Has nothing to do with the economy. It’s people’s consumer credit catching up with them.
For those who like meaningful numbers, “Owners of some 3,570 properties” in Raleigh-Cary have gotten “some sort of foreclosure notification”
Still not good, I guess, but it may provide some perspective.
Excerpt:
* * * About 2.2 million vacant homes were for sale in the first quarter, up from 2.1 million in the fourth quarter and about one million more than was typical before the housing bubble burst.Economists say the rising vacancies indicate that home prices won't stop falling and home builders can't ramp up construction until the glut of vacancies can be worked down.
"It's the worst piece of housing news that we've heard in the past couple of months," said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist at Global Insight. "It means home prices will continue to drop at least for the remainder of the year." * * *
The WSJ has it wrong. Home prices are down nearly 50% from the highs set back in 2005. Prices will continue to fall through all of 2009 and 2010.
Regardless of what Bernanke thinks his plan to save his Wall Street cronies will backfire. The big boys will get their 'Golden Parachutes' worth millions in retirement compensation. But most of us will be forced to live on stripped down pensions and/or 401(k) programs will lose value over time.
The Fed has raped the USD and stolen billions from people who save and invest hard earned money. In the meantime, corporate medical plans are amended ruthlessly for retired workers. Group insurance costs for a husband and wife can easily run over $ 800/ month. If you are one of the unlucky who cannot afford medical insurance, you will risk being wiped out by catastrophic medical expenses. Which, in turn, will set you up to lose your home via foreclosure in a few years. Yada, yada, yada.
Want to learn more? Or, perhaps you just want to roll back under your blankets: Go back to sleep, dear sheeple. There is nothing to see here. Time to move on.