Declines in the price of U.S. homes have depleted an estimated $4.5 trillion from the personal wealth of homeowners, says the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast.

The loss in home value is coupled with stock-price declines of about $7.4 trillion, compared with their value in December 2007, the report calculated.

It is “no accident that the industries linked to the two most durable and most tied to wealth and credit of consumer assets – houses and cars – are suffering,” concludes David Shulman, senior economist for the Anderson Forecast.

Source: Inman News, Glenn Roberts Jr. (12/11/08)

Foreclosures of U.S. homes declined 7 percent in November, compared to the previous month, according to RealtyTrac, foreclosure marketing company.

“Foreclosure activity in November hit the lowest level we’ve seen since June thanks in part to recently enacted laws that have extended the foreclosure process in some states, along with more aggressive loan modification programs and self-imposed holiday foreclosure moratoriums introduced by some lenders,” said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO.

Foreclosures remained 28 percent higher than they were in November 2007, and there are indications that this is just a temporary lull.

Delinquencies on loans not yet in the foreclosure process jumped to nearly 7 percent in the third quarter, a record high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And more than half of the homeowners whose loans have already been modified are already delinquent again, according to the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision.

States with the highest number of foreclosures are: California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Texas and Virginia.

Source: RealtyTrac (12/11/2008)