The U.S. is five years into its worst housing crisis since the 1930s. A number of Americans hope the crisis is finally coming to an end. Sales of homes are now starting to rise and the decline in home prices is slowing down. Foreclosures decreased by 33% in 2011 to hit the lowest number in four years.
However, part two of the housing crisis looks set to unfold shortly. A large number of homeowners will now face losing their homes during 2012, as foreclosures will pick up once again.
One analyst said as far as foreclosures are concerned, we are back at square one, similar to two years ago. Some analysts even said that the number of foreclosures in 2012 would exceed those of 2010.
Five of the country’s major banks agreed to a settlement with all but one of the states last February. Signs point to the number of foreclosures increasing once again, which housing experts say, will weigh on the sales prices of homes causing yet again a period of time to lapse before a sustained recovery will occur.
Even though the number of foreclosures starting now are 50% less than the same period two years ago, those started by Deutsche Bank are over 47% higher than figures in 2011 for the same period. Wells Fargo foreclosures were up 68% and in Bank of America the numbers were seven-fold higher.
