Foreclosures Rise in Third Quarter

Foreclosure notices were reported on nearly 1-million U.S. residential properties in the third quarter, marking a five percent increase from the second quarter, according to RealtyTrac. One in every 136 residential properties received a foreclosure notice in the last three months. Some 937,840 properties had foreclosure notice filings. However, notices dropped four percent in September… Continue reading Foreclosures Rise in Third Quarter

Foreclosures Could Hit 25 Million

By Mike Colpitts The huge number of homeowners who say they will walk away from mortgages if housing prices keep falling could have long lasting repercussions for the U.S. economy that would take years to emerge from. According to a new survey conducted by Housing Predictor, as many as 25-million homeowners may walk away from… Continue reading Foreclosures Could Hit 25 Million

Finding Your Housing Value System

By Lois A. Vitt Are you stuck trying to make a housing decision? Small wonder. Your housing decisions are about everything in your life, not just the design and location of your home. They involve your inner motivations, desires, and well-being as surely as the objective circumstances of managing your housing-related finances or the logistics… Continue reading Finding Your Housing Value System

Investors Slammed by Housing Crash

By Mike Colpitts Homeowners are facing an economic crunch from the housing crash, but investors often face even more severe repercussions. More than 1 in 3 foreclosures are of investment owned properties, and should the foreclosure epidemic worsen as forecast that number is expected to rise as more investors walk away from mortgages. During the… Continue reading Investors Slammed by Housing Crash

Congress Finally Proposes Homeowners Help

By Kevin Chiu A proposal to halt the record number of foreclosures and force lenders to work with homeowners to modify mortgages was introduced in the Senate Wednesday by Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed. Rhode Island is one of the worst 10 states to be affected by the foreclosure epidemic. The bill would establish a… Continue reading Congress Finally Proposes Homeowners Help

Pilot Program Could Help Home Foreclosures

By Mike Colpitts The federal government response has been painstakingly slow to the foreclosure epidemic. But one city councilman is proposing a pilot program that could give mortgage holders of distressed homes a chance to stay in their residences amid the worst economic downturn in a generation. The program, already approved by the Los Angeles… Continue reading Pilot Program Could Help Home Foreclosures

Foreclosures Set New Records

Foreclosures reached the highest level on record in June as foreclosure filings rose for the fourth month in a row, according to the latest RealtyTrac foreclosure report. Notices of default, auction sale notices and bank repossessions were reported on more than 1.5-million properties in the first half of the year. Some 1,528,364 properties received notices… Continue reading Foreclosures Set New Records

Housing Market Conditions Improving

Housing Market Conditions Improving Housing indicators are showing that markets are making slow strides towards improving conditions. Boosted by the first time buyers’ $8,000 federal tax credit and other incentives, home sales are up in many of the hardest hit urban markets, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Additionally, government insured mortgage applications hit… Continue reading Housing Market Conditions Improving

Money Trail of Housing Bust Leads to Congress

By Mike Colpitts The repeal of the law that produced the current housing depression was made by Congress in 1999, and it took just eight years before it would nearly destroy the U.S. economy. At the peak of the real estate bubble lobbyists gave more than $350-million to members of Congress. Lawmakers passed laws that… Continue reading Money Trail of Housing Bust Leads to Congress

Graveyards of the Housing Bust are Zombie Developments

Graveyards of the Housing Bust By Mike Colpitts They are littered from coast to coast and do not discriminate. Zombie subdivisions and housing developments are scattered across the nation like nothing since the Great Depression. They are the wreckage of failed developments and urban sprawl gone mad during the real estate boom, left to rot… Continue reading Graveyards of the Housing Bust are Zombie Developments