The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views of TheStreet or its management.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) - It wasn't supposed to be like this. For three years, two successive U.S. administrations have made "fixing the housing sector" explicitly a top priority. Since that time, we have been assured by a plethora of politicians, housing "experts," and media talking-heads that the U.S. housing sector had "bottomed," and (like the U.S. economy itself) had begun a "recovery". It was all fiction. New numbers show that roughly 27% of all U.S. mortgages are currently "underwater." That's worse than the so-called bottom of the original collapse, when that number soared to a previous record of 25%. This single number exposes a multitude of myths. For three years, Americans have been told by both politicians and bankers that they were "working hard" specifically to eliminate/alleviate the blight of underwater mortgages. In fact, what this number proves is that their "progress" after three years is less-than-zero. For two years, Americans have been told by politicians and bankers that there is a "U.S. economic recovery" underway. Two years ago, the U.S. housing market was in the worst shape it had ever been in, after a collapse more severe than the worst years of the Great Depression. And now after two years of a recovery, it's in even worse shape. Quite simply, one could spend his entire life scanning the annals of economic history, and would never find another example where a housing market which was already at a multi-decade bottom has deteriorated after two years of "an economic recovery". Add Comment Tweet 1 2 3 4 Last » Next › var OutbrainPermaLink='http://www.thestreet.com/story/11002266/breaking-the-vicious-us-housing-cycle-opinion.html'; var OB_Template = "thestreetcom"; var OB_demoMode = false; var OBITm = "1276003897985"; var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js'; if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) OutbrainStart(); else { var OB_Script = true; var str = ''; document.write(str); } adsonar_placementId=1341527;adsonar_pid=879768;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=600;adsonar_zh=280;adsonar_jv='ads.adsonar.com'; TheStreet Premium Services Compare All Services Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS: Now any level of investor can trade right alongside a Wall Street pro — and enjoy 24/7 access to his portfolio! Learn More Login ETF Profits: Get money-making ideas from the hottest investment vehicle on the planet. Our experts show you how to play various ETF sectors to help pump-up your portfolio. Learn More Login OptionsProfits: Get 50+ trade ideas a week from the industry's top options experts. Plus — exclusive commentary on market trends and essential trading tools. Learn More Login RealMoney Silver: Get Doug Kass's exclusive trading diary + 5 of TheStreet's top premium services including Action Alerts PLUS and RealMoney — all on one streamlined page. Learn More Login Stocks Under $10: Break into the market with small- and mid-cap stocks... all $10 or less! David Peltier tells you exactly which low-priced stocks he's buying and selling. Learn More Login RealMoney Breakout Stocks Portfolio PLUS Daily Swing Trade Market Movers TheStreet Ratings Top Stocks To begin commenting right away, you can log in below using your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, OpenID or Yahoo login credentials. Alternatively, you can post a comment as a "guest" just by entering an email address. Your use of the commenting tool is subject to multiple terms of service/use and privacy policies - see here for more details. var disqus_identifier = '11002266'; (function() { var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = 'http://thestreet.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq); })(); comments powered by Disqus. blog comments powered by Disqus //* Global Functions *// function metadataRegisterNS(ns){ var nsParts = ns.split("."); var root = window; for(var i=0; i Dow Jones S&P 500 NASDAQ 10-Year Note 12194.4 1317.56 2782.78 36.46 Oil * 102.12 DOWN -38.75 DOWN -7.01 DOWN -14.27 DOWN -0.79 10 Yr 3.65% SPDR Gold 132.9 -0.32% -0.53% -0.51% -2.12% Data delayed 20 minutes Top Stories and Tools var randnum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 100) if (randnum < 45) { document.write("Ex-Dividend Date Calendar"); document.write("Cramer's Latest Picks from Mad Money"); document.write("Free: Stock Rating Reports"); document.write("Top-Rated Stocks"); document.write("Highest-Yielding Dividend Stocks"); document.write("How to Invest in Gold"); } else { document.write("10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks"); document.write("Top Stocks Under $5"); document.write("Goldman's 8 Best Tech Stocks for 2011"); document.write("10 Stocks to Gain up to 70%: Analysts"); document.write("18 Big Bank Dividend Prospects"); document.write("Top Warren Buffett Dividend Stocks"); } Twitter Facebook RSS Mobile App adsonar_placementId=1341369;adsonar_pid=879768;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=320;adsonar_zh=280;adsonar_jv='ads.adsonar.com'; Brokerage Partners YAHOO.util.Event.on(window,"load",function(){ setTimeout(function(){ TSCM.util.attachScript('scr_intellitxt','http://thestreet.us.intellitxt.com/intellitxt/front.asp?ipid=10685'); },1200); }); try { function DM_onSegsAvailable(segs, cust_id) { for (var i=0;i document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js' %3E%3C/script%3E")); var beaconurl=""; if(TSC.util.isDefined(document)){ beaconurl=document.URL; try{ if (top.location != self.location){ beaconurl=document.referrer; } }catch(e){} } COMSCORE.beacon({ c1:2, c2:"6036014", c3:"", c4:beaconurl, c5:"", c6:"", c15:"" }); (function () { var d = new Image(1, 1); d.onerror = d.onload = function () { d.onerror = d.onload = null; }; d.src = ["//secure-us.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?ci=us-thestreet&cg=tsc&cc=1&si=", escape(window.location.href), "&rp=", escape(document.referrer), "&ts=compact&rnd=", (new Date()).getTime()].join(''); })(); Free Newsletters from TheStreetAfter the Bell
Before the Bell
Booyah! Newsletter
ETF Daily
Midday Bell
TSC Top Ten Stories Newsletter
Winners & Losers
We respect your privacy. Manage Newsletters Podcasts [Select Podcast] The Real Story Wall Street Confidential Podcast Daily RSS UpdatesTheStreet Mobile Edition
Connect with TheStreet
YAHOO.util.Event.on(window,"load",function() { try { var loginlink = YAHOO.util.Dom.get("logonoff"); var cookie = new UserStatus().streetCookie; if(cookie.indexOf('|')== -1){ loginlink.setAttribute("href",""); loginlink.innerHTML = "Log In"; } } catch(e) {} }); TheStreet Mobile | MainStreet | StockPickr | BankingMyWay | Jim Cramer | Doug Kass | RealMoney | Try Action Alerts PLUS TheStreet Corporate | Home | About Us | Advertise | Customer Service | Employment | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Topic Archive | Video Archive | Stock Quotes Online | Terms of Use if (document.location.href.indexOf("/print/")!= -1){ var tsclogo = "tsc_logo200x41"; } else { var tsclogo = "tsc_logo190x39"; } document.write('TheStreet\'s enterprise databases running Oracle are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data provided by Interactive Data. Company fundamental data provided by Morningstar. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions.
TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.
IDC calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.
*Oil Data in Market Overview is Brent Crude Pricing
© 1996-2011 TheStreet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
'); TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.sz = "728x90"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.resetTargets(); TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.calltype = "adj"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.includeDcopt = true; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.additionalTargeting = ";;storytype=opinion;kval=opinion"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.writeTag(); TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.sz = "233x224"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.resetTargets(); TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.calltype = "adj"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.adtype = "cau"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.additionalTargeting = ";;storytype=opinion;kval=opinion"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.writeTag(); TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.sz = "336x280,336x850,300x250,468x648"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.resetTargets(); TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.calltype = "adj"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.additionalTargeting = ";;storytype=opinion;kval=opinion;;storytype=opinion;kval=opinion"; TSCM.ads.AdPlacerx.writeTag(); /** * function wrapper that places all DART ads using TSCM.ads.positionToPlaceholder * if positionToPlaceholder can't find the elements specified, it just returns and is ready for the next call */ TSCM.ads.placeLazyLoadingAds = function() { // DART 1 (banner) TSCM.ads.positionToPlaceholder({ ad: 'ad728x90', placeholder: 'bannerContainer', flexibleHeight: false }); //DART 2 TSCM.ads.positionToPlaceholder({ ad: 'customUnit', placeholder: 'cauContainer', flexibleHeight: true }); //DART 3 TSCM.ads.positionToPlaceholder({ ad: 'boxAd', placeholder: 'boxAdContainer', flexibleHeight: true }); //DART 4 TSCM.ads.positionToPlaceholder({ ad: 'secondBoxAd', placeholder: 'secondBoxAdContainer', flexibleHeight: false }); }; TSCM.ads.placeLazyLoadingAds() window.setTimeout(function() { TSCM.ads.placeLazyLoadingAds() }, 2000); window.onresize = function() { setTimeout(function() { TSCM.ads.placeLazyLoadingAds(); }, 1000); }; function lazyLoaderVisibility() { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle("lazyLoadedObjects", "visibility", "visible"); } YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady( lazyLoaderVisibility ); var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-6534317-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); _gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, // This custom var is set to slot #1. Required parameter. 'gwo2', // The name acts as a kind of category for the user activity. Required parameter. 'gw-' + getcombo_ga2("7-0-0"), // This value of the custom variable. Required parameter. 2 // Sets the scope to session-level. Optional parameter. ]); _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'recommended', 'LOADED']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); /* */ var disqus_shortname = 'thestreet'; (function () { var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.src = 'http://disqus.com/forums/thestreet/count.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('HEAD')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('BODY')[0]).appendChild(s); }()); BF_BB_DATA = null; (function( ){ document.write(''); var sid="76IOF7"; var c=""; var b=""; BF_BB_SCRIPT=document.createElement('script'); BF_BB_SCRIPT.type="text/javascript"; BF_BB_SRC="http://buzzbox.buzzfeed.com/wd/BuzzBox?sid=" + sid + c + b + '&it=1&cb=' + (new Date()).getTime(); setTimeout(function() { document.getElementById('BF_BUZZBOX').appendChild(BF_BB_SCRIPT); BF_BB_SCRIPT.src=BF_BB_SRC; },1); })();Before the Bell
Booyah! Newsletter
ETF Daily
Midday Bell
TSC Top Ten Stories Newsletter
Winners & Losers
TheStreet Mobile Edition
Connect with TheStreet
Read Full Article »