By Mo Choumil

Americans are very angry. Just look at all the people protesting on Wall Street and Main Street. They have lost everywhere and every way you look at things. Perhaps the worst example comes from the fact that so many are losing their homes. Many are saying the American dream of home ownership is dead.
The statistics on nationwide foreclosure memorandums back me up on this. In September of 2011, 1 in 605 homes in the United States received a foreclosure memorandum. That’s 70,710 homes in the month of September alone! Between 2009 and now, U.S. home equity has lost $1.9 trillion due to nearby foreclosure memorandums. Foreclosures were up a staggering 164% between 2006 and 2010.
California, Florida, and Michigan hold the top three spots in the percentage of new foreclosures. Despite changes in legislation at both the national and state levels, predatory mortgage lending cost consumers $9.1 billion every year. Since 2001, the market for subprime home loans exploded, and it has become painfully obvious that the total cost of bad lending practices is almost incalculable.
But don’t lose the faith….foreclosure rates are actually finally on the decline in the past few months. In September of 2010, the number of foreclosures in the United States was 332,172. In September of 2011, they dropped to 214,885. Let’s see some more “positive” statistics about forecloses! During the first three months of 2011, foreclosures hit a three year low, thus showing things are moving in the right direction. In addition, the percentage of loans classified as seriously delinquent or 60 or more days past due or in foreclosure is at 8.79%, down 35 basis points from July of this year. So there is some good news sprinkled in with the bad. Remember that real estate has always been a long-term investment and not for the feint at heart! Stay tuned to this blog for what we all hope is more good news on the horizon!

October 26, 2011 at 5:41 PM Posted by Mo Choumil