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 We are officially in the middle of the worst housing collapse in U.S. history - and unfortunately it is going to get even worse. Already, U.S. housing prices have fallen further during this economic downturn (26 percent), then they did during the Great Depression (25.9 percent). Approximately 11 percent of all homes in the United States are currently standing empty. In fact, there are many new housing developments across the U.S. that resemble little more than ghost towns because foreclosures have wiped them out. Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures reached new highs in 2010, and it is being projected that banks and financial institutions will repossess at least a million more U.S. homes during 2011. Meanwhile, unemployment is absolutely rampant and wage levels are going down at a time when mortgage lending standards have been significantly tightened. That means that there are very few qualified buyers running around out there and that is going to continue to be the case for quite some time to come. When you add all of those factors up, it leads to one inescapable conclusion. The "housing Armageddon" that we have been experiencing since 2007 is going to get even worse in 2011. (Read More....)
 How soon will it be before people finally start using the term "depression" to describe what has happened to the U.S. housing market? It has been four and a half years since housing prices began to decline, and they are still falling. In fact, U.S. housing prices have now fallen further during this economic downturn than they did during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Just think about that. We are now in unprecedented territory, and most analysts believe that U.S. house prices will continue to decline in 2011. Mortgage rates have been moving up, mortgage delinquencies are on the rise again, U.S. mortgage lenders have really tightened lending standards and "foreclosuregate" continues to plague the entire mortgage industry. It would be really nice for the overall economy if house prices did go up in 2011, but right now it looks like that simply is not going to happen. (Read More....)
 On Friday, headlines across the United States declared that "unemployment remains unchanged at 9.6%". Many analysts rejoiced and heralded this announcement as a sign that we have hit bottom and that things will be turning around soon. But is that the truth? A closer look at the unemployment numbers reveals some disturbing facts. For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a broader measure of unemployment that includes workers that have stopped looking for work rose sharply to 17.1%. But that is not the only troubling sign from this past week. Agricultural commodities continue to skyrocket, which means that food price increases are on the way. The foreclosure "robo-signing" crisis continues to escalate, and that threatens to throw the entire mortgage industry into a state of absolute turmoil. Meanwhile, the U.S. national debt continues to grow and wealth continues to leave the United States at a dizzying rate. (Read More....)
 This week headlines across the United States screamed that new home sales in the U.S. had declined to the lowest level since the U.S. government began keeping track in 1963. But in the news stories covering this data in the mainstream media, they were always very careful to give their readers lots of reasons why things are going to "get back to normal" very soon. But the truth is that is simply not going to happen. Right now the United States is heading for another real estate crash. The only thing that has been holding it back was the huge bribe (called a tax credit) that the U.S. government was giving people to buy houses. Now that the tax credit has expired, there is no artificial incentive to buy homes and the real estate market has fallen through the floor. Unfortunately, there is every indication that things are going to get even worse. Read on to find out why.... (Read More....)
 Over the past several months, many in the mainstream media have hailed the slight improvement in the U.S. real estate market as a "housing recovery". But the truth is that the small improvement in the numbers was primarily due to a significant number of Americans attempting to squeeze their home purchases in before the huge home buyer tax credit expired at the end of April. Now that there is no more giant tax incentive, real estate professionals all over the United States are fearing the worst. Mortgage defaults and foreclosures are still at record levels, and a giant "second wave" of adjustable rate mortgages is scheduled to reset in 2011 and 2012. In addition, there are numerous indications that the U.S. economy as a whole is going to experience a dramatic downturn shortly, and if that happens it is going to be really bad news for the housing industry. So are we about to see "Housing Crash Part 2"? (Read More....)
 In 2010, record numbers of Americans are defaulting on their mortgages. For most of them, it is because they simply cannot afford the mortgage payments any longer. But for a growing number of Americans, the decision to stop paying on a mortgage is not because of financial hardship. Rather, after taking a hard look at the numbers, many Americans are simply deciding to walk away rather than continuing to make monthly payments on a home that has dramatically declined in value. It is called a "strategic default", and it is a phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. So why have strategic defaults increased so dramatically? Well, in some areas of the United States, homes are only worth about half of what they were going for at the height of the market. So what is the morally right thing to do in that situation? Should someone "honor the contract" that they signed and continue making payments no matter how hard it hurts, or is the morally right thing to stop making payments on the mortgage in order to put your family in a better financial position? (Read More....)
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