The Obama administration has begun patting itself on the back for its progress in helping many troubled homeowners to avoid foreclosure due to its various federal programs. However, an oversight panel has released a statement criticizing President Obama’s program, warning that it will actually end up leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to losing their homes to foreclosure.
The Congressional Oversight Panel, a group created to keep an eye on taxpayer bailout funds, has said the administration’s predictions of how many homeowners the programs will save are vastly overstated. According to the COP, the program would most likely only prevent less than …read more

As expected, foreclosures in the United States are up so far in 2009. According to a report by RealtyTrac, the first half of 2009 saw a 15% rise of United States households that are on the brink of losing their house to foreclosure.
The jump in foreclosures and near-foreclosures is tied to the economy and the rising unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is especially damaging since it’s difficult to get another job in a timely manner due to companies cutting jobs across the board. As a result, many families have lost their homes prior to being able to find another job.
In …read more

While national home prices have fallen again to a level that has not been seen since 2002, there is evidence that the situation may have hit rock bottom and is creeping back upwards for some areas of the country.
According to The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price index, home prices have fallen 19.1 percent in the first quarter compared to last year, 32.2 percent compared to their peak in 2006. The drop from last year to today represents the largest drop in the history of the index.
Home prices vary remarkably from city to city depending on the local economy, foreclosure …read more

The median price of a home in Southern California is $247,000, a staggering 36 percent drop from last April, when the median price was $385,000. Foreclosures have resulted for more than half of all sales, with 54 percent of all previously owned and resold properties the product of foreclosure.
Sales, on the other hand, have risen 31 percent from last year, which analysts have attributed to a decline in median price that does not accurately reflect the decline in value of the homes. Foreclosure discounts have pushed home prices beneath the actual value of the homes themselves and these properties are …read more

According to a recent report, foreclosures in the United States were significantly up for the month of March. With more and more people having the means to make ends meet combined with the struggles of the banking industry, the result is an astonishingly high number of foreclosures.
From February to March, foreclosures were up 17%. Comparing March 2009 to March 2008, foreclosures are up nearly 50%. In the first quarter of 2009, the report indicates that foreclosures are up almost 25%.
Foreclosures are an epidemic that President Barack Obama has targeted to try to get under control. He has talked about a …read more

Banks are walking away from foreclosures.

On Friday, Fannie Mae announced they are extending the suspension of all eviction proceeding through March 31, 2009. The company is implementing the Home Affordable Refinance and Home Affordable Modification initiatives as part of the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program, thus causing the extension.
Additionally, Fannie Mae has created special foreclosure sale requirement in response to the Making Home Affordable program.
At financialstability.gov, you can learn more about the Home Affordable Refinance and Home Affordable Modification options. On the website, you can use their self-assessment tools to find out if you are eligible for the initiatives.
Also on the government …read more

BusinessWeek recently ran an interesting story about homeowners who are paying a whopping 50 percent — or more — of their monthly incomes on mortgage and other housing payments. You can read the story here.

The latest bit of creative genius that I’ve discovered comes by way of The New York Times, which details the story of a couple who, unable to sell a home that was nearing foreclosure, held a raffle to get the home off their hands. Yes, a raffle.

Election officials and voting-rights groups are worried that many of the millions of U.S. homeowners who lost their residences to foreclosure will also lose their chance to vote in the upcoming presidential election.