SACRAMENTO, CA – In the first quarter of 2008 home foreclosures in the United States reached a peak and the pain was felt by all types of borrowers, not just those with the now infamous subprime adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs).

While subprime borrowers led the pack in allowing their homes to go to foreclosure many so-called prime and alt-a borrowers were unable to consecutively make payments on their houses as well. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (www.mbaa.org), .99 percent of home loans in America entered the foreclosure process in the January to March time frame. The number the previous year was .58 percent.

The trade association first began measuring loan delinquency rates in 1979, and this year’s results were the highest on record at 6.35 percent.

On a positive note, the Mortgage Banker’s Association senior researcher, Jay Brinkmann, predicted that most states should see a trailing off of foreclosure activity by years end. But, troubled states like California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada, which saw record prices spikes in residential real estate values, may see their foreclosure woes persist well into 2009.

For the homeowner who is trying to sell a house in the current market the challenge can be finding a qualified buyer who is pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. Many buyers have reported that they are simply not able to get funding for a house purchase despite having good credit and down payments available.

Real estate and foreclosure expert Patrick McGilvray, J.D., president of Sacaramento, CA-based The Home Buying Center.com (www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com) said, “For people looking to buy a foreclosure house there are opportunities aplenty. It’s important for these buyers, though, to get pre-qualified for a home loan before they go shopping because sellers, especially lenders with a large inventory of bank owned REO houses don’t want to spend time with people who aren’t ready, willing and able to buy.”

Real estate industry feels heat as home values continue to fall in much of the nationSACRAMENTO, CA – Real estate continues to be a sore spot for the US economy as prices for single family homes were down 7.7% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to a year earlier.

The National Association of Realtors reported the recent numbers and indicated that this was the biggest yearly decline since they began record-keeping in 1982.  Median sales prices were down to $196,300 at the end of March, a 4.8% drop compared to Q4 of 2008.

In Sacramento, California prices fell more than 29% and the median dropped to $258,500.  Prices in Riverside, California dropped more than 27% to $287,100.

An internet real estate company based in Sacramento, www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, reported an increase in consumers requesting help with selling their houses as well as an increase in buyers who are looking for deals on foreclosure houses.  “Deals on foreclosure houses are one of our specialties, and we’re getting a lot of traffic to our website because of that,” said company president Patrick McGilvray.

The Home Buying Center reported that a lot of their activity is happening in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis that occurred in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown.  According to McGilvray the biggest numbers of homeowners seeking help, and buyers seeking deals, are occurring in California, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Michigan.

Foreclosure activity resulted in more than 155,000 homes taken back by lenders since last year, and mortgage payment delinquencies more than doubled during the time as well.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Andre Grenon)

Warren Buffett, the world’s richest person, said on Sunday the U.S. economy is in recession, “as I define it.”

Buffett’s comment was at odds with a U.S. Commerce Department report last week showing the economy grew at a 0.6 percent annualized rate in the first quarter.

“The U.S. is in recession as I define it,” Buffett said at a news conference. “I would define that as a situation where people are doing less well than they were three months, six months or eight months earlier and most businesses find themselves in that position too.

“If were are in a non-recession, I don’t think people want to see it going in the same direction as it is and saying it’s wonderful,” Buffett added.