Lou Barnes of Mortgage Credit News wrote on Friday, "Mark this day: the worst of this crisis has passed." It's too soon to say if he's right, but let's hope so.
Lou Barnes also said, "This crisis is officially public property." He's gotta be right about that. The Federal government, fresh from taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, proposes to spend $700,000,000,000 to buy up troubled mortgages - and it may not be enough.
Will the latest actions keep lenders lending and stabilize real estate prices in towns like Athol and Orange, where the average home price has dropped 20% since 2005? That's what's supposed to happen, but don't break out the party hats. While the worst may have passed for now, we are still in uncharted territory and we still have a long way to go.
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