Nevada was the hardest hit state with one in every 23 houses going into foreclosure. Vermont had the best ratio even though foreclosure filings increased 170% in a year-over-year basis. What is interesting is that many lenders are following the lead set by Cuyahoga County in Ohio (Cleveland) where recently lenders have stopped kicking people out of their houses, putting the home in abeyance while the residents continue to live in the house.

The problem is that foreclosures were supposed to be stemmed by the government and programs like the Making home Affordable foreclosure prevention one. But it just isn't happening. In fact the fastest growing area is in the 180 days late-plus category, the most seriously delinquent borrowers. Sharga believes "It's going to be a lingering problem." He added, "I don't see home prices getting much better until 2013."

With foreclosures a lingering problem and home prices not getting much better for nearly three years, this doesn't sound like a recovery to me. Don't get me wrong, I want the economy to recover but I don't want people to get a false idea that everything is hunky dory.

It is going to take some work for homeowners to get out of the mess that they (yes, they) have created. Irresponsibility has caused the foreclosure problem, and now the government is trying to bail the individuals out (just like the banks). Let this serve as a word of warning. Let's not get carried away with all of the recovery talk -- there are still problems with the economy.