But how many of these foreclosured / threatened homes were, are, actually occupied by families who in good (if misguided) faith entered into the American dream by contracting dastardly opaque-small-print mortgages, putting their down payments at risk?

And how many owned by people who were cynically flipping homes, investing there, rather than in the stock market, oil futures of whatever, as tangible assets tend to impress, and may seem easier to understand than financial products?

Did not the housing ‘boom’ or ‘bubble’ - the potential financial gains, deprive many Americans of owning a small home? That last question is polemical, goes beyond the first.

I haven’t a clue.

I dont't think the holidays have much to do with the crisis. We are at a point where the economy is
getting worse and worse everyday and depending on how bad the next couple of months are will determine how long it will actually take for the economy to regualate itself.There is speculation that OPEC will try to change the currency of each barrel of oil to the EURO. If this were to happen it would create the collapse of the US economy and the Canadian economy because they are so closely linked.The cost of oil has to be regulated somehow because if not then people in the USA will seek an even greater defecit in addition to the foreclosure problem . USA has the most Co2 emessions across the world and I don't think they are ready for oil to reach 100% increase per barrel this year.If there is nothing done the economy will be stifiled and the unemployment rate would double or even triple. With the next presidental campaign I look forward to seeing Obama sponsoring programs, trying to look for other sources of energy. This will help the pollution crisis we have been facing and also have people less dependent on oil which will possibly reach $200/barrel. Car manufactures which employs about 1 million across the US can actually be innovative and try alternatives other then petrolum. Houses can be heated possibly through solar power or wind and his means more jobs created to help re-stimulate the economy.The current US government has put the citizens in a horrible economic position and if the price of oil is not regualted or the forclosure on homes people can only hope some sort of technological wave will hit!

Just remember that we were starting from a very low level; lenders didn't need to foreclose when there were lots of buyers out there. Any increase from zero is substantial, on a percentage basis.

I would even go so far as to say it began a year earlier than that. The peak of the housing market occurred in July/August 2005. Incidently(?, NOT) coincident with a nasty surge in crude.

It was like watching dominoes after that as first investors bailed from properties, unsold inventories bulged and homebuilders slowed.

It took a while to hit the banks, but nope, not immune...