The Second Foreclosure Tsunami Is Coming, And Is About To Kill Any Hopes Of A “Housing Bottom”
Here’s the simply math: there will be no housing bottom until the 9 million excess homes clear. Period. Until then it is a buyer’s market, even if said buyer is unable to obtain bank financing, as ultimately it will be the seller who is forced to monetize (or vacate if underwater) their home in a world of ever diminishing cashflows. The fear of the supply onslaught will only make the dumpage that much faster.
Courtesy of RealtyTrac we know how many homes were foreclosed upon in the period until November 2010, when robosigning became a prevalent, if short-lived issue, or roughly 330,000 a month. In the aftermath, this average has dropped to 227,000 a month: a roughly 100,000 difference in less foreclosures each month! Which means that in the deferred amount of foreclosures, over and above the already endogenous deterioration in home prices and declining household income, means that there is at least 1.6 million in homes that are just waiting for a green light to be foreclosed upon.
I guess its bloomberg vs zerohedge on this one:
California specific:
http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2012/mar/california.cfm
location, location, location :)