Housing--a pressing issue

Driving around newer subdivisions, in some areas of the country, it is not unusual to see four or five homes for sale, some with notices of short sales, on one small street. The net effect of this situation is families losing their homes. The current forecast for home appreciation is, at the highest, no more than 4.9% for the highest appreciating market in the U.S. in Biloxi, Mississippi. The worst U.S. market is in Ontario, California losing 24.5% value during 2008.

See http://www.housingpredictor.com/worstmarkets.html

For years members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been counseled by their Prophet leaders to get out of debt. Those that heeded the counsel have nothing to fear in a market of falling housing prices. Those who fell victim to the greed of the housing bubble, are many of those now losing their homes to foreclosure.

The FDIC predicts that 1 out of every 200 homes in America will be foreclosed on and every three months 250,000 new families enter into foreclosure.

See http://www.fdic.gov/about/comein/files/foreclosure_statistics.pdf

The FDIC says that "More than 6 in 10 homeowners delinquent in their mortgage payments are not aware of services that mortgage lenders can offer to individuals having trouble with their mortgage."

Maybe it is also time to listen to the voice of the Prophet.