The single largest purchase that many Americans will make in their lives is their home. Purchasing a suitable house for yourself and your family is an important part of your lifestyle- however all too often we are forced to settle for second best, a house that is a little too small, or too far from the town centre, or in the wrong school district. Homes are expensive, and sadly many Americans cannot afford their ideal abode.

Today we’re presenting you with three websites that can help you find the perfect home at as much as half the market price. With debt mounting, it’s a sad fact that many people are being forced to default on their mortgages and go through foreclosure, which results in their mortgage lender putting their home on the market. In order to start making money from these homes as quickly as possible, many lenders will put them on the market at reduced price, and so here you can make some great savings!

RealtyTrac is a service that provides you with a comprehensive reference of properties for sale all over the US. From Alaska to Texas, there’s something to be had in almost every state from RealtyTrac. You can also search by your desired zip code too.

Foreclosure.com offers an excellent service providing up to date, accurate information across a range of properties. They offer a seven day free trial so you can use their service to locate your dream home.

HUDforeclosed.com is another listing site that seeks to offer you a range of information on foreclosed properties in your area.

Foreclosures are currently set to continue:

IRVINE, Calif. – Jan. 13, 2011 – RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Year-End 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows a total of 3,825,637 foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on a record 2,871,891 U.S. properties in 2010, an increase of nearly 2 percent from 2009 and an increase of 23 percent from 2008. The report also shows that 2.23 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 45) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 2.21 percent in 2009, 1.84 percent in 2008, 1.03 percent in 2007 and 0.58 percent in 2006.

So make sure that you sign up for these websites to keep an eye open- you never know when your dream home may come on sale!