Henry Paulson: Many foreclosures “not preventable”

[Ex-SD]

From The L.A. Times, LA Land blog by Peter Viles

It’s not usually news when someone states an obvious truth, but if you haven’t noticed, stating the obvious is often considered risky behavior in Washington.

That said, I felt this worth of passing along, from the AP: ” ‘Many of today’s unusually high number of foreclosures are not preventable,’ Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (pictured) said in prepared remarks to a mortgage-lending forum meeting in Arlington, Va. ‘There is little public policymakers can, or should, do to compensate for untenable financial decisions.’ ”

More: “Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year.”

Relatedly, the head of the FHA today warned Congress not to “dump bad loans on us.” From Bloomberg News: “Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery criticized legislation being considered by the Senate this week that would expand the agency’s role in curbing foreclosures.”

More: ” ‘Some in Congress want to turn it into a mega-mortgage agency, in effect federalizing the mortgage market,’ Montgomery said at a conference today hosted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Arlington, Va. ‘Some want to dump bad loans on us, many that never should have been made in the first place.’ ”

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to [email protected].

[feraina]

Oh, finally someone in the federal government talking straight — so I thought — then, I saw this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/home-price-data-may-overstating/story.aspx?guid=%7B54BA6E52-EB9E-4B5E-ABA2-669C17610AD4%7D&dist=msr_1#comments

“The government’s data on home prices may be overstating the weakness of the market.”

“Paulson said that home prices typically include foreclosure sales, which usually occur at a discount. In some cities, foreclosure sales have spiked. For instance, foreclosure sales in March were 29% of sales in Los Angeles, Paulson said. Existing home sales appear to have flattened, Paulson said, which could mean that demand for housing is stabilizing.”

So climbing foreclosure sales don’t count as part of the market? What kind of logic is this?

[feraina]

Oh, finally someone in the federal government talking straight — so I thought — then, I saw this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/home-price-data-may-overstating/story.aspx?guid=%7B54BA6E52-EB9E-4B5E-ABA2-669C17610AD4%7D&dist=msr_1#comments

“The government’s data on home prices may be overstating the weakness of the market.”

“Paulson said that home prices typically include foreclosure sales, which usually occur at a discount. In some cities, foreclosure sales have spiked. For instance, foreclosure sales in March were 29% of sales in Los Angeles, Paulson said. Existing home sales appear to have flattened, Paulson said, which could mean that demand for housing is stabilizing.”

So climbing foreclosure sales don’t count as part of the market? What kind of logic is this?

[feraina]

Oh, finally someone in the federal government talking straight — so I thought — then, I saw this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/home-price-data-may-overstating/story.aspx?guid=%7B54BA6E52-EB9E-4B5E-ABA2-669C17610AD4%7D&dist=msr_1#comments

“The government’s data on home prices may be overstating the weakness of the market.”

“Paulson said that home prices typically include foreclosure sales, which usually occur at a discount. In some cities, foreclosure sales have spiked. For instance, foreclosure sales in March were 29% of sales in Los Angeles, Paulson said. Existing home sales appear to have flattened, Paulson said, which could mean that demand for housing is stabilizing.”

So climbing foreclosure sales don’t count as part of the market? What kind of logic is this?

[feraina]

Oh, finally someone in the federal government talking straight — so I thought — then, I saw this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/home-price-data-may-overstating/story.aspx?guid=%7B54BA6E52-EB9E-4B5E-ABA2-669C17610AD4%7D&dist=msr_1#comments

“The government’s data on home prices may be overstating the weakness of the market.”

“Paulson said that home prices typically include foreclosure sales, which usually occur at a discount. In some cities, foreclosure sales have spiked. For instance, foreclosure sales in March were 29% of sales in Los Angeles, Paulson said. Existing home sales appear to have flattened, Paulson said, which could mean that demand for housing is stabilizing.”

So climbing foreclosure sales don’t count as part of the market? What kind of logic is this?

[feraina]

Oh, finally someone in the federal government talking straight — so I thought — then, I saw this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/home-price-data-may-overstating/story.aspx?guid=%7B54BA6E52-EB9E-4B5E-ABA2-669C17610AD4%7D&dist=msr_1#comments

“The government’s data on home prices may be overstating the weakness of the market.”

“Paulson said that home prices typically include foreclosure sales, which usually occur at a discount. In some cities, foreclosure sales have spiked. For instance, foreclosure sales in March were 29% of sales in Los Angeles, Paulson said. Existing home sales appear to have flattened, Paulson said, which could mean that demand for housing is stabilizing.”

So climbing foreclosure sales don’t count as part of the market? What kind of logic is this?

[Sandi Egan]

[quote=Ex-SD]
“Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year.”
[/quote]

If I remember correctly, the famous Credit Swiss report predicted a total of 2.5 million foreclosures during this crisis (2007-2010). Are we ahead of the curve? What percentage of foreclosure starts ends up on the auction?

[Sandi Egan]

[quote=Ex-SD]
“Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year.”
[/quote]

If I remember correctly, the famous Credit Swiss report predicted a total of 2.5 million foreclosures during this crisis (2007-2010). Are we ahead of the curve? What percentage of foreclosure starts ends up on the auction?

[Sandi Egan]

[quote=Ex-SD]
“Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year.”
[/quote]

If I remember correctly, the famous Credit Swiss report predicted a total of 2.5 million foreclosures during this crisis (2007-2010). Are we ahead of the curve? What percentage of foreclosure starts ends up on the auction?

[Sandi Egan]

[quote=Ex-SD]
“Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year.”
[/quote]

If I remember correctly, the famous Credit Swiss report predicted a total of 2.5 million foreclosures during this crisis (2007-2010). Are we ahead of the curve? What percentage of foreclosure starts ends up on the auction?

[Sandi Egan]

[quote=Ex-SD]
“Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year.”
[/quote]

If I remember correctly, the famous Credit Swiss report predicted a total of 2.5 million foreclosures during this crisis (2007-2010). Are we ahead of the curve? What percentage of foreclosure starts ends up on the auction?

[Author]

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