In 2008, banks, financial institutions and other mortgage lenders made over 860,000 foreclosures. According to RealtyTrac, which collects and compiles foreclosure data from more than 2,200 counties in the United States, over 3 million notices were received by homeowners which sets the motion for the foreclosures process.
Compared to 640,000 new residential constructions in 2008, RealtyTrac concluded that the number of foreclosed homes in 2008 was higher than housing starts. The 640,000 new home constructions were the lowest figures in decades and far below the historical 1 million mark.
The data showed that mortgage lenders seized over 200,000 properties more than the number of homes built by developers.
In previous market downswings, when the annual housing starts declined below a million mark, the housing market quickly rebounded.
However, the continuous increase in the number of distressed properties shows that the expected recovery is still unattainable. And with the housing market flooded with repossessed homes at bargain prices, demand for new houses and condominiums took a precipitous dive.
According to RealtyTrac, the number of homeowners, who are in some form of foreclosure, increased by 41 percent as of December 2008.
This increase happened despite aggressive efforts by government-sponsored enterprises, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. or Freddie Mac and Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae to abate the flood of foreclosures in the country and stabilize the housing market.
Economists do not see any immediate relief on the worsening housing market problem in the country. They predicted that for 2009, housing starts will experience another decline, probably 20 percent or 30 percent. They also predicted that new home construction will start to pick up by 2010.
Based on these given figures, it could be said that housing starts will reach its 500,000 mark this year while the number of foreclosed properties could tap the 1 million level.
Leticia Carvalho has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosures market over 5 years. Read about the following article Housing Starts Down Due to Foreclosures
by Leticia Carvalho on EForeclosureMagazine.com - Your online source of foreclosure news.
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