The housing market has been in trouble for some time. However, recently, the number of foreclosures has been increasing rapidly and may be causing confusion as to the current availability of homes for sale.

The combination of lower home values, decreased volume of sales, less credit availability, and a slowing economy is placing financially strapped homeowners in a very difficult bind. Some have no other choice then to let their homes go to foreclosure.

Since many foreclosed homes are in the hands of the banks at this time, frequently they are not recorded as “homes for sale” on real estate listings such as MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Foreclosed homes also often sell for less money and, therefore, they will lower the prices of homes in the area.

The possible result of this information is that the housing market may be in more trouble than originally believed. The hope has been for sometime that the market has bottomed-out, but this may not be completely true. If many foreclosure sales are not included in the current calculations, we may have even more trouble ahead before this market can return to normal.

Meanwhile, our government is introducing a program, Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which will allow homeowners who qualify to cancel their old home loans and refinance with 30-year fixed-rate loans for up to 90 percent of the home’s current value. This may help many struggling families but can only apply to foreclosed properties if the bank agrees to take a loss on an existing loan in exchange for avoiding the high expense of processing a foreclosure.