Just When you Thought it was Safe to Go Back Into the Housing Market…

wo years after experts found the recession to have ended, real estate prices continue to fall in major cities all across the country according to a new report—in some cases to their lowest level since the housing bubble burst in 2006—signifying a true recovery has yet to materialize in the beleaguered housing market.

According to a report from Arthur Delaney for The Huffington Post, this latest data “confirms that the housing market's ‘double dip’ is at hand, and many economists say prices will continue to decline through the rest of this year. Home values dropped from February to March in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index, which is widely considered the leading gauge of the housing market's health. Washington D.C. was the only city in the index that showed year-over-year improvement since March 2010. The nationwide home price index fell by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and March marks the eighth straight month of decline. Twelve cities fell to their lowest levels since the 2006 crash, with Minneapolis experiencing the steepest year-over-year decline: Area prices were 10 percent lower than March last year.”

With no sign of relief for this downward spiral in home prices, many experts are concluding that any recovery in the real estate market witnessed in 2009 and 2010 was attributable to first-time homebuyer credit—a temporary reprieve to a more long-term problem plaguing the housing industry: an overabundance of homes for sale paired with changing consumer attitudes toward home ownership.

Add to this the fact that, as Delaney put it, “millions of distressed homes [are] caught up in the massive delays in processing foreclosure paperwork. According to a report from March, 13 percent of all U.S. homes are now vacant. On the other hand, high unemployment and a diminishing appetite among Americans to buy homes is keeping demand too low to raise home prices up. With prices so low, it would seem to be an ideal time for Americans to start buying real estate again. But for the most part, they have not. Many economists think this shows a fundamental shift in Americans' attitudes towards home ownership.”

In the meantime, average Americans continue to reel from underwater housing conditions whereby many millions of homes are worth less than homeowners owe. This unfortunate financial environment is locking many into deepening real estate costs that are, in many regards, sucking dry their much-needed savings while also creating a situation where they must “stay put” in homes without equity that they can no longer afford. In the current economic malaise, where so many face job insecurity, underemployment and unemployment rates, being forced to stay in the same place in a search for better income is hampering many people’s efforts to move onward and upward, post-recession.

Fortunately, escaping bad debt in an underwater home is precisely the scenario for which bankruptcy was created. If you’re having trouble getting rid of a monstrous mortgage, bankruptcy can help get you back on the right side of the proverbial real estate tracks: allowing you to surrender your other debts, and/or negate much, if not all, of your personal liability for your home, so that you can move forward financially.

So, as American homeowners search for more immediate and steady help with their own personal housing crises, many are instead turning to the simplicity of bankruptcy to stop an impending foreclosure and other creditor actions. If you too have been affected by the housing crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond the housing bubble. The bankruptcy lawyers at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to +1-833-627-0115, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.