“The economic bust hasn’t just shrunk the U.S. job market and retirement accounts. New homes are downsizing for the first time in years…”

Builders say home sizes are shrinking |  Dallas Morning News

• Six of ten seriously delinquent borrowers are not even involved in loss-mitigation efforts. The total number of struggling homeowners not on track for any foreclosure prevention assistance continues to grow.  HAMP has helped slow down the foreclosure crisis, but current efforts have been insufficient to get ahead of the foreclosure problem.
• Both loss mitigation and foreclosure efforts appear to be backlogged. The average time to complete a loan modification for some servicers is over six months.
• Most modifications result in payment reductions, but principal reductions remain rare. Given the correlation between negative equity and likelihood of default, the failure to write down principal in connection with loan modifications is a glaring flaw in current efforts.
• Prime loans are increasingly driving the rising delinquency rates. The foreclosure problem is broad-based and not isolated to poorly-written or exotic loan products.

via CSBS | Jan. 20, 2010.

Real Estate | A foreclosure auction for the super-rich | Seattle Times Newspaper.