Ever since moratoriums have been lifted in February there have been increasing numbers of foreclosures around the country. In April foreclosures went up 32 percent from the previous year. Despite the moratoriums there doesn’t seem to be much that has effected the foreclosure results. The good news is that a lot of the foreclosure homes on the market are being bought at a higher rate.

California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida continue to have the highest amount of foreclosures which results in many home prices dropping severely. Going hand in hand is unemployment rates. With more foreclosures it seems that more evidence shows that the homeowners suffered a job loss.

In January and February there was a severe drop in retail sales at such places as Target and Wal-mart. Sales were expected to pick up in late March, early April, but didn’t seem to move up much at all. In fact, by the end of April retail sales were down nearly .5 percent. This may not seem like much but this can affect many jobs.

Rebate check and tax returns were thought to help some in pushing people to buy, but it hasn’t done much good. Many people are holding onto their money and trying to pay necessary bills. The Obama tax plan says to increase couples that make more than $250,000 or more annually which would only hit 5 percent of the county’s earners.