WT Forums

Coach of course could make out, but it's a risky position.

When the new buyers tax credit expires it could cause a severe drop off in home sales, which would cause a steep decline in home values as inventories get bloated again.

I mean the potential is very real.

Speaking of bloated inventory:

\" The problem is the glut of homes that have been repossessed by banks or that seem headed in that direction. The glut is far bigger than it was a year ago.

In fact the outlook is flat-out grim, based on the latest data from First American CoreLogic, a housing data firm that tracks 97% of U.S. transactions for the mortgage industry. The percentage of homes that banks have filed foreclosure on or repossessed (and stamped with the dreaded \"REO,\" or \"real estate owned,\" moniker) now account for 3% of all mortgaged homes. That's up from 2.2% a year ago. In some large cities, the rate is two-to-six times the national average.

The number of homeowners who haven't quite sunk into the foreclosure swamp--but are in serious danger of doing so--is also way up from 2009. First American CoreLogic tracks mortgages that are at least 90 days delinquent. (They include mortgages already in foreclosure or converted to REO.) One in 14 mortgages in the U.S. now meets this standard, up from one in 22 a year ago.

\"The overhang is a dark specter over the housing market,\" says Sam A. Khater, senior economist at First American CoreLogic. There are now 3.5 million mortgages at least 90 days delinquent. In addition, 2 million mortgages are at least 180 days delinquent, says Khater. Unlike unemployment, the rise in delinquent mortgages hasn't decelerated, he adds.

The government's various efforts to keep most of these mortgage from being converted to REO have helped struggling homeowners remain in their homes, but most of the moratoria against foreclosures and the various federal programs aimed at supporting low-income borrowers are soon to end. \"Then what?\" asks Kahter.\"

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/most- ... te-markets

You may recall this is exactly what i said before.

I can answer the \"then what,\" by the way. The housing market crumbles even worse than it already has, that's then what.

Now is one of the worst times in modern American history to be buying a big item like a house because pf the simple fact that no one has any idea where the real floor is yet.

This economy has not even remotely begun to recover yet, in fact any recovery seen thus far has been a direct result of the gov't dumping your tax dollars into TARP I/II and the \"Jobs/stimulus\" package. What's more, the artificial gov't subsidy that is keeping any movement at all going in the housing market is all set to expire.

Right now RE is an extremely dangerous and volatile market. Buyer beware.

Toss in the potential for a severe collapse in Europe, led by the possible fall of the greek economy, the MASSIVE quadrupling of the US deficit by Osama, total uncertainty over the future cost of healthcare benefits, a Social security fund that is now, for the first time ever, in the red, and the future of the US as we know it is not even assured.

These are potentially extremely ugly times.

One in 14 mortgages in trouble is a mind blowing statistic. You have to wonder what these people were thinking when they signed on the bottom line. I guess the obvious answer is \"they weren't\".

OC

It is scary, i continue to look but i'm still saving my pennies.

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\"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives\"

Chief, what i have to wonder is WHAT THE HELL WAS THE GOV'T THINKING when it passed the community reinvestment act of 1998 that allowed all these flat out bad mortgages to be written to begin with.

They weren't.

Or if they were, they were only thinking short term and how it could help those who really couldn't afford it, and not thinking about how it could be abused by those without morals. Either way, they weren't thinking.

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Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

(Sarcasm)Well i for one think we should but the same gov't in complete control of the US health care industry....(/sarcasm)

Home sales still falling:

Mar 23, 2010:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of existing homes fell for a third straight month in February, pushing sales down to the lowest level since last July. There is concern that the fragile housing rebound could falter, making it harder for the overall economy to recover.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of previously occupied homes dropped 0.6 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million.

The weakness in sales depressed prices with the median home price dropping almost 2 percent from a year ago to $165,100.

But sales activity varied across the country. In the Midwest, sales jumped almost 9 percent, and were up more than 2 percent in the Northeast. In the South, sales fell about 1 percent, and were down almost 5 percent in the West.

Nationally, sales have been declining since November, despite the extension of tax credits for homebuyers. There is a $8,000 credit for first-time buyers and a $6,500 credit for current homeowners who have lived in their property for the past five years.

Buyers must sign sales contracts by the end of April and complete their purchases by the end of June to qualify for the tax credits. So far, there has been little indication that the tax credit extension is generating much activity.

High unemployment and tough lending standards appear to be holding buyers back. That could derail housing as it tries to emerge from the worst downturn in decades and harm the overall economy.

\"Without a firm foundation in housing, the economy will struggle to return to normal,\" said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors.

He said it will be critical to see a rebound in sales in coming months to keep inventories from surging and adding further downward pressure on prices.

For February, the inventory of unsold homes jumped by 312,000 to 3.59 million, an unusually large jump that pushed the supply of unsold homes to 8.6 months.

Yun called that increase \"discomforting\" and said if it climbs above 10 months supply it could put significant downward pressure on prices.