NPR has been reporting on the housing crisis since the beginning, and here they offer a detailed look at what has happened in the real estate industry in the last few years. People all over the country, can relate to the story of Lot 354 in Los Angeles, CA.
Before foreclosures, short sales, loan modifications and subprime mortgages became a hot dinner table topic, the real estate climate was very different. Real Estate agents were overwhelmed with business, and people were urged to “buy now,” and advised that the market could only go up. It became easy to buy a home, and a new pool of people who previously would not qualify for a loan, could easily purchase a house. People who already owned, refinanced, and there was a flurry of people renovating and flipping properties. It didn’t matter what you paid, you just had to get into the market. Most everyone believed that the value would just continually increase, that was until 2007.
In 2007 risky mortgages were defaulting, major banks and investment firms were going under, and the real estate market started to plummet. Things only got worse in 2008. More banks were filing bankruptcy, more people fell behind in payments and realized they owed more than the house was even worth.
Today, there are more than Five Million homes in foreclosure and finding buyers to purchase these homes is not easy. It is a buyers market, with low interest rates and even lower prices. Listen to the piece by NPR and you will to truly understand how we got here as a country.
Tags: foreclosure, Home sales, housing, maine foreclosure, mh solutions, mortgage, real estate, short sale
