Current Housing Indicators |
| CURRENT | PREVIOUS | ||
| Existing Home Sales | 4.49m | ▼ | 4.74m |
| New Home Sales | 309,000 | ▼ | 344,000 |
| Housing Starts | 583,000 | ▲ | 477,000 |
| Building Permits | 547,000 | ▲ | 531,000 |
| HMI | 9 | UNCH | 9 |
| Existing Home Prices | $170,300 | ▼ (annually) | $199,800 |
| New Home Prices | $201,100 | ▼ (annually) | $232,400 |
More Videos
- BofA On Proposed Changes In The Housing Bailout Program
- Predictions 2010: Real Estate
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- Treasury On Mortgage Modifications
- Citi Mortgage Reveals What Treasury Won't
- Investors May Skew Housing Reality
- 100% Mortgage Financing From USDA
- Despite Government Aid, Foreclosure Crisis is Not Improving
- Housing Data Delivers Mixed Messages
- Appraisals Now Center Stage in Housing Recovery
MOST SHARED
- GE, Comcast Complete Deal Over NBC Universal: Source
- Keeping America Great
- New Incentive To Improve... Your Home, That Is!
- Japan Business Mood at One-Year High: Reuters Tankan
- Lightning Round OT: Incyte, Randgold Resources and More
- Look Ahead: Markets Count Down to US Jobs Report
- Australia Parliament Rejects Carbon Trade Laws
- Predictions 2010: Technology
- Unemployment to Peak at 10.5%: Moody's Economist
- 8 Stocks to Gain on Obama's Afghan Plan: Analysts
- BofA On Proposed Changes In The Housing Bailout Program
- The Future of The Media Landscape
- November Auto Sales Muddle Along
- Busch: What Obama Won't Say Tonight
- Stick with Equities—Avoid Emerging Markets: Laszlo Birinyi
- Pfizer Chomps On A Carrot
- Predictions 2010: Technology
- GM Removes CEO Henderson; Whitacre is Interim Chief
- Who Were the Biggest Winners And Losers This Year?
- Look Ahead: Markets Count Down to US Jobs Report
- GE, Comcast Complete Deal Over NBC Universal: Source
- US May Raise Rates Before Jobs Recover: Fed's Plosser
- Cramer: Watch Tech Stocks Wednesday
- Stocks Likely Don't Need Santa to Keep Rally Going
- Super Fantasy Christmas Gifts of 2009
- Larry Kudlow's Open Letter to Tiger Woods
RSS FEED
Realty Check
Text Size 
 |
CNBC.com |
Well I finally found a concise explanation from Rick Sharga of the online foreclosure marketplace, RealtyTrac (yes, I know they list foreclosed properties on their site for a fee, so toss your grain of salt in, but I've confirmed this with others):
The voluntary programs to date have been doomed to failure for a couple of reasons. First, they were all voluntary, and didn’t provide lenders or loan servicers any “cover” that would allow them to get out of the contractual requirements they had in terms of foreclosure proceedings. Second, the huge pool of securitized loans really weren’t easy to do modifications or workouts on, since multiple parties had to agree to the terms (hedge fund managers, investment fund managers, etc.).
Third, the types of programs that HOPE NOW pushed initially--the loan “workouts”--generally don’t work out for homeowners in financial distress. Even the Mortgage Bankers Association estimated that over a third of the loans in workout programs would ultimately wind up back in foreclosure.
And finally, as if all that weren’t enough, the sheer volume of loans in foreclosure simply overwhelmed the system’s ability to process the workouts and loan modifications. There are no blanket solutions in the process; each loan needs to be researched, analyzed and addressed individually. As the number of loans in trouble has risen exponentially, the lenders simply haven’t been able to hire rapidly enough to keep pace.
This is not to say that some people are getting the help they need. They are. But it's still not enough to stem the tide. Of course, in any necessary market correction, there will be necessary pain.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes