Mortgage lenders are to blame for the wave of foreclosures, however it is not because they are on the attack. Lenders have been inundated with mortgage delinquencies and instead of immediately being on the attack, the opted to let homeowners stay in their homes a bit longer.

The delay occurred because lenders wanted to fully process the large amounts of foreclosed properties they were already managing before dealing with the next swell. Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac stated, "The banks are really sort of controlling or managing the dial on how fast these things get processed so they can ultimately manage the inventory of distressed assets on the market."

Who is at the Greatest Risk of Foreclosure?

Data recently released by The Center for Responsible Lending demonstrated that minorities have been hardest hit by foreclosures.Their research has shown that until this recent spike in the foreclosure rate, African-Americans and Latinos have been hit harder by the mortgage crisis as they were the biggest demographic of subprime mortgage holders.

The tables have since turned, as homeowners who opted into conventional fixed rate loans, are now the largest growing group suffering from the epidemic.

Factors Contributing Foreclosure Crisis

Despite the Making Home Affordable program developed and implemented by the Obama Administration and lenders working directly with qualified borrowers to prevent foreclosure, the foreclosure mess lingers on. The main culprits of the problems are the nation's high unemployment rate and low home sales

Even though mortgage rates are historically low and there are plenty of available housing units, the nation's Commerce Department recently announced that home sales are down 33 percent. The statistics show the biggest depression in new home since record keeping began in 1963.

The biggest malefactor behind the foreclosure fiasco is the nation's unemployment rate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate has been over nine percent for several months. Financial experts say that six percent unemployment is normal, however it will be the middle of the decade before that level is reached.