By Cliff Montgomery – Apr. 18th, 2009
Nearly one quarter of U.S. households fell into danger of losing their homes during the first three months of2009–a free-fall that certainly will grow as the big banks renew foreclosures after a short break, stated datareleased Thursday.
Hence the faltering American economy may hinge on President Obama’s plan to aid about nine millionborrowers facing foreclosure via re-financed mortgages and modified loans.
The Obama Administration hopes its strategy will help curtail the foreclosure crisis. The problem? The verybanking industry which Americans saved just months ago may not fully accept it, even with $75 billion worth ofincentive payments.
So while we were forced to save the bankers, they may still refuse to save us.
And this possible refusal is no longer from lack of money on their end. The New York Times on Friday reportedthat the banking industry is “showing glimpses of a recovery.”
“On Thursday, JPMorgan Chase became the latest bank, after Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, to announceblockbuster profits in the first quarter,” added the Times.
The Associated Press (AP) on Friday noted that while “Citigroup lost money and General Electric’s profitsfell…both beat Wall Street’s expectations as investors look for further signs that the economy has begun tostabilize.”
AP, the Times and other corporate media types have yet to understand that Wall Street profits doesn’tnecessarily mean that the economy is just fine on Main Street.
As bankers rake in the money, foreclosures continue to spread. Almost 804,000 American households weresent at least one notice discussing the possible foreclosure of their home during the first quarter of 2009.
This is over 150,000 more notices than were sent out during last year’s first quarter, according to a study fromRealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing company.
Over 340,000 properties across the nation were impacted in March alone–a jump of 17% from February and afull 46 percent from last year.
Foreclosures “came back with a vengeance” in March and probably will continue to rise, RealtyTrac SeniorVice President For Marketing Rick Sharga was quoted as saying to AP in another article released yesterday.
Nearly 191,000 properties were repossessed by the banking industry from January to March 2009. Thoughforeclosures were down 13% from the last quarter of 2008, they are expected to rise again through thesummer.
“In RealtyTrac’s report, Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida had the nation’s top foreclosure rates,” statedthe AP article which discussed the foreclosure listing company’s study. “In Nevada, one in every 27 homesreceived a foreclosure filing, while the number was one in every 54 in Arizona.”
“Rounding out the top 10 were Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Utah and Oregon,” added AP.
Why the sudden return of foreclosures? Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, along with several bigbanks, had temporarily ceased their foreclosure activity before Obama officially announced his plan–perhaps inthe hope that by doing so, the final White House strategy might not force them to change their ways too much.
And to be fair, six big banks–including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo–have signed contractswith the Treasury Department to process loans in accordance with the administration’s “Making Affordable” plan.
But with the Obama plan finally released, the banks now know which struggling borrowers won’t qualify forassistance. Hence the mortgage industry now has begun to foreclose on ineligible borrowers.
The next few months probably will see a steady increase in foreclosures, especially on second homes, vacanthouses, and those currently held by speculators, as such properties do not qualify for any loan assistanceunder Obama’s program.
And don’t think that the administration’s plan will instantly save an average American’s only home, either.
“Many borrowers and consumer groups claim the modifications offered by the lending industry don’t do enoughto help cash-strapped homeowners,” according to AP, “despite more than a year of public prodding fromregulators.”
“Fewer than half of loan modifications made at the end of last year actually reduced borrowers’ payments bymore than 10 percent,” AP added.
