Some recent headlines to cheer you up

Robert Shiller Says Double Dip Imminent
...those looking to sell houses are advised not to listen to the interview, as the co-creator of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index also added that he is worried housing prices could decline for another five years. He noted that Japan saw land prices decline for 15 consecutive years up to 2006.

Non-Current, REO Mortgages Reach 7.3m in March: LPS
More than 7.3m mortgages in the US are non-current or in REO status through March 2010, according to the Lender Processing Services (LPS) Mortgage Monitor report.

Nearly 1m More Mortgages Go From Current to Delinquent: LPS
Thursday, August 26th, 2010, 5:10 pm
Almost 900,000 loans that were current at the beginning of the year are at least 60 days delinquent or in foreclosure as of July, according to the July 2010 month-end report released by Lender Processing Services'(LPS). How long these loans are staying in the foreclosure process is stretching out as well. The average number of days a loan spends delinquent before it is finally forecloses reached 469 days in July, about a year and three months. In July of last year, the average was 351, more than three months shorter.

The total amount of loans in the foreclosure inventory passed 2 million in July, a 3.5% increase from a year ago, and 2.1% more than the previous month. The amount of foreclosures making it to REO status is picking up after diving earlier in the year. LPS reported nearly 100,000 REO properties in July.

GSE Foreclosure Starts Start Coming Faster in 2010
The level of foreclosures starts in mortgages owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government sponsored enterprises (GSE), is at its highest point ever in 2010 as the rate of new foreclosures continues to increase.

REO levels in July reach second highest point ever: RealtyTracIn July, 92,858 properties went back to the banks as REO, the second highest monthly total since RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace, began tracking them in April 2005.

My point in posting these headlines...We've got a ways to go. The TV 'experts' continue to trivialize every negative report on housing in an effort to keep the DOW above the magic 10,000. Having no job or a tenuous job status does not translate into a desire to buy a home (or to keep paying on a home that is upside-down). If you are thinking of selling...do it now; if not, you need to be in for the long haul. If you are thinking of buying, you, too, need to be in it for the long haul.

As you have probably ascertained if you have read even a small number of my posts, I am not your typical "toe-the NAR-propaganda-line" agent. If you are a homeowner and want to have an honest discussion about the current market...call me. If you are thinking about buying now, also, lets talk and see if that is the best decision for your circumstances.

My direct line is 561-602-1258. If I don't pick up, please leave me a message.

As always...thanks for reading.
Steve