Is the Housing market going in the right direction? More Foreclosures?

The Fed bought $175 billion in debt sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It also bought $300 billion in U.S. Treasuries, and $1.25 TRILLION in mortgage backed securities — bonds made up of bundles of home loans. The stated goal was to juice the housing market and spur a massive bout of mortgage refinancing, which would theoretically unleash a gargantuan new wave of consumer spending. Were the Fed's efforts successful? Let's look at the evidence ... The Fed rolled out the first stage of its mortgage manipulation scheme in November 2008, then added to it in the months afterward. Here's what has happened to key housing indicators since then: In November 2008, housing starts were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 652,000 units. In August of this year, the comparable figure was 598,000. Net change? Down 8.3 percent. In November 2008, builders were selling homes at an annualized rate of 389,000. In July 2010, they sold 276,000 homes. Net change? Down 29 percent. In November 2008, 4.53 million existing homes changed hands (again, this is an annualized rate). That compared to 4.13 million in August. Net change? Down 8.8 percent. In November 2008, the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city home price index came in at 154.50. The most recent reading — for June 2010 — was 147.97. Net change? Down 4.2 percent. So there you have it folks. Four key housing market indicators are ALL WORSE than they were before the Fed conjured up and spent almost $2 TRILLION to drive mortgage rates lower.