If you think subprime was bad, wait until “prime” hits. The whole mortgage market mess is going to get much, much worse, according to a report in The New York Times.

The paper reports today that although the first wave of subprime mortgage defaults is peaking, a second and far more damaging wave of defaults in building – this time in the alt-A and prime mortgage brackets.

Alt-A mortgages in arrears quadrupled to 12 percent in April from a year earlier. And delinquencies among prime loans, which account for most of the $12 trillion market, doubled to 2.7 percent over the same period.

US foreclosure filings have more than doubled in 2Q from a year ago, reports Bloomberg.

According to RealtyTrac, 1 in every 171 households was foreclosed on, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction in the quarter. That’s up a massive 121 percent from a year earlier – and 14 percent just from 1Q.

The housing housing market has yet to bottomed out, says Louis Basenese. But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider a play in real estate.

Real estate is in a black hole, says Louis Basenese. The five largest U.S homebuilders lost $3.4 billion in the latest quarter. Home-builder sentiment is at a 22-year low. Investors are salivating over the prospect of a bottom in the real estate market. But Loius says it’s best to wait. A clear-cut signal that the housing market has bottomed isn’t coming…