Forbes has released its list of 'Top 10 U.S. Cities In Freefall', and California has the dubious distinction of appearing thrice. The greater Los Angeles, Riverside and Sacramento areas all made the list, only Florida had more cities represented. In compiling the list, Forbes used six metrics, including the percent the median home price has fallen since its individual peak, how many people were moving in and out of these metros, and percent change in unemployment.
Of California's woes, Forbes writes:
Riverside, Los Angeles and Sacramento are suffering because of the knocks they took after their inflated housing markets began to plummet. Unemployment in the City of Angels has nearly tripled in three years, to 12%. Riverside's unemployment has also ballooned, to 15%. Meanwhile Sacramento saw a 75% drop in new building permits. These are troubling signs for Cali metros, but not surprising. The end of the state's home-price climb triggered more than just a housing slump.
"In California, so many jobs were concentrated in construction," says Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research at the Mortgage Bankers Association, the professional association for real estate financiers. "Jobs building single family homes wound up not being sustainable, and there were a lot of job losses."
The Forbes report comes on the heels of California's most recent jobless report, which put the state's unemployment rate at a record 12.6% for March. However, in what might be an encouraging sign for the region, KPCC reports today that foreclosures in LA County are down 43.5% for the first quarter of 2010 compared to last year.
Scroll through to see all of the cities that made the list.