Foreclosed Homes Wait In 'Shadows' To Go On Sale

Foreclosed Homes Wait In 'Shadows' To Go On Sale
June 24, 2011, NPR

The housing market is still languishing this summer, leading some economists to believe prices won't begin to recover until 2014. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake says the market may be worse than most people thought.

Washington Whiffs at U.S. Foreclosure Mess
June 21, 2011, Bloomberg

There is little doubt that the U.S. housing market is hurting; the latest S&P Case-Shiller index shows residential values declined 4.2 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous three months. The market has struggled, partly because federal policy has wandered all over the proverbial lot. Congress should create a clear and effective strategy for supporting mortgages or, given the remote odds of that happening, let the market stabilize on its own.

Counties Sue Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Over Taxes
June 23, 2011, The Detroit News

Government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the targets of lawsuits from two county governments claiming they owe millions of dollars in taxes. Oakland and Ingham counties have filed suit seeking to recoup taxes the lenders allegedly failed to pay on property taxes. Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner claimed the companies played a key role in the foreclosure crisis and are skirting taxes that could go to public schools.

How to Fix the Dire Housing Numbers
June 21, 2011, TIME

Time for more housing stimulus. The question is how. Here are three things the government could do to boost the housing market:

Mortgage Poll: Are Strategic Defaults Ethical?
June 23, 2011, Reuters

I know a guy — let’s call him Fred — who has a plan for walking away from his home and the $400,000 mortgage on it. Fred lives in Phoenix, one of those particularly hard hit real estate markets in a state that prohibits banks from coming after borrowers for additional money once a home has gone into foreclosure. The home he bought for more than $400,000 is now worth about $225,000, by his estimates. He’s saved up quite a bit of money and can keep making the payments. But he’s nearing retirement, and figures that, the way he’s going, he’ll never have home equity.

Home Sales: Distressing Gap
June 23, 2011, Calculated Risk

The following graph shows existing home sales (left axis) and new home sales (right axis) through May. This graph starts in 1994, but the relationship has been fairly steady back to the '60s. Then along came the housing bubble and bust, and the "distressing gap" appeared due mostly to distressed sales.

Banks Can Predict Strategic Defaulters
June 23, 2011, Orlando Sentinel

People who can afford to pay their mortgages but choose to stop because their homes are no longer worth what they paid make up a big piece of the foreclosure crisis. Now, those homeowners are the target of a cottage industry among credit reporting companies that have crafted formulas to find them and rat them out to their banks — even before they miss their first payments.