The Mortgage Crisis- A message to my father

It our job as top producing real estate agents to stay current on the housing market...locally and nationally. It is also our job to educate our clients on the market. And, selfishly, in an effort to support the facts that I have been saying to my father for the past 12 months, I felt the need to post this information. (Dad, are you there??)

Here are some interesting national statistics I received from "my numbers guy", Michael Farrell, Assistant VP of Bank of America Home Loans, Mid Atlantic region:

*A new record was hit today – 14.41% of ALL U.S. mortgages are currently in default. Keep in mind 4 states make up 43% of all foreclosures (California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona)
* First time ever, Prime mortgage delinquencies out number sub-prime delinquencies. This is due to job loss and the difficulty in modifying Prime loans due to already “good” rates and it’s not about a bad loan
* FHA loans rate of default has increased again (again still mainly in 4 states)
* The amount of loans currently in default and in foreclosure now exceeds the number of homes for sale today.

So to my father, The Mortgage Crisis goes far beyond the fact that lenders gave bad loans to unqualified buyers. The banks are not the sole reason for the issues we are seeing in the housing market. You are not bailing out people who 'got in over their heads' and made poor financial decisions. The economy as a whole is impacting the housing market. Don't be so bitter.. By the way, I love you, Dad!

Carmelle