With all due respect to the Nobel Prize winners and noted economists who serve and have served on the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), to a lot of people these days, it just doesn’t feel like the recession is over, no matter what the latest economic data says.

The NBER came out last week to declare that the nation’s latest recession ended June 2009, a long 18 months after it began in December 2007, making it the longest recession post-World War II in the nation’s history. Previously, the recessions of 1973 to 1975 and 1981 to 1982 shared the title of the longest recessions, both measuring 16 months, according to NBER.

Being an election year, it’s going to be tough convincing the average American voter that their lifestyles have been better off since the start of the second half of 2009.

Let’s look at the facts:

Unemployment is still very high. Nationally, unemployment moved up slightly to 9.6 percent in August, little comfort to the millions of ready and willing citizens who can’t find work.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Sept. 21 that 27 states registered over-the-month increases in unemployment rates during August 2010, 13 states reported decreases in those rates, while rates in 10 states — plus the District of Columbia — remained unchanged.

MSNBC reported last week that the latest results of the Adversity Index produced by Moody’s Analytics showed that Nevada, Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois and New Mexico were still feeling the pain of recession as late as July 2010.

And let’s not forget that during 2009, when the recession “ended”, the Census Bureau reported that the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line was at a 15-year high, The New York Times reported.

Last, but certainly not least, because it is affected by all the above, is the nation’s foreclosure activity. As RealtyTrac reported in September, the sheer number of foreclosure filings around the country exceeded 300,000 again in August. It was the 18th consecutive month total foreclosure filings has topped the 300,000 mark nationally. In fact, the nation is on track to easily surpass 3 million total foreclosure filings for all of 2010, setting a new yearly record.

Nevada, Georgia and Illinois, three of those states that were still feeling the pain of recession as late as July, according to Moody’s Analytics, are still top vote getters when it comes to having nation-leading foreclosure activity and rates as well.

We don’t know what kind of tea leaves the economists are sipping over at NBER, but maybe they ought to switch to plain black coffee and wake up to the economic reality that so many American homeowners, and voters, are living in.

Lawmaker Unveils Mortgage Modification Bill
September 29, 2010, Reuters

As many as 30 million U.S. homeowners would be able to refinance their mortgage at record low interest rates regardless of their credit situation under a plan unveiled on Tuesday by a Democratic lawmaker.


Ohio, Colorado AGs Start Reviews of GMAC Foreclosures
September 29, 2010, HousingWire

The Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Colorado AG John Suthers joined five other states in a review of the GMAC Mortgage, now Ally Financial, foreclosure issue. Cordray sent a letter to Ohio judges this week requesting state courts make a special review of all foreclosure cases involving GMAC Mortgage, and Suthers sent a letter directly to GMAC, requesting an explanation of what went wrong and any new procedures that have been put in place since.


Lost in the System that Took the House
September 29, 2010, Washington Post

Luis Fernandez's foreclosure documents never looked quite right. Critical papers regarding his Orlando home were missing dates, and some signatures appeared to him to be forged. The mortgage had been sold so often - including once in the middle of the foreclosure process - that at times it was hard to tell which company was trying to seize the house. He challenged the foreclosure in court but failed.  s more of these practices are coming to light, the entire foreclosure system is facing the threat of grinding to a halt. Connecticut, California and Colorado have frozen all foreclosures by one major lender, and other states are pondering whether to follow suit.


Banks Keep Failing, No End in Sight
September 27, 2010, Wall Street Journal

The largest number of bank failures in nearly 20 years has eliminated jobs, accelerated a drought in lending and left the industry's survivors with more power to squeeze customers. Some 279 banks have collapsed since Sept. 25, 2008, when Washington Mutual Inc. became the biggest bank failure on record. That dwarfed the 1984 demise of Continental Illinois, which had only one-seventh of WaMu's assets. The failures of the past two years shattered the pace of the prior six-year period, when only three dozen banks died.


Putting Shadow Inventory Under the Light
September 29, 2010, Fortune

Plenty of terms have been coined during this financial crisis, but none sounds scarier than "shadow inventory." That's the glut of foreclosures and delinquent mortgages that threatens to keep a housing rebound at bay until it's been cleared.


Can You Afford the Yuppie Dream Home?
September 27, 2010, CNN Money.com

The upper-middle class lifestyle has many trappings, including the house. Here's what 4-bedroom, 2-bath homes in good neighborhoods cost across the country, according to Coldwell Banker's annual index.

GMAC’s Errors Leave Foreclosures in Question
September 27, 2010, New York Times

The recent admission by a major mortgage lender that it had filed dubious foreclosure documents is likely to fuel a furor against hasty foreclosures, which have prompted complaints nationwide since housing prices collapsed, David Streitfeld writes in The New York Times. Attorneys general in Iowa and North Carolina said they were beginning separate investigations of the lender, and the attorney general in California directed the company to suspend all foreclosures in that state until it “proves that it’s following the letter of the law.”

Save Americans by Sticking It to Them
September 24, 2010, Bloomberg (Opinion)

The banks were saved by the American people. Now who will save the people from the banks? Last week, in a rare and possibly fleeting victory for the little guy, Ally Financial Inc.’s mortgage-servicing unit temporarily halted evictions tied to foreclosures in 23 states. This came after some attorneys for homeowners caught the company saying things that weren’t true in its court filings.

Calif. Atty. General Asks GMAC to Cease Foreclosures
September 24, 2010, Associated Press

California's attorney general wants GMAC Mortgage LLC to stop foreclosures in the state until it proves it is complying with a state law aimed at preventing foreclosures. California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Friday that he directed Ally Financial Inc., which owns GMAC, to prove it is complying with a law that prohibits lenders from taking steps to foreclose on a home before determining if the borrower is eligible for a loan modification.

JPMorgan Based Foreclosures on Faulty Documents, Lawyers Claim
September 26, 2010, Bloomberg

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faces a legal challenge next month that could cast doubt on thousands of foreclosures after a mortgage executive at the bank said she didn’t verify documents used to justify home seizures.  Lawyers for a Palm Beach County, Florida, homeowner asked a judge to throw out a foreclosure as a penalty for misleading the court, according to attorney Tom Ice of Ice Legal PA. They’re citing a May 17 deposition in which the JPMorgan executive said she signed thousands of affidavits and documents supporting the New York-based bank’s claims without personally checking loan records. The court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 19.

Banks in Florida, Washington Shut as 2010 Failures Climb to 127
September 24, 2010, Bloomberg

Regulators shut lenders in Florida and Washington amid losses on real-estate loans, pushing the number of U.S. bank failures to 127 for the year. Haven Trust Bank Florida of Ponte Vedra Beach and Arlington, Washington-based North County Bank were closed, according to statements on the website of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was named receiver. The failures cost the agency’s deposit-insurance fund $104.7 million.

Texas, Iowa Start Investigations of GMAC Foreclosure Practices
Bloomberg News — September 23, 2010

Attorneys general in Texas and Iowa, following Florida, have started their own investigations into foreclosure practices at Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC mortgage unit.

Al Franken: Foreclosure Paperwork Scandal Shows Need To Strengthen HAMP
The Huffington Post — September 23, 2010

The revelation that massive numbers of foreclosures may be tainted by bogus paperwork from mortgage servicers is further evidence that the Obama administration's anti-foreclosure efforts need a pro-homeowner boost, says Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).

Fannie Mae Announces New Buyer and Seller Incentives for REOs
DSNews — September 23, 2010

With the foreclosure crisis still raging, the nation’s largest mortgage financier has amassed a hefty portfolio of repossessed homes. Fannie Mae took back 68,838 foreclosed properties in the second quarter alone. In the first quarter of this year, the company added 61,929 new REOs to its inventory.

'Second Look' Helps Out Borrowers
The Wall Street Journal — September 24, 2010

When a borrower hears a "no" from the bank, sometimes it really means "maybe."

U.S. Home Sales in August Matched Modest Forecasts
The New York Times — September 23, 2010

Home sales stabilized in August after a deep tumble in July, a development that, in the context of a severely troubled housing market, counts as good news.

Tip of Titanic iceberg: GMAC Mortgage halts foreclosures to fix flawed process
September 21, 2010 — St. Petersburg Times

Wake up and good morning. We are reminded again of one of the biggest messes -- and that's a competitive world -- in Florida these days: Banks and their law firms pushing to foreclose on homes without proper paperwork and without following court-mandated procedures. In this case, the screw-up belongs to Ally Financial Inc., whose GMAC Mortgage unit halted evictions in Florida and 22 other states amid allegations of mishandled affidavits. So says a Bloomberg News story.

Foreclosure errors could snag other lenders
September 22, 2010 — The Washington Post

Some of the nation's largest mortgage companies used a single document processor who said he signed off on foreclosures without having read the paperwork - an admission that may open the door for homeowners across the country to challenge foreclosure proceedings.

Housing Starts in August Exceeded Analysts’ Forecasts
September 21, 2010 — Reuters

WASHINGTON — Housing starts in the United States increased more than expected in August, to their highest level in four months, and permits for residential construction also rose, government data showed on Tuesday, suggesting that the embattled market was starting to stabilize after the end of a tax credit.

New Push on Home-Loan Disclosure
September 22, 2010 — The Wall Street Journal

Elizabeth Warren and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday brought together consumer groups, mortgage-industry officials and other housing representatives for talks on the Obama administration's plan to simplify mortgage-disclosure documents.

Bank of America permanent HAMP mods drop 18.6% in August
September 21, 2010 — HousingWire

Bank of America converted 3,559 trial mods into permanent status through the Home Affordable Modification Program in August, down 18.6% from the 4,300 done July and less than half the amount done in June.