This is unsurprising for those of us paying attention, although it is troubling nonetheless. Via NYTimes: In Parts of U.S., Foreclosures Top Sales

During January, it was reported this week by RealtyTrac, there were 153,745 initial foreclosure notices sent out in the United States. That dwarfed the 43,000 total sales of newly built single-family homes and amounted to nearly half the total sales figure, which includes sales of existing homes and condominiums.

The pace of this mess appears to continue to increase.

According to this video from a dude at the Harvard Center for Joint Housing Studies, he sees a bottom at no later than December 2009. Many others are thinking late 2010. I heard that billionaire Sam Zell was on CNBC saying we will have a bottom in a few months…he must have been talking about megacap value equities or something.