AM Roundup December 3rd, 2009

Best Read: Grey is Every Theory, Green is the Tree of Life from the Redfin Blog.

The Gist: "What has been preventing any type of serious price recovery has been the seemingly bottomless pit of foreclosures. And the problem may be getting worse. Nationwide, foreclosure filings increased 5% in July – September as compared to April – June… Bank re-possessions increased 21% in the third quarter as compared to the second.

But we don’t think inventory will drop much over the next three to six months and it will probably increase starting next year. As usual, we’re worried about the number of foreclosed homes banks will try to sell this winter and next spring. 14% of all home loans had at least one payment past due in the third quarter; 3.4% are 120 days past due as of October, up from 3.2% the month before. Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Banks, does not expect foreclosures to peak until mid-2010."

AM ROUNDUP

First of all, bookmark this now: Mashable just published a Social Media Guide for Small Business that's million-dollar quality material. Print it out and hire someone to read it...

...Calculated Risk offers essential facts to understand the housing numbers: "House Prices, Real Prices, Price to Rent"...

...an interesting but odd read from The Atlantic: Do Banks Act in Their Own Self-Interest?...

...today's Real Estate market intelligence via the Wall Street Journal: "Loan Modifications Under Pressure," numbers and analysis...

...today's obligatory and ubiquitous viral headline is also worth reading: Judge Erases $525,000 Mortgage...

...and today's infographic is definitely this Visual Economics production: The Cost of Home Ownership. This is something I'd like to put on my office wall.