Is the Housing Crisis Continuing? “Thinking Makes It So…”

Of interest here at MortgageKeeper is the question, is the housing crisis over, or not? The feeling in our hearts is that the worst is past us. But the Man on the Street says it just ain’t so.

The MacArthur Foundation’s “Housing Matters” survey made headlines this past week with Americans’ pessimistic view of the end of the crisis. Of those surveyed, 58% believe that we are “still in the middle of it” and an additional 19% believe that “the worst is yet to come.”

Then there’s Bloomberg Government’s Senior Finance Analyst Nela Richardson, who says because foreclosures are down, housing prices are up, and Fannie and Freddie are enjoying profits, the housing recovery is underway. But she brings out that until first time homebuyers believe that there’s a recovery, nothing will be changing anytime soon.

Here at MortgageKeeper, our Q1 2013 numbers up 41% over the same time last year. That meant housing counselors and servicing customer service representatives were using our product at never-before-seen levels to find help for struggling homeowners. So, it seems that while housing as a whole is improving, homeowners and potential homeowners are still needing assistance, and thus meeting the “end” of the housing crisis with healthy skepticism.

We are reminded of Shakespeare’s line in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” If the overwhelming thought of Americans is that housing is still in decline, we may be headed for a long slow return to normal.