As many of you know, our country has been in a massive recession for about 3 years now. Housing has played a large role in the down turn being one of the main employers with every transaction employing from just a few people in a re-sale transaction to an entire army of people in all salary ranges when building a home. People affected range from simple unskilled labor to attorneys, lenders, and title companies.

Interestingly enough the current stimulus bill, about to expire, has not significantly improved the conditions in the housing market.

Why? Theoretically speaking, each first time home buyer entering the market will stimulate 3-5 transactions as people move into new housing. Unfortunately, current estimates say that 30-40% of all homes sold through the stimulus program have be foreclosures or short sales in which the seller has not moved up in housing, but down into rentals. (more…)