Jack Lewitz

When it comes to predicting the state of the economy and the real estate market its like looking at a glass of water.

Is it half full or half empty?

Neither.

We are no where near a recovery nor are we at the bottom.

STOCK MARKET:

In the short run the stock market will get better before housing .

People who have lost a lot of personal wealth are anxious to make up some of that loss.

With low interest rates on CD’s, Treasuries, The Stock market appears to be half full.

REAL ESTATE

Real Estate is another story. Real estate in general lags behind other markets and with unemployment data at 10% nationally I think the Real Estate Market glass is half empty.

I predict we will see more foreclosures as more people are going to be unable to modify their loans or pay their mortgage while unemployed.

I think home prices will continue to decline because of the increase in foreclosures.

I think there will be fewer home buyers due to tighter credit, or if the First time Home buyer credit is not renewed or if FHA runs out of money.

According to the Home Builders Association there will be fewer new homes being built due to lack of credit and financing.

I would love to hear your comments….

During the past six (6) months we continue to see high volume of foreclosures in all five (5) counties.
What appears to be shifting is the number of foreclosure sales versus the number of short sales.

The reason for the increase in foreclosures can be explained in different ways.

One would expect the number of foreclosures to increase when the State Moratorium on Foreclosures was lifted.

Another reason is buyers in general are not willing to wait for a Short Sale to be approved by a bank and are looking to get the best price and are opting to purchase Bank Owned properties.

>

Foreclosures affect all of us directly and indirectly. The impact of a foreclosure goes well beyond the individual borrower and lender. Foreclosures also affect neighbors, local business, and municipalities.

We all understand the monetary costs to foreclosure but how about the social costs to foreclosure?

Who hasn’t driven down a street and noticed a real estate sign posted on a vacant home and wonder “What happened to the people who lived in that house?”

As more homeowners are faced with foreclosure we need to come up with more inovative programs to deal with the problem. We need better foreclosure prevention programs, we need neighbors and municipalites working together to monitor any dangerous or criminal behavior associated with foreclosures and vacant building.

We need better communication with lenders, local governments, neighbors, and homeowners. We need better accountability where lenders and municipalities work together to share the costs related with foreclosure and then ways to recover those costs.

While the number of foreclosures present challenges I am confident that these challenges will present opportunites for people to work together to solve the problem we are all faced with when it comes to foreclosures.

Its time we stop saying ” There goes the neighborhood”

Top 5 Reasons You Should Not Hide from Your Lender

1. The problem will not go away.

2. Your lender does not want to own your Home.

3. There is a solution to your problem other than Foreclosure

4. Your credit can be repaired.

5.You can be helped only if you want to be helped.

“Yes it is safe to come out from hiding”

Illinois Bank Losses Cost FDIC a Pretty Penny.

The Top 12 Illinois Bank Failures of 2009 report from Chicago Tribune:

These 12 Illinois Bank lost a total of $869 Million Dollars this year or 25% of total bank assets a little under $3.5 billion.

All of this money was insured by FDIC.

FDIC total Losses on a National Level are estimated to be $12.7 Billion with $42 Billion in total Bank Assets.