FACTS

Did you know... Rounding out the top ten states with the highest foreclosure rates were Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee, Indiana, and Michigan.

Did you know... A total of 223,651 homes across the nation received at least one notice from their lenders last month alone related to over due payments, a number that is up 59% from a year earlier (according to RealTracs)

Did you know... The nation experienced a 75% increase of foreclosures alone in 2006 – 2007 with an even higher growing number in 2008?

Did you know... In the state of Tennessee, once your house is listed to be foreclosed on, you are only given 3 to 4 weeks before you lose your home completely?

Did you know... In the case of foreclosure, your lender has the right to pursue what is called a deficiency judgment against you? This is the difference between what the bank sells your house for and what you owe on the property, an amount that is often times a staggeringly high number!

Did you know... The average amount of days a house currently sits on the market is between 60–90 days! That's 2 to 3 months – a whole lot of time that you do not have to spare when facing foreclosure!!!

Did you know... In order to refinance, you will need a minimum of 25% equity in your home and that doesn't even guarantee you a full line of equity?!

News Clips

U.S. to Revamp Credit Rules, Drawing From Crisis Lessons (Wallstreet Journal - wsj.com)
Amid the housing market’s deepening slump, mounting defaults by chash-strapped homeowners and an upswing in foreclosures have made investors wary of mortgage-linked securities and have made those securities increasingly difficult to value and trade. That’s led to turmoil in global financial markets.

click here for full article:  www.wsj.com

Decline in Home Prices Accelerates (Wallstreet Journal - wsj.com)
The decline in U.S. home prices accelerated in the fourth quarter, according to the two leading barometers, compounding two of the biggest threats facing the nation’s economy: faltering consumer spending and tight credit markets.

click here for full article:  www.wsj.com

Mortgage Fallout Exposes Holes in New Bank - Risk Rules (Wallstreet Journal - wsj.com)
Today, in Washington, D.C., the Senate Banking Committee is expected to grill federal regulators on what went wrong. Did banks know how much risk they were taking? Did thy know how much capital they needed to cushion them from sour loans? Did they prepare themselves adequatley for the evaporation of "liquidity," or thier ability to easily sell their securities or loans? The answer to all three questions appears to be "no."

click here for full article:  www.wsj.com

Housing, Bank Troubles Deepen
Foreclosures Reach A New Record; Home Equity Falls (Wallstreet Journal - wsj.com)
Two crucial baromets of the nation’s housing market have worsened markedly in the recent months, ratcheting up pressure on policy makers in Washigton for action to stem the growing housing crisis and its widening impact on the nations’s financial system.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, the number of American homes entering foreclosure rose to the highest level on record. Meanwhile, homeowners’ share of the equity in their homes fell to a post-World War II low.

click here for full article:  www.wsj.com

Housing Woes: Interest Rate Increases and Foreclosures (ABC News - abcnews.com)
Adjustable-Rate Mortgages and Rising Interest Rates Leave Many Americans Staring at Foreclosure

click here for full article:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=1750615

Foreclosures jump 60% in February (Boston.com)
US home foreclosure filings jumped 60 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in February as rates on adjustable mortgages rose and property owners were unable to sell or refinance amid falling prices.

click here for full article:  http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/03/14/foreclosures_jump_60_in_february/

1.1 million homeowners to face foreclosure (OC Register - www.ocregister.com)
The United States likely will see 1.1 million foreclosures during the next six to seven years on adjustable-rate mortgages issued when home prices were at or near the peak of the market, a study released today by First American Corp. of Santa Ana says.

click here for full article:  http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1623608.php

Feb. Foreclosure Report: Are We at Bottom Yet? (www.foreclosurepulse.com)
February foreclosure activity was down 4 percent from the previous month but still up 57 percent from February 2007, according to the latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. So does the monthly decrease mean we've hit a ceiling of sorts for this cycle in terms of foreclosures?

Probably not.

The February monthly decrease is more likely a seasonal decrease helped along by a shorter-than-average month and the fact that January's numbers are often padded with some pent-up foreclosure activity from the holiday season. That premise is supported by looking at the numbers in February 2007, when U.S. foreclosure activity was down 6 percent from January. Foreclosure activity continued to climb for the remainder of that year.

click here for full article:  http://foreclosurepulse.com/archive/2008/03/13/5582.aspx

Fed Chief Warns Anew on Foreclosures (New York Times - www.nytimes.com)
Warning about a gathering wave of home foreclosures, Ben S. Bernanke pledged new regulations to limit the impact and crack down on predatory mortgage lending.

click here for full article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/business/14cnd-fed.html

Bernanke: Fed to try to ease pain from foreclosures (Reuters www.reuters.com)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday pledged the U.S. central bank will make every effort to soften the damage from a wave of home foreclosures, which he said stem partly from reckless lending.

click here for full article:  http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSWAT00913820080314?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

Recession looms as sales sink, foreclosures climb (Rocky Mountain News - www.rockymountainnews.com)
February retail sales dropped, foreclosures soared and import prices and inventories rose in more worrisome signs that the country could be falling into a recession.

click here for full article:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/14/recession-looms-as-sales-sink-foreclosures-climb/

Home foreclosures set record as amount of equity hits low (Denver Post - www.denverpost.com)
Home foreclosures hit new highs and the amount of equity in homes reached new lows as the housing crisis escalated across the United States in 2007, new figures showed Thursday.

click here for full article:  http://www.denverpost.com/ci_8565513

Foreclosures in city continue to climb (New York Daily News - www.nydailynews.com)
A new wave of foreclosures washed over the city last month amid a deepening nationwide crisis.

click here for full article:  http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/03/14/2008-03-14_foreclosures_in_city_continue_to_climb.html

Home sales fall to lowest level since 1999 (MSNBC - www.msnbc.com)
There are two big headlines from the housing market in California. Foreclosures are up and the median price of a home is down.

click here for full article:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23335173/