The Short Sale Doctors

Housing Crisis Takes Psychological Toll On Americans

FebruAmericans losing homesary 09, 2010, MikeColpitt

The psychological toll levied by the housing crisis has been nearly as devastating as the jolt to American pocketbooks, with nearly a third of homeowners considering abandoning their mortgages if the market worsens. Culprits in the collapse include house-flipping media hype, an array of financial sector co-conspirators and an administration that has been quick to bail them out. See the following article from Housing Predictor for more on this.

Percentage of Vacant Homes Ticks Up

The percentage of vacant homes in the U.S. rose from 2.6 percent to 2.7 percent in the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

There were 2.09 million vacant properties available for sale, up from 1.99 million, the Census said. This number includes both listed properties and those that banks are holding without listing.

“The market was propped up by the original tax credit and now we are starting to see underlying weakness,” says Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight. “The extension of the credit, so far, is not having much of an effect.”

Source: Bloomberg, Kathleen M. Howley (02/02/2010)

Record 19 Million U.S. Homes Stood Vacant by 2009

A record 19 million U.S. homes stood empty at the end of 2008 and homeownership fell to an eight-year low as banks seized homes faster than they could sell them.