Another 20% Drop in Housing Prices

Banks' Plans for Foreclosed Homes Will Drive Market
September 13, 2010, Wall Street Journal

The speed at which house prices fall over the next few months could depend less on mortgage rates and Americans' appetite for home buying than on how banks decide to manage the huge number of foreclosed homes they own or may take from delinquent borrowers in the near future. Unlike home owners, banks often are much quicker to slash prices to unload properties quickly.


Housing Doesn’t Need a Crash. It Needs Bold Ideas.
September 11, 2010, New York Times

We all know that most of us don’t tackle problems until they’ve morphed into full-blown crises. Think of all those intersections that get stop signs only after a bunch of accidents have occurred. Better yet, think about the housing market. Only now, after it has become all too clear that the government’s feeble efforts to “help” troubled homeowners have failed, are people considering more substantive approaches to tackling the mortgage and real estate mess. Unfortunately, it’s taken the ugly specter of a free fall or deep freeze in many real estate markets to get people talking about bolder alternatives.


A Downside of Short Sales
September 10, 2010, New York Times

Struggling homeowners have found some refuge in short sales, in which lenders allow borrowers to escape foreclosure by selling a home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Government programs offering incentives to both parties will push the number of short sales to 400,000 this year from 100,000 in 2008, according to CoreLogic, a financial consulting firm.


Kondaur Capital Sees Another 20% Drop in Housing Prices
September 11, 2010, HousingWire

Calling bottom on collapsing home prices is a longstanding topic of debate, but distressed loan purchaser Kondaur Capital Corp. cautions about housing prices falling further still. In a conversation with HousingWire, Kondaur chief executive Jon Daurio joined Moody's Investors Service analysts saying he expects prices to fall another 20%.


Fighting Foreclosure: Fairburn Woman Starts Business to Save Home
September 11, 2010, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Most people who lose their home might be tempted to have a meltdown. Beverly Davis instead reached for her mixing bowl. Hoping to repurchase her home, the Fairburn woman launched a website this summer selling homemade cornbread mixes. She also offers cornbread recipes and inspirational bumper stickers such as this one: “When life throws lemons, make lemonade, bake cornbread and sell it.”