Interesting read on housing

RISMEDIA, July 29, 2011—(MCT)—Home prices in major U.S. cities increased in May for the second consecutive month, according to a closely watched index, although experts dismissed the uptick as seasonal while separate reports provided fresh evidence of a weak housing market.




The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 1 percent from April to May when left unadjusted for seasonal variations.



Prices often rise in spring because of changes in the types of homes selling: Foreclosures make up a higher proportion of sales during the winter as families take a break from home shopping and cash-rich investors dominate the market. Higher sales volumes also push up prices.

But compared with May 2010, home prices slid 4.5 percent, according to the index released Tuesday.



“Year-over-year, prices continue to deteriorate, although there has been a seasonal uptick over recent months,” says Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at the University of California-Los Angeles. “This reflects a market that continues to be in search of a bottom.”



Chris G. Christopher Jr., an economist with consulting firm IHS Global Insight, said in a research note that the seasonal kick in prices will probably fade by October.



“Things do not look very favorable on the housing front since the employment situation has taken a turn for the worse in May and June,” he wrote. “The unemployment rate now stands at 9.2 percent, and consumer confidence is at depressed levels. Going forward, the Case-Shiller indexes are likely to post increases during the home-buying season, and then turn down again.”



The housing market began a renewed decline last year after the expiration of federal tax credits and has been limping along ever since. In March, home prices fell below their recession-era low, hit in April 2009, confirming a much-expected double-dip. Values have ticked up slightly since then.



One factor keeping housing weak is the high number of homes in foreclosure or headed into the foreclosure process. Then there’s the stalled jobs market, weak consumer confidence in the economy’s direction and the significant number of people saddled with mortgage debt that exceeds the value of their homes.



A separate report released Tuesday by Santa Ana, Calif., research firm CoreLogic indicated that the nation’s housing market is hampering the broader U.S. economic recovery. The report said that while several temporary factors have contributed to a slowing recovery, including high gas prices, U.S. floods and fading stimulus programs, “fundamentally, the recent slower economic growth illustrates that as the housing market goes, so does the economy.”



Housing influences the economy directly through residential construction, which typically gives a recovery a key boost. But with stiff competition from foreclosures, sales of new homes have been very weak for more than a year.



(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.

Losing our s**t is no excuse for losing our manners

Let this be your wake up call.


Recently I had the displeasure of experiencing some rather rude and passive aggressive behavior from complete strangers. I won't go into details since I have no desire to relive those moments but these people acted out because they either did not care or they felt the need to lash out in some way.

The last incident was the final straw and I responded to the perpetrator with the same behavior the douchebag inflicted on me, with extreme prejudice. The piece of trash was not happy about the lesson and it almost got very ugly. But luckily for both of us it did not escalate to a point where legal and medical attention was needed.

Right now we are going through a make or break period for our economy and all signs point to break. All the high rollers in real estate that I know of are s**tting bricks. They are either at the mercy of their lenders or desperately trying to dump their inventory.

Along with the Debt Ceiling showdown there is $23 billion in commercial mortgages coming due. It is understandable why people are feeling the squeeze.

However, what I have noticed is people are reacting to it by not giving a damn about the negative results of their actions or they are just being plain old rude and obnoxious because they are angry at the world.

To all those people who feel justified in acting that way, I have one thing to say to all of you.

F**K YOU!

There are people out there in the world who have so much less in assets but so much more in liabilities but you don't see them acting like a bunch of babies.

I am done with you people. I have no desire to correct your behavior because I have no time or energy to deal with you. Also I know that nothing good will come from confronting people like you. If there is a way to walk, I'll walk.

However, nothing good will come of this if all of you keep this up. You are going to piss off someone who is angrier than you are and who cares a helluva a lot less about what happens to them. They are looking for an invitation to ride up on someone.

If that happens, you are going to find yourself a host to your smackdown.

$104,313

That is how much it costs to live in this house.

That will be all.

The Bunny

The rich are getting nervous. And this isn't just chatter.

A short sale in Scarsdale.

You will see more of these. Bank on it.

Jared Kushner is not alone. All the big time players who were gobbling up properties like the way Lindsay Lohan chugs Red Bulls are now desperately trying to get rid of them or getting to know their lenders as they renegotiate the terms of their mortgages.

Real estate was such a nice fluffy bunny. Now it bares its fangs.