Recovery? What Recovery?
The Nattering One muses... Long Term Unemployment, Foreclosures and the Ghost Inventory are up. Well, at least one thing is going down, Housing Prices.
This is for all the pollyannas who think that a recovery is under way and the economy has turned the corner...
The omission is... the economy flipped over three times, struck a tree and burst into flames.
Read em, weap and NEVER FORGET, dangling chads in Florida, shady Diebold machines in Ohio, and ALL the IDIOTS (now politically reinventing themselves) that voted for Shrub Jr and Chaney's eight year reign of terror are DIRECTLY to blame.
Now, Now, baby ducks, you do have something to look forward to, as we've nattered all along, we haven't bottomed yet and the worst is yet to come.
Long Term Unemployment Up
The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits.
The number of unemployed has been roughly stable this year. Yet the number receiving benefits has plunged 30 percent.
Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.
The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that each $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates up to $1.90 in economic growth.
Foreclosures Up
The U.S. foreclosure rate has climbed to its highest level in seven months, suggesting that lenders are moving beyond a "robo-signing" scandal that had temporarily slowed bank takeovers, according to a private firm that tracks the activity. This could dry up the pipeline of inventory and improve the market for a time, but a major uptick in foreclosures might hurt the market later.
Home Prices Down, Ghost Inventory Up
Record low mortgage interest rates appeared to have put a floor under home values this summer. After falling steadily last winter, the CoreLogic index flattened out this summer.
But the latest drop leaves home prices 4.1 percent lower than they were in September 2010.
The outlook for home prices remains clouded by the continuing wave of foreclosures that has left the market with many more sellers than buyers.
Some banks have slowed the pace of foreclosures to avoid adding more unsold inventory to their books. As lenders slash prices of foreclosed properties, those “distressed” sales force prices of all homes lower.
"The acceleration in the rate at which the CoreLogic house price index is falling reflects the slowing in the pace of job creation and wider economic growth earlier this year," said Paul Diggle, a housing economist with Capital Economics.
Though mortgages are cheap for those who qualify, banks are only lending to those with top credit scores. Some would-be buyers are waiting for signs that prices have bottomed.
Demand has also been held back by the millions of American households that are “underwater” –- owing more on their loan than their house is worth.
“Against this backdrop, we don’t think house prices will post consistent gains for at least another two years,“ said Diggle.
There were 3.5 million homes on the market in September, or about 8.5 months’ worth of supply based on the current level of demand, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Housing analysts generally figure that supply and demand are well balanced with about a six months’ supply of homes.
But with millions of foreclosures stalled in the courts or on hold by banks, there is a large “shadow” inventory that continues to weigh on prices. Diggle figures there are about 4 million homes in that pipeline.
This is for all the pollyannas who think that a recovery is under way and the economy has turned the corner...
The omission is... the economy flipped over three times, struck a tree and burst into flames.
Read em, weap and NEVER FORGET, dangling chads in Florida, shady Diebold machines in Ohio, and ALL the IDIOTS (now politically reinventing themselves) that voted for Shrub Jr and Chaney's eight year reign of terror are DIRECTLY to blame.
Now, Now, baby ducks, you do have something to look forward to, as we've nattered all along, we haven't bottomed yet and the worst is yet to come.
Long Term Unemployment Up
The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits.
The number of unemployed has been roughly stable this year. Yet the number receiving benefits has plunged 30 percent.
Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.
The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that each $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates up to $1.90 in economic growth.
Foreclosures Up
The U.S. foreclosure rate has climbed to its highest level in seven months, suggesting that lenders are moving beyond a "robo-signing" scandal that had temporarily slowed bank takeovers, according to a private firm that tracks the activity. This could dry up the pipeline of inventory and improve the market for a time, but a major uptick in foreclosures might hurt the market later.
Home Prices Down, Ghost Inventory Up
Record low mortgage interest rates appeared to have put a floor under home values this summer. After falling steadily last winter, the CoreLogic index flattened out this summer.
But the latest drop leaves home prices 4.1 percent lower than they were in September 2010.
The outlook for home prices remains clouded by the continuing wave of foreclosures that has left the market with many more sellers than buyers.
Some banks have slowed the pace of foreclosures to avoid adding more unsold inventory to their books. As lenders slash prices of foreclosed properties, those “distressed” sales force prices of all homes lower.
"The acceleration in the rate at which the CoreLogic house price index is falling reflects the slowing in the pace of job creation and wider economic growth earlier this year," said Paul Diggle, a housing economist with Capital Economics.
Though mortgages are cheap for those who qualify, banks are only lending to those with top credit scores. Some would-be buyers are waiting for signs that prices have bottomed.
Demand has also been held back by the millions of American households that are “underwater” –- owing more on their loan than their house is worth.
“Against this backdrop, we don’t think house prices will post consistent gains for at least another two years,“ said Diggle.
There were 3.5 million homes on the market in September, or about 8.5 months’ worth of supply based on the current level of demand, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Housing analysts generally figure that supply and demand are well balanced with about a six months’ supply of homes.
But with millions of foreclosures stalled in the courts or on hold by banks, there is a large “shadow” inventory that continues to weigh on prices. Diggle figures there are about 4 million homes in that pipeline.
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