• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

News headlines around the U.S. trumpeted a huge housing recovery yesterday as new data released by the National Association of Realtors found that there was a 7.8 percent increase in the purchase of existing homes in August. This marked the highest amount of existing home sales recorded in the past two years.

Also, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, new home sales rose this past July and were up more than 25 percent from a year earlier. Foreclosures were also down 13 percent from last year.

But, behind all this rosy data, which financial analysts say indicate an overall economic recovery, over 10 million Americans or 22.3 percent of homeowners are still underwater on their homes, which means they owe the bank more than their homes are actually worth. Those whose homes are underwater are at a greater risk for foreclosure and just in this past month close to 100,000 families entered the foreclosure process.

New home sales, which are up from the previous year are still below 50 percent of average sales over the past 40 years and the actual housing recovery is showing a very mixed picture from state to state. In Nevada, for instance, 60% of homes are still underwater.

The US Federal Reserve is attempting to reduce interest rates for new buyers and those who are refinancing with a program put in place last week to buy $40 billion dollars worth of mortgage backed securities every month until the end of 2012. But, major assistance in the form of principal rather than interest rate reduction has not been offered to home owners and President Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program or HAMP has only helped a million out of the tens of millions of home owners who need loan modifications.

GUEST: Doug Henwood, political economist, author of “After the New Economy,” and editor of “Left Business Observer,” host of a Pacifica weekly program called Behind the News