ray mathoda

I derive my livelihood from the real estate market, and a significant portion of our business is driven by real estate transactions…i.e., people selling or buying homes. While a pessimistic view of future home prices is not exactly a great thing for our business, we have been telling our clients to expect further home price declines near term (i.e., in the next year or two)…and a likely slow recovery in the real estate market over the coming 3-5 years (consistent with recovery trends in previous housing downturns).

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I applaud the recent announcement by Secretaries Geithner and Donovan expanding the government’s ‘Making Homes Affordable’ Initiative to include the ‘Foreclosure Alternatives’ Program…which was in my mind the #1 missing piece in the Administration’s policies to date…and should vastly increase the ability of Americans in trouble to avoid foreclosure and get back on their feet faster…even they cannot afford to continue to own their home.

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