Current Housing Indicators |
| CURRENT | PREVIOUS | ||
| Existing Home Sales | 4.91m | ▼ | 5.02m |
| New Home Sales | 460,000 | ▼ | 520,000 |
| Housing Starts | 817,000 | ▼ | 872,000 |
| Building Permits | 786,000 | ▼ | 857,000 |
| HMI | 14 | ▼ | 17 |
| Existing Home Prices | $203,100 | ▼ (annually) | $224,400 |
| New Home Prices | $221,900 | ▼ (annually) | $236,500 |
- Fear Gripping Commercial Real Estate—But Question Is Why?
- Reasons NOT To Modify Troubled Home Loans
- Bailout For Builders—Are They Next In Line?
- Homeowners: Not Just About Buying—It's Also About Investing
- Bailout Anger Boiling: "Is Kashkari A Chump?"
- That $300 Billion Hope For Homeowners Isn’t Working
- Frank Vs. Paulson: Just Who Has It Right On Mortgage Defaults?
- Citi Jumps On Mortgage Modify Bandwagon: Does It Really Help?
- Fannie Mae's Future Looks Pretty Grim—Downright Scary
- Home Loans: The Case For And Against Modifying Them In Court
- Pops & Drops: Hewlett-Packard, JP Morgan & Air Wagoner
- Mad Money Green Week: Owens Corning
- Fast & Furious: It's All About Soup
- Web Extra: The Trade on Walmart and RIMM
- Chartology: Grossly Oversold and Favoring the Upside
- The "Armageddon" Gameplan
- What's Next for Citigroup?
- What to Expect From a Geithner-led Treasury
- Value Trading Opportunity of a Lifetime?
- HP Earnings: How Much Will "Hurt" From Economy?
- Obama Warns On Economy: Works On Stimulus Plan
- Citigroup's Ills May Signal Market Isn't Near Bottom
- US Inflation Bonds Hit by Deflation, May Recover
- Pros Say: Market Will Drop 5-10% — Ford Will Boom
- Bonds Drop on Profit-Taking, Geithner Move
- Jack Welch on Detroit: Let Them Go Bankrupt
- Bank Shareholders Face 'the Unthinkable': El-Erian
- Heinz Profit Rises, Thanks to Hedging

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As builders put projects on hold, laborers are finding themselves out of work and unable to make their mortgage payments, not to mention that fewer are now coming into the area because there are fewer jobs to be had. Not surprisingly, Prince William County now has some of the highest foreclosure rates in the region. What’s strange is that in August, the region had the lowest unemployment rate of any metropolitan area in the country. The trouble is, that of course doesn’t measure the illegal population.
Prince William County also recently instituted new and “ambitious” policies to crack down on illegal immigrants. So it begs the question: if illegal immigrants are driving the housing market, then does driving them out make sense when the market is in such turmoil? Not all of these immigrants are in the home building sector, so many may be able to make their house payments just fine, unless of course they lose their jobs or their ability to be here.
I know the immigration debate is, arguably, a testy one, but in the context of the housing slowdown, it’s certainly an added dimension that should be considered. Some politicians have brought up housing and home building in arguments involving illegal immigration, but only now are we really beginning to see the coinciding numbers. As illegal immigrants leave the county, they are leaving empty foreclosed properties behind. Nearly 20% of the county’s population is Hispanic, and an estimated 7-8% are illegal, so the danger of further damage to the housing market is real.
I’m torn on this one. I’m no fan of illegal immigration. I just wonder, which is the lesser of two evils? The illegal immigrants living in our neighborhoods, or the empty neighborhoods they leave behind when they’re forced out?
Questions? Comments?



