SANTA ANA, Calif., May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bob Simpson, president and CEO of IMARC, a company that investigates failed home loans for private mortgage insurers, posits that the housing market is nowhere near a recovery because ongoing foreclosures threaten to cause a double dip in home prices.  Simpson is available to members of the media seeking commentary on what it will take for the housing market to recover.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110505/LA96017)

By now, the factors that led to the housing market collapse have been indentified: Lax lending standards, mortgage fraud, exploding ARMs, credit-default swaps, and good old-fashioned greed all played a role.  But Simpson points out that the housing market cannot recover until we understand the forces that are keeping home prices depressed.

In a recent speech at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Fraud Issues Conference, Simpson noted that in Santa Ana, Calif., within a five-mile radius, there are more than 1,100 homes that are in the foreclosure process or already bank owned.  He determined that many of these properties are underwater by more than $250,000, meaning that homes in one area of one city account for just under $300 million in negative equity.  "People have increasingly little incentive to stay in these homes," Simpson says, which he suggests is one reason why government programs such as HAMP aren't working.

Simpson was quoted in "All the Devils are Here," by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, an overview of the origination of the current financial crisis.  He also has appeared on "60 Minutes" as an expert commentator on the state of the mortgage industry and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

Simpson's background as a lawyer and a loan broker gives him a keen ability to understand and analyze the ongoing foreclosure crisis.  He is available to provide insight on such topics as:

• How new foreclosure rules could add to the backlog of distressed properties
• How shadow inventory threatens the housing market recovery
• Why the increasing number of "underwater" homes will continue to put downward pressure on values

For cogent, insightful analysis of the mortgage fraud fiasco and the housing market meltdown, contact IMARC.

SOURCE Bob Simpson