to auction 521+ new Northeast area bank-owned properties.

Windy Ridge is a small petri dish in a much larger experiment. Across the country, city officials, non-profits and others are searching for ways to stabilize neighborhoods pummeled by foreclosures - most visibly by buying up vacant houses.

The Ackerly’s home is now among a swelling number of abandoned houses in Nevada. There were 167,564 empty houses in the state last year, according to newly released U.S. Census data, more than double the number in 2000.

Sales of new homes plummeted in January, and businesses ordered fewer long-lasting goods. But the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has fallen over the past four weeks.

Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages.

he number of people who signed contracts to buy homes rose in November, the fourth increase since hitting a low in June. Even with the gains, this year is shaping up to be the worst for home sales in 13 years.