A new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University shows, despite some positive momentum, 2011's overall totals failed to show a big improvement from the numbers in 2010.

Total transactions: In 2011, the Phoenix area had 106,850 transactions in the existing-home market. That's slightly down from 106,975 transactions in 2010.

Total foreclosures: During 2011, the area had 35,855 foreclosures, not considered to be a huge decrease from 41,625 in 2010.

Rate of foreclosures: The amount of foreclosures as a percentage of overall transactions in 2011 was about 34 percent. That's down from 39 percent in 2010 (to put this in perspective, in a typical year, foreclosures represent less than 5 percent of the total transactions).

Median home price: The median price for a single-family home resold in the Phoenix area in 2011 was $125,000. That's down from $138,000 in 2010.

Median townhome price: The median price for a townhouse/condominium resold in 2011 was $79,000, also down from $88,000 in 2010.

Throughout 2011, the market did experience a significant drop-off in the amount of monthly foreclosures as a percentage of transactions. In January of 2011, that rate was 43 percent, but it dropped all the way down to just under 29 percent in December.

All told, about 3 percent of all single-family existing homes in Maricopa County underwent foreclosures in 2011. More than 14 percent of all single-family homes in Maricopa County have been foreclosed on since 2008. Still, Butler emphasizes that many households are simply riding through this.

Butler's final report, including statistics, charts and a breakdown by different areas of the Valley, can be viewed at http://wpcarey.asu.edu/finance/real-estate/upload/Press-Release-December-2011-resale-homes.doc.