The Problems Haven’t Gone Away

In: Housing Source: WSJ US Economy

29 May 2009

image

Well, the banks are close to being recapitalized, so that brings us roughly back to where we started (minus 5 million jobs and $11 trillion in wealth). But while that is a necessary condition for recovery, many of the other original problems (excessive household debt, for example) just keep chugging along.

“About 5.4 million of the country’s 45 million home loans were delinquent or in some stage of the foreclosure process in the first three months of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. [.] The figures released Thursday suggested that prime fixed-rate loans were supplanting risky subprime loans and rising adjustable-rate mortgages as the force behind the foreclosure crisis. In the first quarter, a seasonally adjusted 6.06 percent of all prime loans were delinquent.” (WSJ)

Comment Form

You must be logged in to post a comment.