Balance this against the Pending Home Sales Report…..
by Tom on June 2, 2009
in Market Musings, house prices
Pending Home Sales came in stronger than expected today. But when you balance that with what this editorial in the New York Times says, it’s not exactly party time yet……
Tom Vanderwell
Editorial – Foreclosures – No End in Sight – NYTimes.com
A continuing steep drop in home prices combined with rising unemployment is powering a new wave of foreclosures. Unfortunately, there’s little evidence, so far, that the Obama administration’s anti-foreclosure plan will be able to stop it.The plan offers up to $75 billion in incentives to lenders to reduce loan payments for troubled borrowers. Since it went into effect in March, some 100,000 homeowners have been offered a modification, according to the Treasury Department, though a tally is not yet available on how many offers have been accepted.
That’s a slow start given the administration’s goal of preventing up to four million foreclosures. It is even more worrisome when one considers the size of the problem and the speed at which it is spreading. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported last week that in the first three months of the year, about 5.4 million mortgages were delinquent or in some stage of foreclosure.
