Mayors Anticipate Rising Tide of Foreclosures

A study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors predicts that the "foreclosure crisis" will shave $166 billion off the U.S. economy next year.The analysis, performed by Global Insight for the mayors' association, predicts that homeowners nationally will see the value of their equity drop by $1.2 trillion in 2008. The study also projects that "at least" 1.4 million homes will go into foreclosure next year, representing a market value of $316 billion in property. The study predicts that home prices will fall by 7% nationally in 2008. The mayors say the housing downturn will ripple through the economy, trimming job creation by 524,000 next year.