Posted on 12/08/2013 7:51:35 AM PST by whitedog57
While foreclosure activity as a whole has been declining in the U.S., there are still some unnerving aspects to the housing and mortgage recovery. So, it’s time for “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”
The good. According to RealtyTac, overall U.S. foreclosure activity is down 23 percent year-to-date through October 2013.
The bad. Foreclosure activity on properties in the $5 million-plus value range is up 61 percent from the same time period in 2012. And most of it is concentrated in Florida and Los Angeles. I designate Atlanta as an honorary coastal city since Georgia does have properties on the Atlantic ocean (e.g., Savannah).
rt5millforc
True, this is a small part of the housing market and these are jumbo mortgages and likely not purchased or insured by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the FHA. Still, it does represent a worrisome trend, much like when (over) actor Nicolas Cage defaulted on two mortgages in New Orleans for millions of dollars.
Nicolas-Cage-ghost-rider
Financial problems plague some wealthy Americans like Nick Cage, but who really cares? On the other hand, I do care about the ongoing plight with real median household income in the U.S.
The ugly. Real median household income in the USA has plummeted from $56,351 in January 2000 to $52,299 in October 2013. However, it has been slowly increasing since August 2011.
household-income-monthly-median-since-2000dec
Note the difference between nominal median household income (red) and real median household income (blue). The difference is inflation (that The Fed claims doesn’t exist).
Either they are no longer millionaires, just broke people who splurged when they had high incomes, or they are lowlife scum millionaires who are choosing to walk away from a moral obligation to pay their debts just because it's more profitable than acting with integrity. [Note: I recognize that some on FR disagree and see the mortgage as a mere contract with a penalty clause but no moral dimension. I see the mortgage as a promise to pay that carries a moral dimension, as all promises do.]
Besides the moral it is a legal contract and the banks can sue and collect. Now they haven’t done it because of the bad press. Thing is there’s no statute of limitation on mortgages. It’s only a matter of time.
It is a combination of both.
By the way, huge numbers of people, millionaires, hundred thousand aires, ten thousand aires, it did not matter, they are all walking away from underwater mortgages.
“lowlife scum” in this case is all classes top to bottom, but I blame the banks for writing non recourse loans when in Canada, all loans are recourse loans (if you walk away from the mortgage, you still have to pay unless you go bankrupts.)
How many were “Nagger Rich”?
Wait until Ocare sinks in. On average a 41% increase. So take off another 6.4% from the household.
I am looking forward to the wealthy not mortgaging their homes, but having them built from scratch. And not “McMansions”, but quality homes they hope will last generations.
It's never made sense for a house to have a mortgage of more than $250,000 (even now). If a person can't afford more house than they need, how are they ever going to maintain it?
All the home building today is pretty much code driven.
Very little craftsmanship or even trades skills remain.
It’s tough enough to get the contractor to actually read a set of prints and specs. They glance at it for general dimensioning, then build by off the shelf techniques.
That would require a return of very cheap skilled labor, certainly. Most of the heirloom type of estate houses around here were constructed no later than the Great Depression. I’ve been in a house many times with stunning paneled rooms, coffered ceilings and the like, that were built in the thirties by a master cabinetmaker who lived in the servant’s quarters and exchanged his skills for food, shelter and a little pocket money for himself and his small family. You do what you have to do.
Throw in a 30 yr mort. 30 yrs to pay on a house. Dam.
Foreclosure down 23% YTD.
Most people have already lost their homes. This stat is not a plus. Its like employment. Once you lose your job you can’t lose it again.
Rich people are just as capable as us proles at living above their income level, maybe more so.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/08/11/mortgage-bankers-association-strategically-defaults-on-office-space/
Mortgage Bankers Association Strategically Defaults on Office Space By: David Dayen Wednesday August 11, 2010 7:04 am And here I thought it was immoral to strategically default: Like millions of American households, the Mortgage Bankers Association found itself stuck with real estate whose market value has plunged far below the amount it owed its lenders. But the trade group for mortgage lenders is refusing to say exactly how it extracted itself from that predicament.
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