October Home Sales Up. Meh.

Bear with me … I’m working through something here …

I’m beginning to think that anyone who says that “next year, the (Charlottesville) real estate market is going to be better” is either uninformed, lying or delusional. I could be wrong.

Buy smart.

From the Wall Street Journal:

About one in seven American households with mortgages is behind on payments or in foreclosure, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. That is up from about one in 10 a year ago.

The trade group reported Thursday that 14.4% of first-lien mortgages on one- to four-family homes in the third quarter were 30 days or more overdue or in the foreclosure process. That is the highest since the MBA began reporting such data in 1972 and works out to about 7.5 million households at risk of losing their homes. The percentage is up from 10% a year earlier and 7.3% two years ago.

Another Wall Street Journal:

The proportion of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than the properties are worth has swelled to about 23%, threatening prospects for a sustained housing recovery.

…

These same falling prices have boosted home sales from the depressed levels of last year. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of previously occupied homes in October jumped 10.1% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million, the highest since February 2007.

The bump in sales was ahead of forecasts, spurred by falling prices, low mortgage rates and a federal tax credits for buyers. Congress recently expanded and extended the tax credits.

Calulated Risk:

The MBA reports a record 14.4 percent of mortgage loans were either one payment delinquent or in the foreclosure process in Q3 2009. This is an increase from 13.2% in Q2 2009.

Foreclosures to peak in 2011.

And then there’s this –

From the Wall Street Journal’s Development’s blog (h/t Real Cville Bubble Blog):

“Homeowners should be walking away in droves,” Brent T. White, an associate professor of law at the University of Arizona, wrote in a discussion paper. “The real mystery is not—as media coverage has suggested—why large numbers of homeowners are walking away, but why, given the percentage of underwater mortgages, more homeowners are not.” (Read his full paper.)

I have yet to find good, accurate information on loan information in the Charlottesville MSA. One component to this economic crisis has been the lack of credible, accurate information. I’m working on finding more data …

I mean not to be negative, but realistic.

Maybe I just need to read more positive stuff.