Seven Steps to Solving the Housing Crisis

During the early 2000 's, the United States housing market experienced growth at an unprecedented rate, leading to historical highs in home ownership. This surge in home buying was the result of multiple illusory financial circumstances which reduced the apparent risk of both lending and receiving loans. However, in 2007, when the upward trend in home values could no longer continue and began to reverse itself, homeowners found themselves owing more than the value of their properties, a trend which lent itself to increased defaults and foreclosures, further reducing the value of homes in a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle. The 2008 crash of the near-$7-billion housing industry dragged down the entire U.S. economy, and by extension, the global economy, with it, therefore having a large part in triggering the global recession of 2008-2012.

The housing crisis of the late 2000s rocked the economy and changed the landscape of the real estate business for years to come. Decades of people purchasing houses unfordable houses and properties with lenient loans policies led to a collective housing bubble. When the banking system faltered and the economy wilted, interest rates were raised, mortgages increased, and people lost their jobs amidst the chaos. This all culminated in tens of thousands of American losing their houses to foreclosures and short sales, as they could no longer afford the mortgage payments on their homes. The United States entered a recession and homeownership no longer appeared to be a feasible goal as many questioned whether the country could continue to support a middle-class. Former home owners became renters and in some cases homeless as the American Dream was delayed with no foreseeable return. While the future of the economy looked bleak, conditions gradually improved. American citizens regained their jobs, the United States government bailed out the banking industry, and regulations were put in place to deter such events as the mortgage crash from ever taking place again. The path to homeowner ship has been forever altered, as loans in general are now more difficult to acquire and can be accompanied by a substantial down payment.

Our nation faces many problems, and has for many years. Today’s generations, and especially the mainstream media, seem most concerned with social issues such as abortion and same sex marriage. While these issues are important, our economic situation should receive more urgent attention. Americans are desperate for better days, but lack a meaningful understanding of how our financial system works. Almost 100 years ago, the creation of the Federal Reserve Banking System was instated. One could argue that this system is the base of why we are 18 trillion dollars in debt, and rising. The Federal Reserve Banking System has contributed

would be a financial crisis that could lower the economic power of the United States.

Affordable housing in the United States describes sheltering units with well-adjusted housing costs for those living on an average, median income. The phrase usually implies to applied rental or purchaser housing within the financial means of lower-income ranges specific to the demographics of any given area. However, affordable housing does not include those living in social housing owned by government and non-profit organizations. More specifically, the targeted range for housing affordability sets below 30 percent of a household's annual income, including all applicable taxes, utility costs and home owners insurance rates. If the mean income per household breaches the 30 percent mark, then the agreed status becomes labeled as

America would suffer from one of the worst financial disasters in history after the stock market crash of 1929. A period in history commonly referred to as The Great Depression (1929-1939) would take the workforce by storm. The country’s unemployment rate would reach a record high leaving millions of Americans out of work or laid off by the mid 1930s (Smiley, 2014). “The Great Depression is often called a “defining moment” in the twentieth-century history of the United States. Its most lasting effect was a transformation of the role of the federal government in the economy” (Smiley, 2014). As a result, families were unable to repay debts such as farm loans and mortgages leaving financial institutions in the red and failing to recover.

Government help was seen as the only way to avoid a total economic collapse in the United States, although many thought it could result in a worldwide economic recession. On September 18, 2008 the 700 dollar bailout plan was proposed to congress. Fed Chairman Ben Bernake is quoted telling congress, “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday” (The Housing Market Crash of 2007, 2011). This is when it became apparent that the government had a stake in this situation. When people begin questioning whether the United States economy will still exist, the government then has a huge role in the survival of not just the economy, but the entire country. The government is in a situation where it must decide how to protect the American economy, the citizens, the businesses, and the future of the United States of America. On October 3, 2008 congress passed “Emergency Economic Stablization Act” (H.R. 1424- 110th Congress, 2008) which led to the lending of 700 billion dollars’ to

The foreclosure crisis in America can only be resolved by every American citizen working together to build a stronger America by changing the way we make decisions for expenditures in our lives. We must stop overextending ourselves beyond our economic means. The foreclosure crisis of America has been caused by Americans borrowing money to purchase a home that they cannot afford. Lending agencies have allowed Americans to borrow more money to buy a home than they can afford. Each lending agency seemingly used logical reasoning that if they did not lend the funds to the homeowners, another agency would. The foreclosure crisis was caused by homeowners, businesses, banks, and even the government. The economic recovery depends on not

Investors and mortgage holders owe so much money to different firms that is has become almost an irreversible meltdown. The government tried to raise and cut taxes where they think they can get caught up and it doesn’t change. Money is owed by nearly every institution as well as the day to day expenses that each one occurs. Homes in major cities around the country lay to waste leaving blocks of run-down wasteland. Jobs and unemployment are just now starting to stabilize. Th economy is making a slow change for the good, but you must take baby steps after you fall. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chart October 2007 unemployment was at 4.7% and rose to 10% by the year 2009 and everything from construction to professional and business services decreased by an average of 37.4% (Bereau Of Labor Statistics). These statistics are horrible and one can only hope we do not repeat our mistakes. A conclusion can now be made with all the factors stated

I really didn’t know much about foreclosure. So I did some research. I asked many people of many different ages from eighteen to sixty-two. A lot of people said,“ Just pay the bill”, but that is often easier said then done. Some said they got in over their heads and were not able to get out. Some also said that their income and credit look good on paper but did not cut it when it came to paying their bills. Some told me their income had changed due to losing their jobs or having a spouse pass away. There are many circumstances that are out of people‘s control. Attempting to gain some control over the situation often is better than just praying that nothing bad will happen.

The housing crisis in the late 2000’s was created in part from subprime loans that lenders gave to individuals that did not have to provide proof of income that they could afford the house. This was a disaster likely to repeat itself. If a person is hoping to buy a home, they will buy whatever the lender allows them to purchase even though it could be a financial stretch. Lenders, builders, sellers, appraisers, buyers, owners, and governmental policy makers are all still gambling with the economic future of both their buyers and the American economy as a whole.

Within the past three to four years, the United States has seen the dramatic collapse of the housing market. The housing bubble spurred by ill-advised loans to individuals who could not afford a mortgage, complicated contracts which had interest rates and payments changing without reason, and the mass purchasing of bad loans by lending superpowers, had popped. The rapid increase in the value of homes across the country for the previous decade, had been a falsity, in which billions of dollars funded by investments and home purchases were lost within a few months (Wikipedia.org: United States housing bubble). Millions of home owners were found to be unable to pay their mortgages, leading to hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. These

“Foreclosure filings were reported on 336,173 U.S. properties in June, the fourth straight monthly total exceeding 300,000…”

The Big Short is a movie that discusses the housing market crash in 2008. As you may know, the banks, the mortgage brokers, and the consumers were all affected by this collapse. On each level of the system, there were things that went wrong and that could have been changed that could have prevented the failure of the housing market.

The United States economy has been in trouble for the past couple of years. The foreclosure crisis is a condition that began due to the inability of homeowners to pay their mortgages. Foreclosure is a legal proceeding whereby a lender obtains a legal termination of a debtor’s right to redemption. The foreclosure rates have been increasing for a considerable period and certain steps have been put into place to solve the problem. While the government, financial institutions and the general public are highly aware of the crisis, the steps taken to combat the problem are still not sufficient as the foreclosure rates are still increasing.