More Million Dollar Homes Going to Auction

PARADISE VALLEY - Even the valley's wealthiest people are having trouble paying their mortgages. There are a record number of mansions that are going to the auction block.

It appears as if the rich are looking at their homes as an investment -- if you aren't going to make money or get any money back -- get out before it gets worse.

A sprawling estate in Paradise Valley, six acres in a prime location, is on the market for $4.7 million. Down the street is another foreclosure, 10,000 square feet for $3.7 million.

The bank owns those properties and more may be on the way.

In May, the valley saw 15 million-dollar homes foreclose. In June, that number doubled to 30. And a recent study showed that the rich are foreclosing more and more often.

"If you really need to sell a house, you have to be the best deal on the block. You have to be the one that people stop at and it has to be too good to be true," says luxury realtor Preston Westmoreland.

Westmoreland says there are so many amazing deals in the high-end market, sellers can't compete and it appears many of them are just giving up.

These huge properties usually require a cash buyer or a huge down payment. In this economy, the buyers are scarce, so homes tend to sit on the market a long time.

According to the study, published in the New York Times, 1 in 7 million-dollar homeowners are approaching foreclosure.

It's 1 in 12 for middle-class homes.