Archives of Monthly News Updates
for a Time of Transition
Credit Crisis, Housing Foreclosures and Debt
September, 2008
- November, 2009
December, 2009
* More Middle-Class Professionals Homeless New Jersey Star Ledger, 12/7
November, 2009
*
Foreclosure Expected to Keep Rising thru 2010
LA Times 11/20
October, 2009
* Millions More Headed for Foreclosure Wall Street Journal 10/22
* Foreclosures Force Ex-Homeowners to Turn to Shelters New York Times 10/18 One in ten people seeking shelters as a result of foreclosures.
September, 2009
* US Consumer Bankruptcies Up 24% in August Reuters, 8/2
August, 2009
* Mortgage meltdown continues to worsen
Home
Mortgage Defaults Rise to Record 13% Los Angeles
Times 8/20
* Lenders lash credit for 24 million borrowers, even
for the the virtuous
Falling Credit Limits Crunch Consumers USA Today
8/20 While relying less on credit is essential, credit
is yet another safety net unraveling that's particularly unsettling when it
occurs through no fault the borrowers.
* Beach communities overrun by homeless
needing places to park
Ventura Co Sees Increase in Mobil Homeless LA
Times 8/11
Coastal Commission Sues over Parking Permits LA
Times 8/11
* Banks unable to process many efforts to
avoid foreclosure
Home Sellers Frustrated as Short-Sale Deals Collapse
USA Today 8/5
July, 2009
* Age 65 and up carry $10,235 in average credit
card debt, up 26%
Credit Card Debt Rises Faster for Seniors USA Today
7/28
* Record number of families being put up in
motels
American Swap Homes for Hotels Reuters 7/10
* 32% jump in non-urban homelessness
Homelessness in Suburbs and Rural Areas Increases
USA Today 7/9
* Banks go under from gorging on "Hot Money" instead
of serving customers.
For Banks Wads of Cash Loads of Trouble New
York Times 7/7
* Study cites lack of profit in failure to
aid distressed homeowners
Lenders Avoid Re-Doing Loans
Fed Concludes
Boston Globe 7/7
* Landlords reluctant to evict during winter
are less hesitant now that it's warmer.
Summer Brings a Wave of Homeless Families
NY Times 7/7
*
More consumers squeezed by higher food and fuel
prices turned to home equity loans to stay afloat now tapped out
Home Equity Delinquencies Climb to All Time High
Bloomberg 7/7
* After bail out, interest rates up to 15 million
U.S. credit cards
Report on Rise in Credit-Card Rates
Reuters 7/1
*
Renters being forced
from their homes is on the
rise as foreclosures increase
Renters Hit by Foreclosure Crisis Too
Washington
Independent 7/1
* Defaulting becomes
socially acceptable
Gas When Is It Cheaper to Ditch a Home
than to Pay
Wall Street Journal 6/27
June, 2009
* Millions expected to be unable to pay off credit
card debts
Banks Brace for Credit-Card Write Off's
New York Times
5/10
* Even inserting many limitations on relief not
enough to inspire Senators to provide help for those losing their homes
Senate Kills Mortgage Relief Bill Global Research,
5/3
* Defaulting becomes
socially acceptable
Gas When Is It Cheaper to Ditch a Home than to Pay
Wall Street Journal 6/27
* Some grown children find home
prices lower than for their parents
Medium Housing Prices Ball below 1989 Los
Angeles Times 6/12
* About 5.4 Almost half of the overall increase in new
foreclosure this quarter were for fixed-rate loans
Foreclosure Crisis Bleeds into Prime Territory
USA Today 6/9
May, 2009
* About 5.4 million of the
country’s 45 million home loans were delinquent or in some stage of the
foreclosure process in the first three months of the year
More Homeowners Facing Foreclosure New
York Times 5/28
* American homeowners with once
solid credit falling behind
Job Loses Push Safer Mortgages to Foreclosure New York Times
5/24
* Millions expected to be unable to
pay off credit card debts
Banks Brace for Credit-Card Write Off's New York Times
5/10
* Defaults on jumbo loans to
the affluent jumps 127%
Rich Default on Luxury Homes Like Subprime Victims
Bloomberg, 5/7
* U.S. homes lost $704
billion in value during the first quarter and have depreciated $3.8 trillion
in the past 12 months
More than One in Five Homeowners Is Underwater Reuters, 5/6
* Educated, middleclass workers
join ranks of the homeless
Tent Cities Filling Up with Casualties of the Economy USA
Today 5/5
* Even some affluent in high-end places find
themselves facing off with landlords
Once Very Good Rent Payers Facing Eviction New York Times
5/5
* Banks cut losses by tearing down
unsold housing developments
Now that's a Housing Crash New York Times 5/5
Taken together these three
articles are pathetic!
*
The concept of "homes as the foundation of middle class wealth" has been
radically modified.
Home
Ownership and Wealth Accumulation/Destruction Of Two Minds
5/5
* Even inserting many limitations on relief not
enough to inspire Senators to provide help for those losing their homes
Senate Kills Mortgage Relief Bill Global Research, 5/3
April, 2009
*
One in every 159
homes was in foreclosure in the last 3 months. Filings in March
46% higher than last year.
Foreclosures Take a Big Jump USA Today, 4/16
*
Why we haven't hit
bottom yet.
Background on 50% Housing Drop
Of Two Minds 4/16
*
Unable to sell homes or find new jobs, fewer people
changed residences last year than any time since 1962
Slump Creates Lack of Mobility for Americans NY Times 4/11
Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse has predicted
that soon if not already many people will be stranded where ever they are.
* Unprecedented glut
of vacant homes ... will change the real estate landscape for years.
Open House Anyone? One in Nine Homes Sit Empty
USA Today, 4/10
* Delinquencies increase with unemployment
Consumers Fall Behind on Loans a Record Rates
USA Today, 4/10
* Civil disobedience rises as
borrowers or renters refuse to leave homes after foreclosure
With Advocates' Help, Squatters Call Foreclosures Home
New York Times 4/9
This is a sign of
one of the stages of collapse Dmitry Orlov describes in his book
Reinventing Collapse,
a point when citizens
become so disillusioned with the abilities of official government leadership
to respond to their needs that they disregard their laws.
*People threatened by the economy
can't hold on as cities and counties see a sharp increase in homeless
families
Homelessness Edges Up as Families on Edge Lose Hold
USA Today, 4/6
March 2009
*
First wave of unemployment foreclosures may be
hitting home
Despite Housing Help Foreclosures Rose 6% in February
USA Today 3/12
*One out of five U.S.
mortgage holders is now upside down.
Rise in Underwater Homeowners Seen
Los Angeles Times 3/6
* Nearly 250 residential developments with a combined total of 9,389 houses and condominiums have been halted just in California
As Projects Grind to a Halt; Home Sites Turn to Waste Land Los Angeles Times, 3/2 Maybe this land could be put to use for local gardens
February, 2009
* Home sales plunge
unexpectedly, drop 5.3% in January
Home
Sales Drop to the Lowest in 12 Years MSMBC 2/25
* More then 14 million homes, condos,
and apartments vacant
No One Home: Record 1 in 9 Housing Units Empty
USA Today
2/13
* Worst housing slump since the
Depression. Housing in default account for 45% of all transactions
U.S. Home Prices Decline 12% LA Times Feb 13
December, 2008
* One
in 10 US borrowers are either delinquent or in foreclosure
Foreclosures Soar 76% to 1.36 Million
CNN Money 12/5
November, 2009
* The
two economic factors contributing most to foreclosures are falling home
prices and rising unemployment.
Mounting Job Losses Fueling Foreclosure CNN
Money
11/7
*
One fifth of U.S. mortgages are upside down.
More U.S. Homeowners Have Mortgage Higher than House Is Worth
Bloomberg, 11/1
October, 2008
* "American consumers owe nearly $2.6
trillion in non-mortgage debt, or about $8,460 for every man, woman, and
child... Credit card debt alone is approaching $1trillion.
"Personal Debt a Public Problem
Los Angeles Times
10/22
*
"Consumers are increasingly unable to pay off their credit
cards, forcing banks to hoard cash to protect against future losses and lend
to fewer people, according to reports yesterday from several of the nation's
largest banks."
Banks Hoard Cash Washington Post 10/17/08
*
Many are having a tougher time paying their bills.
Consumer Debt Default Looming Large
USA Today 10/2
November, 2008
*
More than 1 million bankruptcies
expected in '08
More
Consumers File Bankruptcy
USA Today
11/5