Most economists are reluctant to say anything positive about this economic recovery. Homeowners by the thousands are falling farther and farther behind on their loan payments.
There are many St Louis finance experts who say a rebound is surely expected. But consumers are less than optimistic given the fact the more and more homes are currently in foreclosure.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that over 10 percent of home loan consumers have missed one or more mortgage payments in the first quarter of 2010.
This has become a new record high showing a big jump in the number of borrowers who have missed three months of mortgage payments.
Numbers are saying that 3.7 percent of mortgage owners have now missed at least one payment due to this slow economic recovery.
A more sobering number puts this close to 8 percent of consumers who are currently at risk at losing their home or 4.4 million people closer to foreclosure.
And if any of the loan modification programs fail to help these consumers, their properties will go up for sale either as a foreclosure or a short sale.
St Louis home loan experts are afraid that due to the continual dip in home prices that a double-dip recession may be on the horizon.
Some are predicting that home prices will fall about 5 percent and hit bottom in the spring of 2011.
Maybe the government got one thing right during this crisis. That was the Federal tax credits which boosted house sales this past spring and summer.
The Mortgage Bankers Association recently said that when this program ended, mortgage applications dropped to a low not seen in over 13 years.
Others say that heating bills and holiday expenses normally push mortgage delinquencies higher near the end of the year which explains needed statistical adjustments due to seasonal factors.
Then when spring comes, most consumers seem to get caught up on their St Louis mortgage loans.
And with so many homeowners in foreclosure, it shows that the Obama administration’s $75 billion foreclosure prevention program hasn’t accomplished its real purpose in slowing these numbers.
Some of the catalysts that has kept our economy in the proverbial toilet has been unemployment or reduced income which continues to keep these distressed homeowners in fiscal limbo.
But the biggest factor that contributed to this mortgage crisis was the less than stellar lending standards.
But even those who had good credit and took out fixed-rate home loans are now becoming the biggest group to be foreclosed upon.
In addition, the often misused adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) loans that kicked off the foreclosure crisis are now making up a smaller share of new foreclosures with only 14 percent of new foreclosures in the first quarter which was down 27 percent just a year ago.
But the good news is the number of homeowners starting to show early financial trouble is going downward. Let’s hope this trend continues throughout 2011.
To learn more about a St Louis mortgage, stop by Floyd J. Tapia’s site at http://www.LibertyLendingConsultants.com/StLouisMortgage where you can find real tips about securing a St Louis loan. We also invite you to call us at 314-334-0210.
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