FireDream

What the Media Doesn’t Tell You About the Housing and Mortgage Industry

The housing crisis.  The credit crunch.  Unscrupulous lenders.

Between the media’s daily recession report and the testimony on Capitol Hill lately, we’re all waiting for the imminent collapse of our economy.  Surely mortgage companies are waiting at our doors, waiting to grab the keys from our hands and toss us into the streets.

Here’s what they don’t tell you: Over 95% of mortgages in the United States AREN’T IN FORECLOSURE.  In fact, according to statistics published by RealtyTrac, the state with the highest percentage of homes in foreclosure in 2007 was Nevada, at 3.376%.  The national average: 1.033%.

Listen, I’m not belittling the impact that the foreclosure process has on the individual or family who is going through it.  It’s a tough time, and no one wants to see it happen.  I’m also not disputing that foreclosure rates have climbed, or that they are likely to continue to climb in the face of the number of ARM’s that are soon set to reset.

What I am saying is that we need to realize that despite all of the doomsday news, the overwhelming majority  of American homes are not in default.

Are we seeing a decrease in home values?  Yes, in some areas of the country.  The market is cyclical-it always has been and it always will be.  A downward readjustment can be expected after any period of exponential growth.  The folks in Nevada, California, Arizona and other states that were enjoying the benefits of rapidly-increasing home values are now seeing decrease that was sure to come.  Given time, it will adjust upwards again.  It always has and there is no reason to believe that it won’t again.

What could delay the recovery is the kind of news that promulgates the airwaves, newspapers and the web.  The news that tells us that the economy is failing and that there are no ethical mortgage lenders left in the western world.  The way that news outlets play it, it seems that we all left the building and turned out the lights.

With decreasing mortgage rates and a buyer’s market in many areas, what we should be hearing is that it’s a better time than ever to consider purchasing or refinancing a home.  What we need to hear is some good news for a change.