The housing crisis continues with worse numbers than a year ago.

SHOCK: More than 25% of homes in USA 'underwater'...
Reports of Mortgage Fraud Reach Record...

Well, this is certainly not a shock for the readers of Midknight Review. We have been reporting on this matter for some time, now. Check out our right-column search engine for the full listing of articles.

Here are the reported facts: the percentage of Americans owing more on their new homes than they are worth is between 25 and 35 percent. My neighbor (in California), for example, bought his home at the peak of the housing "bubble," paying $338,000 for his dream house. Today the home's value stands at $180,000. His home will never recover the loss in equity. He will never be able to sell without suffering a huge financial loss. Understand that at the time of any future sale, our neighbor will have to come up with thousands of dollars from his personal savings in order to complete the "deal."

More than this situation is the fact that between 15 and 19 percent of all homes in America are vacant !! In a new 80 home subdivision just north of our house, there are 19 vacant homes -- been vacant for nearly three years. Such is a disaster in and of itself, but its reality effects the equity values of all surrounding homes and adds to the complexity of the housing crisis. Understand that the financial crisis that resulted in the recent recession was not the fault of Big Business or those dirty Bankers. Nope. It was a sub-prime mortgage crisis, much of which was ordered and superintended by a congressional policy known as "Affordable Housing." Quotas were set for the banking industry by congress, designed to put the poor and high risk citizen into home they could not -- as it turned out -- could not afford.

When their adjustable loans matured and morphed into fixed loans, the bottom fell out from under the mortgage world and BAM !! , the crisis exploded.

Point of post: no surprise, here.