22 March 2010
Mortgage analysts have estimated that mortgage investors and banks have held a total of 645,000 of foreclosed homes in their inventory for the month of January, 2010. This number up from 617,000 in December, 2009. It would appear that supply is rising again due to banks determining that many homeowners will not and do not qualify for home loan modifications. This will mean more foreclosures in the near future. The outlook for sales of foreclosed homes depends heavily on whether the economy continues to heal and manages to create enough jobs to boost demand for housing. It also depends on how many distressed borrowers can be rescued from foreclosure through loan modifications. Nearly eight million households, or 15% of those with mortgages, are behind on mortgage payments or in the foreclosure process.