how many residential real estate foreclosures were there in the united
states and in britain last year? (give previous years if possible and
cite your sources)

skippers,

Thanks for contacting Google Answers.  I couldn't find the exact
information you were looking for, but I wanted to aid you and other
researchers in your search.  Please check out
http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/ushmc/winter2001/histdat18.htm, a
review of Housing and Urban Development data from the US Government,
and http://www.mbaa.org/marketdata/index.html (from which the HUD
information is sourced)