You’d have to think that, at some point, the Commerce Department is going to lose interest in reporting the monthly housing starts data since, if the graphic below were an EKG, the patient would clearly be dead.

via  Seeking Alpha.

The Obama administration is examining ways to pull foreclosed properties off the market and rent them to help stabilize the housing market, according to people familiar with the matter.

via WSJ.com.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes hit a seven-month low in June as demand for condominiums fell and contract cancellations surged, dampening hopes the distressed housing market was starting to improve.

via Reuters.

Where is the boom that inevitably follows a deep bust, such as we experienced in 2008 and 2009?

But there is no mystery. What other result would you expect from the financial ruin of the once-great American middle class?

via  News from Yahoo! Finance.

We’re living that nightmare right now. Real estate data firm CoreLogic reports that nearly a fifth of us owe more on our homes than they’re actually worth. For those who figured that there wasn’t a problem using a house as collateral to take out second mortgages and home equity loans, that figure bumps up to a spooky 38% of us underwater.

via  (LEN).

Real estate investors will outnumber traditional borrowers 3 to 1 during the next two years, a new survey says, helping clear millions of repossessed properties from banks’ books and pave the way for a recovery.

via - latimes.com.

Although lower prices encourage true bargain hunters to look for deals, they can also scare off homebuyers. And, between the two, anxiety is winning

via msnbc.com.

Realtors are hoping an uptick in home prices reported on Tuesday is the beginning of a turnaround, but industry experts say it’s too soon to tell if the improvement is anything other than a seasonal blip.

via NPR.

ata released by Lender Processing Services LPS Tuesday puts the number of home mortgages that are delinquent or in foreclosure at 6,350,000.

via DS News

Here are some charts showing nominal and real (CPI inflation-adjusted) housing declines in 20 Case-Shiller metro areas. Charts are grouped by 10 least expensive and 10 most expensive areas. Additional tables show housing declines from the peak. An explanation follows the charts.

via Mish’s Global Economic Trend