According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, home price declines may be here to stay for at least the next two years. And in certain areas of the country the possibility of long-term housing price declines is astronomically high.
The article said:
“”Increasing unemployment and foreclosure rates – coupled with continued high excess housing supply and pressure from the severe recession – continue to place downward pressure on house price appreciation,” PMI researchers said. The risk of falling home prices rose in the first quarter in 45 of the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, including Dallas and Fort Worth.”
Due to a massive amount of foreclosures hitting regions that have traditionally had very expensive housing, cities such as Riverside, Calif., Miami, and Los Angeles, all have a 99.9 percent likelihood of seeing lower home prices in the next two years. Foreclosure is the primary cause of home price declines and Dallas-Fort Worth alone has seen the number of foreclosures increase by 20 percent in the first seven months of 2009.
If the foreclosure crisis is not properly handled soon we are going to see repercussions in ways we could not imagine. When one family faces foreclosure, it puts pressure on the rest of us. Many of those who face foreclosure first go to family and friends for help; but many of them eventually end up on public assistance and homeless.
It is time to put a lid on the foreclosure crisis by requiring mortgage companies to help homeowners facing foreclosure and by educating homeowners on all of their foreclosure prevention options. Homeowners facing foreclosure may be able to save their home using bankruptcy. If you’re facing foreclosure, time is of the essence, contact a Dallas-Fort Worth bankruptcy attorney today to discover bankruptcy options that can stop foreclosure now .