US housing market seen getting worse

An even gloomier scenario may be in store for an already ailing US housing market if the overall economy slips into a recession, according to UBS Securities analysts. Falling home prices, soaring foreclosures at a time of tighter lending and rising unemployment are all weighing heavily on an already troubled housing sector, the analysts said during a conference call late on Wednesday. “The housing market has been in a recession for the past year and once the overall economy slips into a recession, which it probably will, the housing market will probably be in a depression,” said Tom Zimmerman, head of ABS, mortgage research at UBS Securities. Lack of funding is the biggest problem facing the housing market right now, according to the analysts, with subprime and Alt-A securitized markets shutting down and banks being forced to... [read full story]