One of the primary goals of the Obama administration over the last two years has been to shore up the fractured and falling real estate market and help millions of Americans prevent foreclosures – the same foreclosures that have helped to sink housing prices year over year since 2007.

One program toward that solution – the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program – is set to end shortly, with the July 22nd deadline for pre-applicant screening worksheets merely one day away.

The program was designed to offer a zero-interest bridge loan for distressed property owners that is ultimately forgivable – which basically amounts to free money up to $50,000 to pay mortgage loans provided the homeowner meets the rules of the program. (A small percentage, based on income and other considerations, has to be repaid for two years.)

It sounds nice in theory, but the funds were only appropriated for a certain period of time. The deadline for applying is July 22nd – tomorrow – and there is no indication that the money will come close to being entirely allocated, due to a lack of knowledge and, in some areas, interest in the program.

How will the market handle the ramifications of this deadline and the program itself?

It is true that loan modification programs do provide some sort of tangible assistance to distressed property owners, which helps in delaying or preventing foreclosures. This in theory translates into a boost for the economy and the market because fewer foreclosures mean higher home prices (because foreclosures tend to depress surrounding home values).

Of course, the impact of EHLP will be marginal because it is not as expansive or widespread as it needs to be. Analysts expect only 1,500 homeowners to take advantage of the program, with an average loan of approximately $35,000. That is not enough of an impact to substantially change the status quo.

In fact, because EHLP will ultimately fail to cause the broad, substantive impact on the housing market that was intended, it could perversely dissuade buyers from entering the market at all – which would only serve to make the housing market worse.

With low home prices, an abundance of discounted foreclosures, REOs, and short sales, and rock-bottom interest rates, buyers have all the incentives in the world to enter the market and create a position. The presence of EHLP is too limited to make much of a difference to the market, so buyers should not worry themselves about any possible negative effects.

The market is primed for an influx of buyers and investors looking to stake out a profitable position with tremendous upside, and that time is now.

For the month of February, filings for foreclosed homes in Milwaukee reached a total of 915, representing a decline of 12.5% compared with February 2010, when 1,046 filings were recorded. This marks the second month in a row that the metro area has recorded a drop in year-over-year foreclosure-related filings figures. Compared with the previous month, the February total showed a decline of 2.4%. A total of 973 filings were posted in the region during January 2011.

Meanwhile, the number of foreclosed homes in Wisconsin remained high during the month. Statewide, 4,478 foreclosure-related filings were recorded in February, ranking the state 10th nationwide in terms of places with the highest foreclosure activities for the period. Wisconsin's foreclosure rate was one household per 578 residential units for February, making the state the 12th U.S. region with the highest rate of foreclosure for the month. Wisconsin was also one of 10 states that accounted for over 70% of the total foreclosure-related filings in the U.S. for the month in focus.

For the Milwaukee metro region, local analysts stated that the decline in the number of filings for bank foreclosures and HUD foreclosures for sale is great news for the area. Milwaukee and the rest of the state were among the first U.S. areas to be hit by the foreclosure crisis. Because of this, analysts expect the metro area to recover earlier than most parts of the U.S.

However, they also claimed that, when the crisis is over, Milwaukee's housing market will be narrower, with renters probably outnumbering homeowners. They revealed that this scenario is highly possible because majority of properties in home foreclosure listings are being purchased by investors. For now, however, the area should first get through the problem of foreclosure oversupply, which was further aggravated by the nationwide recession.

Most housing industry analysts believe that declines in the number of bank foreclosures and HUD foreclosures for sale in areas like Milwaukee and in the rest of the U.S. are not signs of a recovering housing market. They stated that the drop is only temporary as lenders grapple with the impact of the nationwide probe on foreclosure processes, with numbers expected to rise again after a few months.

Palm Springs foreclosures and other foreclosed homes in various areas of the state have reached totals that are higher than majority of other U.S. states, but rates had been declining in the state since 2009. In the Inland Empire region, market observers are predicting that the downward trend will continue, with fewer properties expected to enter the first stage of the foreclosure process in 2011.

The decline of California foreclosures though, is facing some risks of getting reversed, according to analysts, if certain factors affecting the market perform worse than they already did in 2010. One of these factors is the unemployment rate of the area. Another is the high level of delinquent mortgages that have yet to enter the process of foreclosure. There is also the coming increase in the monthly rates of adjustable rate loans, which could result in more homeowners abandoning their properties.

These factors, analysts stated, can cause the number of bank foreclosed properties and foreclosed HUD homes for sale to increase again during the year. However, foreclosure-related activities can be controlled if lenders escalate modification efforts or allow more short sales. The good news is that in 2010, the Inland Southern California area's bank repossessed properties decreased by 23% compared with 2009, reaching a total of 34,446.

Another positive sign in 2011 for the region is that decline in loan defaults in the previous year. The number of properties that entered the process of foreclosures dropped by nearly 38% in 2010, which gave hope to analysts that fewer homes will be foreclosed in 2011. In addition, the number of mortgage loans delinquent for at least three months has fallen to 14.89% in October 2010 compared with the October 2009 figure of 17.71%.

Inland Southern California was ranked sixth nationwide in terms of foreclosure rate in 2010, including activities related to bank foreclosed properties and foreclosed HUD homes for sale. The region recorded a total of 101,210 households receiving notices during the year.

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One of the Nashville foreclosures that has recently been purchased and scheduled to be made into an apartment property is the 4th and Monroe Condominiums located in Germantown in Nashville. Nashten LLC, the buyer of the foreclosed property, is reportedly planning to add to the numerous apartments already present in the city. The purchase price for the 39-unit building was reportedly $3 million.

According to registry records, the property became one of the many Tennessee foreclosures in January. Traditional Urban Concepts, the former owner, reportedly had a 2007 loan worth $9 million. No record was found showing that the condominium units were ever sold to buyers. So far, six of the condominium units have been rented and the rest will be converted into apartments with the monthly rental rate starting at $1,200.

Prior to the foreclosure, the building was advertised as a condominium with each unit having a starting rent of $223,500. The property was being built as the real estate industry was starting to fail, with foreclosed property and HUD federal property sales beginning to creep in to the market. The latest owner of the property reportedly revealed that around $200,000 will be used to develop the building into a rental project. They also added that eventually, it will end up as a condominium as originally planned.

Local brokers have stated that condominiums will sell better in the Germantown area in the future, particularly when foreclosures have eased down and the population of the area has increased. For now, however, most of the real estate projects are angling towards apartments instead of condos. Aside from the Monroe property, another condominium project being renovated into an apartment is the Rolling Mill Hill bought for $7 million.

Realtors believe that while foreclosed residential and HUD federal property sales continue to dominate the Nashville real estate market, more developers will look at apartments as a way to cope with the industry downturn.

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People buying Tucson foreclosed homes are not that many as most investors and home buyers are wary of investing in real estate right now despite declining prices. Tucson is one of the areas in Arizona hit hard by the housing industry crisis. Another is Phoenix.

Aside from the high levels of Arizona foreclosure homes, the economic slowdown is also being blamed for the declining prices of houses in almost all key areas of the state. In Phoenix, values have declined in September for the second consecutive month. The Arizona State University's Repeat Sales Index has estimated that prices of dwellings dropped by around 4% during the month compared with the same period of last year.

The September decline followed an August drop of around 2% when compared with the same month of 2009. The previous month's value decline was also attributed to the huge supplies of foreclosures, including bank and HUD foreclosures for sale. Housing industry analysts have stated that if October home values showed another drop, it will not be good for the metro area and the whole state's residential property market.

Prices of foreclosure real estate in Phoenix, considered as one of the strongest segments of housing sales, declined in August. This was followed by further price declines in September, analysts have reported. September home foreclosure prices recorded a drop of almost 6% when compared with August 2009. Meanwhile, non-foreclosure dwellings recorded a price decline of 9% in September 2010 when compared with the same 2009 period.

The average price of Phoenix homes in September was estimated to be around $124,900. Meanwhile, housing data showed that condominium prices are declining even faster than other types of residences, with the average price estimated to be at $62,000 in September.

Median price for condo properties in August was at $65,000, while the average value for July was $77,000. Along with foreclosed properties like HUD foreclosures for sale, values of regular dwellings are expected to continue to drop until the end of 2010.

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Despite the vast supply of low-priced dwellings in various areas of the state, including Charlotte cheap foreclosures for sale, most people who would have normally taken advantage of the low prices and record mortgage lows are reportedly renting apartments instead. This trend has resulted in a series of development projects that involve apartment properties.

One area that has taken advantage of homebuyers' reluctance to purchase North Carolina cheap houses for sale is Greensboro. In the city, over 1,000 apartment units are being planned, with more projects already in the final construction stages. With the huge number of apartment construction projects happening in the area, some real estate developers are wary that it might result in too many supplies for too little demand.

According to them, rental home developers should not be too carried away by the fact that fewer people are buying foreclosure houses for sale to conclude that these non-buyers are seeking rental units instead. They cautioned that prior to building apartments, developers should first thoroughly examine the neighborhood if the demand justifies the projects.

With thousands of HUD houses for sale, foreclosed dwellings and houses being offered through short sales, apartment and other for-rent properties are expected to face tough competition, even though majority of consumers are believed to prefer rental housing nowadays. This trend, according to some analysts, can change rapidly within a year or so.

As of now though, apartment developers are taking advantage of what they perceive to be a great market for rental properties. Greensboro is currently home to several of these development projects, including a Friendly Avenue and a Bridford Parkway project by Mega Builders and another couple of development efforts from Signature Development.

So far, apartment development projects in the city are estimated to have a construction cost of over $80 million. This estimate is based on the approximate per unit cost of an apartment or condominium which is pegged at around $65,000. The units are projected to compete with HUD houses for sale, foreclosed homes and other cheap dwellings being sold in the area.

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Columbia foreclosure investing remain on an even keel, with the metro region recording a rise of over 50% in terms of foreclosure filings during the first six months of 2010 compared with the first six months of 2009. However, when the last half of 2009 is used as basis for comparison, Columbia only recorded a 0.07%. Compared with other cities in the state, Columbia can be said to have done very well during the first part of the current year.

The number of foreclosure filings and South Carolina foreclosed homes for sale rose in most areas of the state, particularly in the Charleston metro region which recorded a 17.08% rise in filings during the first half of the current year compared with the same period of 2009. The region topped the state in terms of foreclosure filings.

Charleston metro had over 4,200 households in various phases of foreclosure during the January-June 2010 period. It also had the highest rate of distressed properties, including bank and HUD houses for sale, which has a represented ratio of one household for every 68 residences.

Greenville, on the other hand, recorded a 17.12% increase in filings and number of foreclosed homes for sale during the 2010 first half compared with the same six-month period of a year ago. Over 3,000 filings for foreclosures were recorded in the Greenville metro in January-June 2010, making it third in terms of areas in South Carolina that have the highest filings for the six-month period in focus.

According to local market observers, the ability of these regions to maintain housing market stability will depend on the condition of the state's employment in the coming months. They added that buyers' increased interest on foreclosed properties and HUD houses for sale is only temporary and is mainly caused by the tax incentive. Analysts have emphasized that job growth will still be the major factor that will drive housing market stability.

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Home foreclosure rates are also expected to somewhat decline as the period showed the first ever quarter in a period of two years when home equity delinquencies have declined. According to economists and real estate market analysts, the news is encouraging since it shows that more Americans are saving money and taking care of their financial obligations.

On the local front, the nationwide decline is expected to affect Brockton foreclosure investing as home prices will likely stabilize with less number of households suffering from late loan payments. Rates for loan delinquencies declined nationwide to 2.98% compared with the 3.19% figure recorded in 2009.

Local market analysts are hopeful that this would cut down the listing of HUD homes and other foreclosed properties and ease the housing market crisis. The home loan delinquency rate is also being buoyed by the decline in the number of consumers who are late in their credit card payments.

With these positive developments in mind, local analysts are hoping that Massachusetts foreclosed homes for sale will also diminish in number. National statistics showed that home loan delinquencies that are linked with credit lines declined by 2.04% during the 2010 first quarter when compared with the fourth quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, applications for home loan refinancing have risen by 9.2%. It is reportedly the highest increase in almost 14 months. When it comes to home buying, the number of house purchases has been declining for the past nine weeks following the tax credit incentive deadline in April.

The diminishing number of delinquent home loans and the declining number of consumers who are late in paying for their credit card fees are expected to somewhat alleviate problems related to listing of HUD homes and foreclosed properties.

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Sales tax collections in the East Valley cities of Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, and Chandler have been rising over the past few months compared to spending levels one year earlier. Statewide, April was the first month that sales tax collections increased since September 2007. Total April collections increased over the year by 4.1 percent.

Budget officers said that foreclosed houses for sale are still putting a downward pressure on property values, but the pressure has weakened, giving home prices a chance to move up. Local officials even believe that the projected budget shortfalls would be lower than anticipated because of slight improvements in the economy.

Improvements in the affordable housing sector are even a boon to Mesa foreclosure investing, as neighborhood improvements improve the chances of investors to resell properties at higher prices. In the third week of May, it was announced that group homes in Mesa, Ahwatukee and Tempe will receive energy efficiency grants.

These grants will not only enable savings on electricity but will also help create jobs and help rejuvenate the economy in the area.

In addition, the efforts of the federal government to facilitate the sale of HUD foreclosures are also expected to entice more investors to target HUD homes. The revisions made by the FHA and HUD on their home loan and home purchase rules over the past several months show the openness and timely response of federal officials to public clamor. Their efforts in promoting home ownership and in reducing the foreclosure inventory are also helpful for real estate investors specializing in distressed properties.

Although the number of Arizona foreclosed homes for sale dropped in April by 206 percent compared to March, the resulting figures are still among the highest during the month. More than 5,400 homes became bank owned in April, with HUD foreclosures accounting for a substantial percentage.

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For over 60 years, mobile or manufactured homes have served the housing needs of hundreds of thousands of people who can only afford cheap houses in New York. Further investigations, however, showed that there are significant numbers of owners of mobile or manufactured homes who bought them even if they can afford typical single-family homes because of lifestyle preferences.

Stories abound about couples and families who have significant savings, but do not like to spend a big portion of them on permanent housing but on travel, outdoor adventures and other unique experiences.

These more adventurous buyers can be targeted by investors in manufactured foreclosures. Investors and owner occupant buyers, however, are advised to focus their search on HUD-compliant manufactured homes in every foreclosure list that they obtain.

According to long-time brokers and dealers of manufactured homes, HUD-approved manufactured homes have steel frames, which make them stable when transported and installed. These experts say that steel frames have advantages over purely-wood frames and that framed manufactured homes are more enduring than manufactured houses with weaker frames.

Steel frames connect all parts of the manufactured home in a way that the whole structure becomes unified and stable against winds and earthquakes. Steel is also 30-percent lighter than any wooden material of the same measure of strength. This makes for easier transportation and installation.

Another good characteristic of steel is its ability to resist moisture. Unlike wood which warps or gets soft if it is exposed to moisture or dampness, steel remains hard and strong in the midst of dampness. Nevertheless, homeowners need to be reminded that steel will rust over a period of time, especially if it is not repainted or coated again.

The strength and stability of steel has been proven over the decades. Large buildings, bridges and ships all over the world use steel beams and frames.

For people engaged in Brooklyn foreclosure investing, they can add manufactured foreclosures to their portfolios. In the shipment and production report for February and March 2010 released by the Institute for Building Technology and Safety, the demand for manufactured homes is still relatively high.

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