An investor's website has recently totalled up last month's mortgage foreclosure announcements, and it appears that the total is in the ballpark of 100,000 homes nationwide. If future foreclosures continue at this rate, this would result in an annual total of about 1.2 million foreclosures and forced sales over the next year.
In perspective, 1.2 million is pretty close to the total amount of new homes sold last year.
The point of contention, assuming that the foreclosure rate doesn't increase any further, and also assuming that the ability of willing home buyers to qualify for and obtain mortgage financing under acceptable terms doesn't decrease any further, is that the total demand for new home purchases next year can be met via housing stock that will be put up for forced sales due to mortgage foreclosures - with most of that forced sale housing stock having been recently constructed !
This does not bode well for homebuilders who are trying to market newly constructed homes, nor for speculators who are trying to get out from under second homes bought on 'spec', nor for any other potential seller of a recently constructed home.
It does, however, imply that rental properties are going to be the one remaining 'hot sector' in real estate, as 1.2 million families are likely to be forced to find apartments to rent !



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