There is no real surprise here, but the I must admit the number of homes currently in foreclosure is astounding. One million homes on the block is hard to imagine.
Here’s the skinny.
From CNN Money by Chris Isidore entitled: Homes in foreclosure top 1 million
“More than one million homes are now in foreclosure, the highest rate ever recorded, according to a trade group which warned Thursday that number will continue to climb.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s first quarter report showed that a record 2.5% of all loans being serviced by its members are now in foreclosure, which works out to about 1.1 million homes. That’s up from the 2% of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in foreclosure at the end of 2007.
The report also showed that 448,000 homes, or about 1% of loans being serviced, began the foreclosure process during the first quarter. That’s up from about 382,000 homes, or 0.83%, that entered foreclosure in the last three months of 2007.
The seasonally-adjusted rate of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments also hit a record high. Nearly 3 million home loans, or 6.4%, have missed at least one payment, while about 737,000 are at least three months past due, but not yet in foreclosure.
The figures aren’t surprising, but they’re pretty ugly nonetheless,” said Michael Larson, real estate analyst with Weiss Research. “We’re talking higher delinquencies and foreclosures pretty much across the board.”
And he doubts that there’s much reason to expect the foreclosure crisis to abate until next year at the earliest, adding that it could be a couple of years or more before foreclosure rates retreat to more normal historical averages.
“It’s the same story we’ve been seeing for a while now – we had too much reckless lending, and buyers who got over-extended,” he said. “We’ve had an unprecedented decline in home prices on a nationwide basis, which is public enemy number one for mortgage loans. And now you’ve got an overall economy that has slowed adding to this toxic stew.”
The toxic stew grows……
Here by the way, is a quick video of the foreclosure mess from where else—-California.
