Although the US economy is said to be recovering, foreclosure filings in the U.S. are likely to reach record high levels in 2009, topping out at 3.9 million, RealtyTrac Inc., said today.
Bloomberg: This year’s filings will surpass 2008’s total of 3.2 million as record unemployment and price erosion batter the housing market, the Irvine, California-based company said.
“We are a long way from a recovery,” John Quigley, economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said in an interview. “You can’t start to see improvement in the housing market until after unemployment peaks.”
According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings were more than 300,000 in November, the ninth straight month. And said Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, in a recent speech, a weak labor market and tight credit are “formidable headwinds” for the economy. The Labor Department statistics show that the 7.2 million jobs that were lost since the start of the recession which began in December 2007, is the most job losses in any postwar slump. Quigley said that the unemployment rate which is currently 10 percent, won’t peak until the first quarter of 2010.
President Obama announced recently a jobs plan to spur job creation. The proposals include support for small businesses to expand or retain workers, increased investments in infrastructure and continued assistance for states and seniors, among other measures. As well, the President is seeking bi-partisian support for delivering on these proposals.
