Foreclosures Still 'Astronomically High'

Media sales price hits lowest level in almost 9 years

(AP) - Fewer Americans bought previously occupied homes last month, and those who did purchased them at steep discounts. The weak sales and rise in foreclosures pushed home prices down to their lowest level in nearly 9 years. Sales of previously occupied homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million, said a Realtors' group; that's down 9.6% from 5.4 million in January. More»

(NEWSER) - A witch’s brew of factors is cursing the US housing market, reports the New York Times, driving home prices ever lower as they search for bottom. Rising unemployment, higher interest rates, lower wages, and a glut of foreclosures are likely to continue to keep the market depressed through much of 2009 as the economy slips into recession, experts caution. More»

ARM holders will see payments soar as their mortgages reset

(NEWSER) - America’s subprime victims may have grudgingly accepted their fate, but there’s a new class of borrowers primed to suffer, BusinessWeek reports. Homeowners who took out ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, will soon face skyrocketing payments as their loans reset. About a million people have the mortgages, but only a small number have already fallen due. “It's a ticking time bomb inside your house that you can't get rid of,” one insider said. More»

But prices drop drastically as lenders bite the bullet

(NEWSER) - April generally was not a great month for home sales, the Wall Street Journal reports—except in the areas hardest hit by the subprime crisis as lenders slash prices on foreclosed homes and buyers snap them up. Subprime-riddled Detroit, for example, has seen home sales rise 48% in the past four months over last year; but prices have dropped 56%. More»

Fed agencies to offer aid to help Americans during credit squeeze

(NEWSER) - The government will roll up its sleeves and aid homeowners battered by the subprime mortgage crunch, but it will forsake “speculators” trying to exploit the crisis, President Bush said today. The FHA will step in and help delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing at lower rates, but experts predict more than 2 million Americans will lose their homes, Bloomberg reports. More»