Housing Crisis Likely To Last All Summer

Rising Rates And Foreclosure Filings Create Glut Of Homes In An Already Slow Market

(AP)  The number of U.S. homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier, a foreclosure listing company said Friday.

Foreclosures are unlikely to peak until sometime this fall, as more loans made to borrowers with poor credit records reset at higher levels, said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing.

"I don't think we've seen the high point," he said.

About 50 percent to 60 percent of borrowers who receive foreclosure filings are likely to lose their homes, Sharga said. The rest are likely to be able to sell or refinance.

Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48 percent from 176,137 in the same month last year and up 7 percent from April, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.

Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but 10 states, including Ohio. Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan had the highest statewide foreclosure rates.

Ohio ranked ninth, with one out of every 410 of the state's households receiving a foreclosure filing last month. But the number of filings in Ohio was down 7 percent, compared with May 2007.

Metropolitan areas in California and Florida accounted for nine of the top 10 areas with the highest rate of foreclosure. That list was led by Stockton, Calif. and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices, the company said.

In Nevada, one in every 118 households received a foreclosure-related notice last month, more than four times the national rate. In California, one in every 183 households faced foreclosure.

The combination of weak housing sales, falling home values, tighter mortgage lending criteria and a slowing U.S. economy has left financially strapped homeowners with few options to avoid foreclosure. Many can't find buyers or owe more than their home is worth and can't get refinanced into an affordable loan.

Making matters worse, mortgage rates have been rising, reflecting increased concerns about what the Federal Reserve might do to battle inflation. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.32 percent this week, the highest level in nearly eight months and up sharply from 6.09 percent last week.

Efforts by government and the mortgage industry to stem the tide of foreclosures aren't keeping up with the rising number of troubled homeowners, and critics say a Bush administration-backed mortgage industry coalition, dubbed Hope Now, is falling far short.

A new government report released Wednesday found that among mortgages held by Bank of America, Citigroup Inc. and seven other large banks, foreclosures climbed to 1.23 percent of all loans in March from 0.9 percent in October.

As foreclosed properties pile up, they add to the inventory of homes on the market and drag down home prices. The trend is most dramatic in many parts of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where prices skyrocketed during the housing boom and are now falling precipitously.

Sales of foreclosures, vacant new homes and other distressed properties now dominate some markets, causing grief for individual homeowners who need to sell for other reasons, like a job in a new city.

Nationwide, one out of every four sales between January and March was a distressed sale, and that figure jumps to more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas like Las Vegas, Detroit and distant suburbs of Los Angeles, according to Moody's Economy.com.

In some neighborhoods, lenders are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars and multiple offers.

While that's a positive for the real estate market, buyers in other parts of the country are still holding back.

"I think a lot of people are waiting to see if we really have hit the bottom," Sharga said.

Lehman Brothers economist Michelle Meyer said in a report Thursday that U.S. home sales are likely to hit bottom at the end of this summer, but said a recovery in sales is likely to be "feeble." Home prices, she wrote, are still expected to fall another 10 percent by the end of 2009.

[Cjheky]

I'm sure you receive many of E-mails concerning the housing crisis. I hope you will take the time to read our story.





We have so much on our minds these days especially the way our country is being run!
My
husband and I have been living in our house for just about 16yrs. come
November, we raised all of our 6 kids & all of our dogs here too.We
had dreams,"the American Dream" to have your own business and own
your own home.
We had our own business in the trucking world, then
of course the prices of oil had to go up so much so that we couldn't
afford to maintain the trucks because we had to make sure we had money
for the high fuel prices.We had to sell the trucks, in the mean
time we started to fall behind on a couple house payments. He got another
job for another trucking co.but didn't make half of what he was making
when having his own business. So he decided to give up OTR, and work for
a company closer to home that pd. him (with OT) almost what he was
bringing home when self employed.
We kept in contact with our
mortgage company through all of this and they decided to do a loan
modification which we thought we could handle.As soon as we made our
first payment, we got news that my husband was going to be laid off for
the winter months, so now we go in to apply for unemployment and they
tell us that he is not eligible for it. Four weeks go by with only my
income (which is a part time job) until he finds work from another
company.
Once again we fall behind with the mortgage payments, we
try to get help from NHS to see what they can do for us to save our
house, and still try to fight for his claim for unemployment for those
4 weeks of no work. We are told again that he is not approved. At this
point we are both very upset that some people just start working
for their 1st time in their lives and get unemployment, after being there for less then 6 months,but my husband that
has been working since he's 15yrs. old can't receive any compensation.
We
then
write letters to our mortgage company pleading with them to do another
modification, because since the last one our finances have changed so
dramatically.
Why is it, that the tax payer is going to be paying
out of their hard earned money for this new bail out, but as a tax
payer we get NO HELP!!!
How sad it is that the
government can bail out all these high corporations, but the average
working Joe or Judy don't get any help.Of course we didn't hear
anything
back from any of them. The only thing we received (which I hate to tell
everyone) is papers from a police officer(which was embarrassing)
saying
that we are being sued from our mortgage company, that our house was
going
into foreclosure.....so there goes our dreams of living in our house
that we raised almost all of our 6 kids in (a 15 yr. old still at
home). We
wanted to watch and have sleepovers with our grandchildren, to tell
them stories of how their mommy & daddy grew up in this house.
We
intailly had our mortgage through a bank called M & T, we were
told that we could get almost $20,000 to do with what we wanted, which
sounded great, so we went for it. After all was said and done we ended
up with only $1000 and noticed that they tacked on a fee of $7000.
After only 2 weeks they sold it to Option One Bank, we had them for
around 1 1/2 yrs. which they in turn sold it over to AHMSI, which is
our present mortgage company.
We found out by the letter that we
received , that we are being sued by Wells Fargo which is the
holder....isn't this one of the banks that has been asking for a bail
out?

Our
government doesn't care about any of this...how our credit will
be so poor that we won't even be able to find a place, because most
places do credit checks and don't allow 2 dogs(that are our family too)
and to find a place that is as nice as our
house is now.
We checked out a couple places, but when you are use
to living the way you live for 16yrs.and then see some of them it's
like you going backwards in life instead of ahead.
One of the eye
opener's to us is that people that are worse off live like that
everyday, that they don't have any other choice or help!!

Isn't
anyone really giving this any thought, if so many homes are going into
foreclosure, and people are getting bad credit and you need credit to
rent a place how are and where are we suppose to live. I can't imagine
that there are that many homes out there to rent for all of us
foreclosure folk.....to us it sounds like more people will be homeless,
and more pets will be sent to shelters, if no one adopts them they
will be uthanized!!!


We
seriously don't understand how anyone that was brought up with any
morals and empathy can sleep at night, knowing all this corruption is
going on!!
We keep waiting for that one person that is truly honest
and that will that stand up and hold their ground for us little
people!!!

Chris & Dana Hekman

[ianlou]

News Flash:
Illegal Mexican Immigrants are slowly stumbling back into Mexico since Lawn Maintenance Services are no longer affordable for most Americans and banks are unwilling to pay for the services on foreclosed homes. Flooded bean picking farmland in the Midwest and shrinking amounts of disposable income for live in nannies may, unintentionally, solve this nations illegal immigration problem.

[naucoming4u]

It is in America''''s interest to make certain corporations and businesses remain healthy.

Posted by rhs648 at 11:02 AM : Jun 15, 2008
................

And rightfully so. But what needs clarification is the difference between a "bail out" and aid to ensure that a particular entity, (a single person or a corporation), stays afloat... as you implied... for the health of the nation overall.

So many people rail against "bailing out" individuals, but the same type of (what the government calls) aid goes to corporations all the time, at the expense of the tax payers... but rarely do I see or hear any complaints about that. There is very clear hypocrisy from the other side... the ones who hate the home owners but love the corporations, (especially those that have brought us to this mortgage/economic fiasco).

[rhs648]

...our tax dollars are bailing out the big financial corporations who clearly saw this bubble and practiced their greed until the bubble broke... and broke many families in the process. Your current favorite President (as well as others in the past) have continuously bailed out the corporations of America... but have clearly forgotten the working stiffs who clearly built this country and keep it running.

Nobody has the right to complain about bailing out the working stiff(s), when these same people have helped to elect those politicians who have bailed out the wealthy elites... time and time again.

Posted by NAUcoming4U

It is corporations and businesses that employ "working stiffs" as you describe them. You mentioned that you work for HP which presumably employs thousands of people. It is these jobs that enable HP employees to own homes, cars, and put food on the table. Loss of companies such as HP means loss of income for thousands of families. Look at the impact of closing military bases to many communities. It is in America''s interest to make certain corporations and businesses remain healthy.

[naucoming4u]

Finally...

I hope everyone keeps this in mind (as I do)...

Before you pat yourself on the back for all the blessings that you have accumulated and experienced, either through luck or hard work. Those blessings can be lost quicker than they were gained. There is a higher "authority", who has more power than all of us, who can ensure of that!

Good day everyone.

[naucoming4u]

I don''t know what it will take to smack some compassionate sense into those who claim that other''s should deserve "to lose their home" just because they "...bought more than they can afford."

Sure, you all don''t want to "bail out" people who are losing their homes. Even if they lost them due to the health emergency or job loss(es) that I mentioned earlier? Then SHAME ON YOU ALL!

But guess what... morons... you are bailing out people. Not the people who need bailing out the most... no...

...our tax dollars are bailing out the big financial corporations who clearly saw this bubble and practiced their greed until the bubble broke... and broke many families in the process. Your current favorite President (as well as others in the past) have continuously bailed out the corporations of America... but have clearly forgotten the working stiffs who clearly built this country and keep it running.

Nobody has the right to complain about bailing out the working stiff(s), when these same people have helped to elect those politicians who have bailed out the wealthy elites... time and time again.

[naucoming4u]

"...it is difficult to sympathise with people who purchase more home than they can afford."

Really? Is that what everyone does? Purposely buying a home that they cannot afford?

When the hell will the holier-than-thou group ever learn that the VAST MAJORITY of those who bought homes bought them at a time when they could afford them. But things change in people''s lives that are beyond their control, such as a catastrophic medical illness or emergency, or a job lay-off. The rapidly rising costs of food and energy are beyond people''s control, and any savings that may have been accumulated in the past, have most likely been used up just to keep one''s head above water.

I work for HP, and I have a modest house with a $700 mortgage payment, and a 6.5% 30-year fixed rate. But that doesn''t matter, because I don''t look down on other people who were not able to be in a similar situation. At HP, as well as many other companies, jobs come and go as fast as the technology changes. Where does anyone get off by claiming that people deserve to lose their homes because they lost (one or more) sources of income... again... beyond their control.

The only "dooshbags" are those who, as posted previously, look down on others just because they have not had the great fortune these self-righteous folk have experienced... either through luck or hard work of their own doing.

[rhs648]

Like many before me, I paid my dues. The interest rate on my first home was 10 1/2 percent, 9 1/2 per cent on my second home, and 7 1/2 percent on my third home. With all three homes, the mortgage companies required a 20 per cent downpayment. The worst penalty happened when my city began moving section 8 low income people into my neighborhood. In a seven year period, my second home went from $190,000 to $140,000 in value. My family never enjoyed low interest rates, small or no downpayment loans, or interest only loans. It is difficult to sympathize with people who purchase more home than they can afford. We would not be in the current bind if banks, mortgage companies,brokerage firms, and irresponsible home buyers hadn''t brought it onto to us. The next penalty, besides our homes going down in value, is expecting taxpayers to bail out these people.

[oneworldusa]

I purchased my new home some years ago for an amount just barely over one year''s income for me, not including my spouse''s income.

Since we were responsible, we''re going to help out the market by buying some foreclosures for flip and/or renting out.

[facts6]

"""I feel sorry for the people who have worked hard all their lives and are now losing their life savings, their jobs and their homes due to the depression"""

What depression? Thus the power of key words and the press knows it. You don''t know what "depression" means. One factor is no jobs, anywhere for anyone.

Someone wants you discouraged. I don''t know one person who has lost their home.

[facts6]

Step back and look at the key word language used in all news reports.

We are in a housing c r i s i s, no we''re not, its a market correction. A sure litmus test: finance with a savings and loan. If you can''t afford it, you don''t get the loan.

Did all those bad credit risks think that buying a house they couldn''t afford would magically change their live? Seems that''s how they became bad credit risks in the first place.

Here''s how its done: chuck the cable, the cell phone, buy a resonable vehicle, pay it off and keep driving it; dine out 1 time a month, and don''t charge ***. Credit cards are for emergencies and renting cars.

People there is no housing crisis.

[tryhonesty]

Gee, Where''s Bush thumping his chest that everyone (including those that could and should not have qualified for a "traditional" or "creative" home mortgage) owns their part of the American dream...the reality of lies that continue to discribe this loser republiCON administration.

[bgwinnett]

Me too, but i don''''t feel all that sorry for the folks that figured that real estate was a sure-thing get-rich-quick and easy plan, and who used their homes as a bottomless piggy bank.

These folks definitely contributed to the problem.

Posted by FeelFree4U at 05:38 AM : Jun 14, 2008

I concur.

[evansville11]

ltthomas13 -- you are absolutely right. thanks for eloquently putting that retarded dou$hebag (NAUcoming4U) in his place. the guy probably hasn''t done an honest day of work in his life.

[ltthomas13]

NAUCOMING4U , you may call me self-righteous and "highly uneducated," but your vitriol betrays your point of view. Obviously, you are one of those who would like to be given a nice house and expensive car just because you want them. You''ve mortgaged the overpriced home you never really could afford and taken the HELOC to buy a sleek and expensive car...now the chickens have come home to roost. You have nobody but yourself to blame.
As for me, I come from very humble means, but my parents taught me the value of hard work and personal responsibility. With part-time jobs and military service scholarships, I was able to graduate magna *** laude from an Ivy-league college and magna *** laude from a "near-ivy" medical school. So please, understand that no matter how much you wish otherwise, hard work and determination will always triumph over greed, self-entitlement, and your lack of personal responsibility.

[naucoming4u]

... And may those self-righteous A$$HOLES on this board suffer the worst of God''s wrath in the very near future.

If you haven''t already, your time is well overdue.

[naucoming4u]

naucoming4u doesnt believe in personal responsibility

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:54 AM : Jun 14, 2008
...........

Yes, actually I do, but I understand the challenges and tribulations of many more people than myself. But no matter how many facts are presented to you people, it will never change the fact that you...

..AND ltthomas13 AND Braniff77 are HIGHLY uneducated, misinformed, self-righteous A$$HOLES!

[ltthomas13]

People who are in crisis with their homes were greedy and stupid. Nobody was "tricked" into entering a interest-only or adjustable rate mortgage. This is just a continuation of the erosion of personal responsibility in our society. Those who work hard and don''t live beyond their means will have to bail out all the parasitic losers who think they should have everything they want without earning it.

[naucoming4u]

A house was originally designed to proudly own and live in.

At some point, in the history of the world, somebody thought it would be a great idea to try and make a profit off of someone else living in that house...

...and humanity went downhill from there.

[feelfree4u]

patriot12436,

Re: "I feel sorry for the people who have worked hard all their lives and are now losing their life savings, their jobs and their homes due to th depression."

Me too, but i don''t feel all that sorry for the folks that figured that real estate was a sure-thing get-rich-quick and easy plan, and who used their homes as a bottomless piggy bank.

These folks definitely contributed to the problem.