You can add foreclosures to the list of searches that Google excels at executing. Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture blog explores the amazing functionality provided through Google Maps, which he says has been around for a while but has improved recently. It's both incredible and awful to see just how foreclosure continues to plague the U.S.

Here's how it works, from Chart Porn, via Ritholtz:

Google Maps Foreclosure Listings

1. Punch in any US address into Google Maps.

2. Your options are Earth, Satellite, Map, Traffic and . . . More. (Select "More")

3. The drop down menu gives you a check box option for "Real Estate."

4. The left column will give you several options (You may have to select "Show Options")

5. Check the box marked "Foreclosure."

Then, you can just play. For example, let's plug in the address of my favorite house from my neighborhood growing up, (1280 SW 21st LN, Boca Raton, FL) located in a nice neighborhood of homes in South Florida and activate foreclosure listings (the map below is interactive, but the rest or not, because of an apparent bug in Google's embedded code):



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That house (located a few blocks east of marker "B") doesn't appear to be in foreclosure, but a few around it are. This neighborhood wasn't as affected as some others in South Florida, however. So let's zoom out a little to see more damage.

See all those red dots? Those are properties in foreclosure. This is only a few square miles. Let's zoom out further: