The average time that a home sits on the market when it is for sale is now 11 months.

So what does that mean to you and me? It means nothing. Despite what is said by the professionals, we are still facing the largest portfolio of mortgage resets from right now in May 2008 to September 2008 (Mortgage reset chart).

So what does this really mean? Now we are on to something. Until the underlining mortgage issues are resolved, meaning the homeowners with mortgage resets that become unaffordable, of which only 30% of the affected homeowners are being helped, expect further home depreciation.

CNN.com has stated within the last few weeks that even with all the programs developed by the government, only about 30% of the homeowners can be helped. The reason is obvious. Why does any, for profit banking institution, want to take on the problems of another bank?

And the math is so simple. Add the inflationary pressures of oil, energy and what they mean to consumers discretionary dollars, as well as, the volume of adjustable rate mortgages that are resetting (remember that it takes between 6 months and 12 months to foreclose on a home - every state has their foreclosure laws) and you have a formula saying that we will be having credit and housing deterioration until at least 2010.

Subprime Mortgage Defaults Still Rising

The default rate within the subprime mortgage market has jumped 170 basis points to nearly 19.5% in October, according to Friedman Billings Ramsey Investment Management. A weaker job market and declining house prices are the primary causes of rapid credit deterioration in credit performance - not resets.

The default rate on nonagency securitized subprime mortgages jumped from 17.7% in September to 19.4% in October.

The default rate on Alt A Mortgage Market jumped 75 bps to 5.4% in October. “These substantial changes in a single month suggest that labor market conditions are worsening broadly across the United States,” FBRIM managing director Michael Youngblood says in the report.

“Indeed, we continue to believe that these conditions are characteristic of a recession in economic activity.” The managing director of fixed income research noted that subprime mortgage resets of adjustable rate mortgage were not responsible for the October jump in default rates. However, the upward adjustment of mortgage rates “may drive the default of hybrid ARMs higher in the year ahead,” he said.

The report also shows that 8% of subprime mortgages and 2.5% of alt-A mortgages are in foreclosure.

The default rate includes loans that are 90 days or more past due, in foreclosure, or real estate owned.

We find it to be really funny how the so called ‘experts’ think that housing woes will be over within the next few months. What actual numbers are they reading?

Don’t let anybody fool you, the housing/mortgage bubble will last well into 2009 and here is why and we will keep it short…

From May 2008 to September 2008 Census data states that we will see about 2 million adjustable rate mortgages that will reset and come due. This is double what we saw in 2007 and we had some serious problems.

All the FHASecure and ‘Interest Rate Freeze’ programs have guidelines that are strict and should only assist approximately 15 to 25% of the affected families. Now add an average of 2 months in reserves that most families have. This takes us to somewhere in the neighborhood of September 2008. The quickest a home can be foreclosed on in some states in 6 months, like California and the longest is about 18 months like New York, so lets say an average of nine months to foreclose. Now we are at June of 2009! After 3 consecutive years of this foreclosure and depreciating home value problem, who is going to buy then?

We feel that the first time the national real estate market will flatten on an overall average will be during the 2010 buying season

Federal Reserve Panel Voiced Foreclosure Concern

Members of the Federal Reserve monetary policy committee are concerned that rising foreclosures and the huge supply of unsold homes on the market could put additional downward pressure on house prices and lead to “further disruptions in the financial markets.”

The minutes of the Dec. 11 Federal Open Market Committee also reveal that members did not expect that the housing market would continue to deteriorate after their last meeting on Oct. 31 or that the reduced availability of jumbo mortgages would last so long.

The FOMC members “agreed that the housing correction was likely to be both deeper and more prolonged than they had anticipated in October,” the Dec. 11 minutes say. The committee voted to lower the target federal funds rate 25 basis points to 4.25%.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank president Eric Rosengren advocated a more aggressive cut due to a “deteriorating housing sector, slowing consumer and business spending, high energy prices, and ill functioning financial markets.”

Today’s Current Mortgage Interest Rates December 13 2007. Fixed mortgage rates are UNCHANGED from Wednesday December 12 2007, while adjustable mortgage rates are UNCHANGED - Today’s 30 Year, is UNCHANGED and 15 Year Fixed are UNCHANGED - while as the 5/1 is UNCHANGED the 3/1 ARM Mortgage Interest Rates are UP. The 10 year treasury bond is UP to 4.15%.

Today’s Current Mortgage Interest Rates December 11 2007. Fixed mortgage rates are DOWN from Monday December 10 2007, while adjustable mortgage rates are DOWN - Today’s 30 Year, is DOWN and 15 Year Fixed are DOWN - while as the 5/1 is DOWN the 3/1 ARM Mortgage Interest Rates are UP. The 10 year treasury bond is UP to 4.11%.

Today’s Current Mortgage Interest Rates December 7 2007. Fixed mortgage rates are DOWN from Thursday December 6 2007, while adjustable mortgage rates are DOWN - Today’s 30 Year, is UP and 15 Year Fixed are DOWN - while as the 5/1 is DOWN the 3/1 ARM Mortgage Interest Rates are UP. The 10 year treasury bond is UP to 4.05%.

Today’s Current Mortgage Interest Rates December 6 2007. Fixed mortgage rates are UNCHANGED from Wednesday December 5 2007, while adjustable mortgage rates are UNCHANGED - Today’s 30 Year, is UNCHANGED and 15 Year Fixed are UNCHANGED - while as the 5/1 is UNCHANGED the 3/1 ARM Mortgage Interest Rates are UNCHANGED. The 10 year treasury bond is UP to 3.98%.

Many opponents to the Teaser Rate Freeze

Some of the biggest opponents to the teaser rate freeze are home owners and potential home owners. The Bush administration’s plan to give subprime borrowers a break on their mortgages is already catching flak from an unexpected source: other homeowners.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, at a housing conference yesterday, said he is “aggressively pursuing” an agreement with lenders and investor groups to freeze rates on subprime adjustable rate mortgages at their original levels.

The proposal, aimed at helping homeowners who would fall behind in their payments at higher rates, is designed to prevent a surge in foreclosures next year. About 1.5 million subprime adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to reset to higher rates in 2008.

As outlines of the plan become known, some homeowners are complaining that the effort isn’t fair to borrowers who didn’t overextend themselves. Others argue that the government shouldn’t be involved in perpetuating a mortgage bubble that needs to deflate.

A key question: How far should you go to help borrowers who can’t pay their bills?

“People have to be responsible for their own actions,” says Harry Lancz, a small business owner in Traverse City, Michigan. He holds a pair of fixed rate mortgages, one for his primary residence, which has been for sale for six months and one for a second home in Louisiana. “What are you going to do when their credit cards get due and they can’t pay? Are you going to bail them out on that, too?”

Good point Harry!

Today’s Current Mortgage Interest Rates December 4 2007. Fixed mortgage rates are UNCHANGED from Friday November 30 2007, while adjustable mortgage rates are UNCHANGED - Today’s 30 Year, is UNCHANGED and 15 Year Fixed are UNCHANGED - while as the 5/1 is UNCHANGED the 3/1 ARM Mortgage Interest Rates is UP. The 10 year treasury bond is DOWN to 3.85%.