According to the
Nashville Business Journal saw foreclosures drop 3% in June 2008 which is a bit of an improvement but don’t get too excited because foreclosures are actually up 53% from last June. So in just 12 months there has been a huge increase in foreclosures.

South Dakota, North Dakota, and West Virginia saw the lowest foreclosure rates. Tennessee actually saw their foreclosures up 30% since last June, while California, Arizona, and Nevada saw the highest number of foreclosures. 1 in every 122 households were in foreclosure which is four times higher than the national average.

California saw a 4.5% decrease from May to June 2008 but a 77% increase from last June. It’s hard to know whether one should get excited about the declining rates or worried about the overall increases.

There’s no question that sub-prime interest rates were behind a lot of the demise that many are now facing. Add that to the creative financing that had become the norm rather than the exception. The US is quickly trying to get to the root of fraudulent activities and to pass better laws to ensure this type of disaster never happens again. Canada is so worried about what’s happened in the US that they’ve just passed new laws relating to mortgages within their country too.

But was it the fault of the mortgage companies that were busy enticing individuals into home ownership or was it the fault of the individuals and couples who decided “Me too!” when it came to owning homes they couldn’t afford. Perhaps the American dream got taken to a new level.

The reality is 0 down and 40 years isn’t really home ownership, it’s renting from the bank. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the importance of home-ownership. Perhaps there’s a lesson for all of us to learn here. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.