Foreclosure Count Hits One Million

The count as of today is actually higher than one million–an unprecedented number in the United States up to this point. It’s even estimated to exceed two million by year’s end–and up to 9 million by 2012.

Sure, the Obama Administration has helped over 55,000 homeowners so far; but the Center for Responsible Lending estimates that there are 6,500 new foreclosures filed daily–or one every 13 seconds. These aren’t great odds in the least.

Homeowners facing foreclosure are not alone in being affected, either; 70 million households nearby these foreclosed homes are losing property values, totaling about $7,200 per family–or $502 billion overall. That’s quite a nationwide cut, totaling a $2 trillion property value loss within the next three years.

Though 12% of mortgages are currently delinquent, some say that the recession is at an end. ABC News reports that “number of homes under contract for sale in April is up 6.7%” among other, non-housing factors. But will that fact reverse now that fixed rates are increasing?

Following the rate hike last week, applications for new mortgages dropped by 16%. Perhaps that negates April’s statistic?

And others speculate that there is a second mortgage crisis yet to even begin. Doug Hornig of The Daily Reckoning depicts a pretty gruesome picture about non-subprime loans and the crisis he says is sure to hit by May 2010. And while it may not be as bad as the current crisis, Hornig warns that it will last longer.

So is there true hope for American homeowners somewhere between these bleak numbers and reports? Can the Administration that used the word so often during campaigning actually now use it in able to save the American people from poverty and homelessness?

We’ll just have to wait and see.