It’s always good to have something to look forward to.
Well, try this one on for size: J.P. Morgan Chase is reportedly projecting ahead into the not too distant future and has concluded that bank-owned sales “as a share of total home sales will remain at current or even higher levels three years from now…” reports the Wall Street Journal.
The bleak forecast covers more than 50 percent of the top ten largest housing markets in the U.S.
For example, according to the paper, REOs (real-estate owned—or bank-owned sales) should “account for between 39% and 50% of homes sales in Phoenix in the fourth quarter of 2012, up from 37% at the end of last year.”
Apparently, the bank recognizes what many critics of mortgage loan modification have long known: even when a permanent modification is given to a homeowner ( which, more times than not, is not the case!), it is often just a short term fix. Down the road, the distressed homeowner is still a candidate for foreclosure for a variety of economic reasons.
If Chase is right, Americans are likely to be living with generally negative real estate news for years to come. And, isn’t 2012 a presidential election year!

Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman


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If the bank predictions are this dire, why is it that the NAR and other pundits see sunshine down the line? Makes no sense.