Once again, it’s time for the Perspective Posse to saddle up.
According to at least one major network, “New numbers out this morning confirm this recession is getting worse,” based on a report by RealtyTrack that is “showing a 24% jump in the first quarter of the year in the number of households receiving at least one foreclosure notice.”
Now…before you feel the floor drop out, let’s look at the rest of the story, because the headline most certainly does not tell it all:
1. Those numbers reflect backward to first quarter, ie the past three months. They are not a projection of the next three months. They are not a reflection of this quarter.
2. Look at the line “the number of houses that received at least one foreclosure notice.” Many of the recipients are floating multiple mortgages-—not your average customer who owns one home. No surprise there.
3. The numbers reflect the end of lenders’ temporary freeze on foreclosures. Translated, these were households already beyond the point of no return (before Christmas, in many cases); it did not come as a surprise to anyone. The banks simply waited a few months to to send the notices, never intending to turn a blind eye and let these accounts slide.
Bottom line? Nothing has changed. Same foreclosures. Same banks. Same scenario that’s existed for months. It’s just making news now because, as the saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.”
Now, back to our regular, real world programming.
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