2010 Foreclosure Explosion
1,050,500 homes repossessed last year. I’m oddly calm when I see a number that big talking about foreclosures. That’s a record high since this kind of thing became tracked. It’s up 14% from just the year before (and 4 times what it was in 2006). So how are we supposed to react to this?
Well, for starters we’ve all seen it coming. Foreclosures were just piling up all year long, with no real dents being made by any programs. Maybe you could have shut your eyes up to a certain point. But by the Fall it was becoming obvious even to Washington that these homes were going to foreclosed on.
And the huge number isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong. It’s awful that folks stuck in tough situations lost their homes. Moving should be a heartwarming experience full of sad goodbyes but a brighter future ahead. That’s going to be a tough sell for a lot of people out there. But if we’re looking at the bigger short sale investing picture, the market is just ripening for a strong move. The giant backlog of properties might just be enough to get serious real estate investors back in the game.
But as in everything else in life, there are two ways to look at every situation. Well, lots more than two ways really. And when it comes to the housing market, a wave of foreclosures like this in such a short time is sure to keep prices down and mortgage-paying families struggling a lot longer than they would otherwise.
The only way to really move things is to really move yourself! Don’t sit by and wait for things to sort themselves out. That just means you’ll have missed your chance. Now, 2011, is your year to move the real estate market the right way.
