There is no doubt the foreclosure problem is getting worse; we haven't seen the bottom yet. CNNMoney.com is reporting that foreclosure filings in the second quarter of this year are up 120% over the same period last year! One of every 171 households received a notice of default, auction sale notice, or bank repossession notice. The second quarter was so bad that RealtyTrac will have to "reevaluate its foreclosure forecast" for the year. According to RealtyTrac CEO, James Saccadic, they had been predicting 1.9 million to 2 million foreclosures for 2008. "But midway through the year, we're already at 1.4 million," he said.
And, there is more bad news. Bank repossessions are up as a proportion of total filings, representing 30% of the notices issued during the second quarter, up from 24% a year ago. But, the numbers do not show how truly awful things are. There is something else that the numbers aren't telling us... something that makes that whole foreclosure epidemic even worse that it seems.