Realtor Wendy

Fannie, Freddie and the 4.5% Mortgage Myth

A lender I work with sent these stats over, and I thought it would be interesting to see if they would have an impact on this disscussion. Are they true? You be the judge...or check out the references below. I think the media doesn't focus on these numbers because it's not as sensational as negativity. Perhaps the economy would be in better shape if we knew more of the facts? (Less panic, more education!)

Lender said "Oh, by the way…thought I'd share some fun facts and figures to help you respond to this market. Feel free to utilize these numbers and maybe together, one client at a time, we can educate the market!

Some facts to know:

* More than 1000 banks closed in 1930 – only 14 U.S. banks have been taken over in 2008
* There are 76 million households in the U.S. that own their home -
24 million of these homes are free and clear
* There are 52 million homes with mortgages - 97.2% of these are not in foreclosure, 93.8% of these homes are current on their payments

On a sobering note:

* Over 20% of homeowners with a mortgage owe more than their home is worth
* 40% of all foreclosures are non-owner occupied

How did we get here?

Decade Homes Sold High Homes Sold Average

1970’s 3.9 million 3 million
1980’s 4 million 3.3 million
1990’s 4.9 million 3.9 million
2000’s 7.1 million 5.6 million
Resale numbers – the above does not include new home sales.

Sources: Wall Street Journal / Moody’s Economy.com / RealtyTrac / NAR / Forbes"