The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that there have now been 1,000,000 foreclosures filed so far in 2009.  It also noted that the Mortgage Bankers Association’s most recent data shows some 12% of all mortgages are delinquent.  It gets worse.  The group expects this 2009 foreclosure number to more than double.

This is not likely to kill the SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB) with its ETF shares still up 3% at $12.47, but it is also unlikely to give any great credit to the notion that housing is going to make a screaming return out of the blue.  Imagine what this does to the phantom housing inventory when you include the properties which banks are holding off the market for months.

The CRL projects some 2.4 million foreclosure starts for 2009.  It also believes these will drive down the value of some 70 million homes by a number of about $7,200.00 per family.  The total tally is being put north of $500 billion. And if this sounds bad, just like in an infomercial “BUT WAIT, THERE’s MORE!”

Through 2012, the center sees at least 9 million foreclosures, which will ultimately cost 92 million neighboring families a total of some $1.9 trillion.  The report today says that there is a foreclosure every 13 seconds, coming to nearly 6,500 per day.

The notion of the study is that loan modifications are not likely to succeed with “superficial fixes that fail to lower monthly payments.”  The new guidelines are earlier intervention and modifications which will lower monthly payments.

The Center’s website even has a foreclosure meter on it, which it now shows as over 1.01 million on the tallied 2009 foreclosures.

Unless the Center for Responsible Lending also sponsors a Center For Responsible Living to make millions of borrowers and consumers realize that they have to live within their means, then only half of this battle is being fought for what lies beyond this economic mess.

Jon C. Ogg
June 1, 2009

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