Expect more pain in the housing market next year, says Don Miller. Rising unemployment will keep the foreclosures coming. And as the backlog of inventories swells, Don says homebuilders still look ripe for shorting in this environment.

This from Money Morning:

The U.S. housing market is already being pounded by the “perfect storm.” And the outlook for the New Year is for the stormy weather to continue – and probably to get worse.

As if a locked-up credit market and tidal waves of foreclosures weren’t already enough, we’re now watching unemployment climb and consumer confidence plunge.

But even when the housing market is taking on water, there are ways to stay afloat. Indeed, investors nimble enough to maneuver can even make money.

The watchword on this market, though, is caution.  If an investor decides to test the waters, beware of the extraordinary financial undertow.

Here’s a look at what’s happening now, and

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Foreclosures continue to plague the U.S. housing market, but government agencies are working to develop a plan to aid struggling homeowners, and in turn, strengthen the U.S. economy.

Foreclosure activity saw a huge spike in the third quarter, as one in every 475 U.S. homes either received a default or auction sale notice, or was repossessed by a bank, according a report released yesterday (Thursday) by industry group RealtyTrac. It was a 71% jump over third quarter foreclosure activity in 2007 and a 3% increase from the second quarter of this year.

Foreclosure filings actually decreased 12% in September from August, but not due to an improving housing market.

“Much of the 12% decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of

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By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Consumer prices rose sharply in July even as home foreclosures spiked, making it increasingly likely the economy will stall in the year’s last half under the weight of soaring unemployment, declining home values and accelerating inflation. Banks foreclosed on 77,295 homes in July, 8% more than a month prior, and 183% more than a year ago, RealtyTrac reported. More than 680,000 homes have been repossessed since the beginning of August 2007. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.8% in July, the Commerce Department said yesterday (Thursday). On a year-over-year basis, the consumer prices climbed 5.6%, their biggest surge since 1991. Usually, price levels decline in the face of slowing economic activity. But that’s not happening this time around. Indeed, soaring commodity prices are causing insidious inflationary forces to take hold, raising the possibility that the U.S. ...