Learning from the crisis caused by large numbers of real estate foreclosure properties for sale, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee passed a bill that would stamp down lending practices that could lead to another wave of foreclosure properties.

During the week ended April 24, the number of applications for mortgage loans and loan refinancing dropped to its lowest level since the middle of March despite the drop in mortgage rates and the availability of cheap but good homes in listing of foreclosed homes, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Many former owners of foreclosed homes or houses sold in short sales are finding to their horror they are being brought to courts to force them to pay balances on their mortgages.

Optimistic economists and housing analysts are enumerating signs they see as portending the bottoming out of home prices and the subsequent start of recovery despite the reality of foreclosed homes listing.

For the 31st consecutive month, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index for 20 major U.S. cities declined by 18.6 percent in February as real estate foreclosure homes continue to push down home prices, but the decline rate slowed down.

Philadelphia’s program of deflating listings of foreclosed homes has been cited by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as an effective model for cutting down the number of foreclosed homes across the country.

Now, Texans have 25 more days to find remedies to save their houses from being added to foreclosure properties, with the passage of the Mortgage Foreclosure Deferment Act by the Texas Senate. Previously, homeowners in danger of foreclosure have only 20 days from the date of the foreclosure notice to solve their default problems before their houses are foreclosed.

In the Twin Cities, an increasing number of first-time homebuyers are attending classes on home ownership, mortgages and foreclosure prevention as large numbers of cheap foreclosed homes for sale become available at low prices.

Internet-savvy Americans, mostly young and new couples, have been taking advantage of new online search tools to look for their dream house through online foreclosure homes listing and home selling web sites.

In March, sales of pre-owned homes, including homes in forclosure lists, declined by 3 percent, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.