by Calculated Risk on 9/24/2009 09:59:00 PM

Housing economist Thomas Lawler on CNBC this morning.

"It is virtual certainty that [foreclosure] sales will pick up. Various moratoria has actually diminished the pace of sales, but as people try to see who can qualify for the modification program. But the backlog of loans in foreclosure are rising, and foreclosure sales will 100% pickup, we just don't know when."

On tax credit: "It has been very very expensive, if you look at the number of people who have claimed the credit versus estimates of the incremental number of sales that wouldn't have occurred otherwise, looks it is costing the government about $40 thousand for every home sale generated."