More Housing Updates & News

Associated Press, July 15, 2010

Issued a news release and interview with Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. RealtyTrac, Inc. is a foreclosure listing service. Take note of several quotes from Mr. Sharga:

Over 500,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of 2010
In 2009, more than 900,000 homes were repossessed by lenders
Lenders have historically repossessed only about 100,000 homes a year
It will take lenders through 2013 to resolve the backlog of distressed properties

Another report from the Federal Reserve:

On Wednesday July 14, 2010, The Federal Reserve report reported the US economy will grow between 3% - 3.5%. They revised their previous projection from April which was for growth between 3.2% - 3.7%. Doesn’t sound like much of a change but the change is trending down.

              Oh by the way - There are over 17 million sole proprietorship's in the United States. Add in single owner LLC’s and there is a significant business segment which may be severely impacted by the economic downturn but not reported on. Sole proprietorship's account for over 70% of all businesses in the US. Take note of my previous post on the vicious cycle precipitated by foreclosures and the economic growth rate as it relates to lower unemployment.

An article on the current housing market – Housing: Right Back Where We Started?
By Robbie Whelan, Wall Street Journal http://bit.ly/c4H9Se

Trouble Ahead? Housing Inventory Rises in Many Markets in June
By Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal

An excerpt from the July 15, 2010 article by Timiraos: “Meanwhile, demand appears to have fallen sharply in the months following the expiration of the tax credit. New home sales fell to a record low in May, while pending sales were down 30% from April. Mortgage rates remain near 60-year lows, and yet demand for home-purchase loans fell to a 14 year low last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.”

“So goes Housing – So goes the Economy”