The Spring Bounce-Back Seems To Be Stalled: CEO
Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. “National City Corp., the Ohio bank that sold its subprime mortgage unit to Merrill Lynch & Co. last year, said profit fell 31 percent as it set aside more money to cover bad loans. National City put $107 million into a reserve to cover bad loans, quadruple the amount from a year earlier, citing a ‘difficult environment’ in the mortgage market.”
“Delinquencies reached a four-year high last year, cooling demand from investors who buy loans and package them into securities. National City said last month it would hold on to more of its mortgages rather than selling them at depressed prices.”
From Reuters. “Net charge-offs rose 21 percent to $147 million, including $53 million for nonconforming mortgages. These include ‘Alt-A,’ short for ‘Alternative-A,’ which are between prime and subprime in quality.”
“‘The secondary market in mortgages has stabilized, but gain on sale, particularly in the Alt-A slice, has been under pressure,’ National City President Peter Raskind said.”
From Bloomberg. “Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan, will cut back on terms that make subprime home loans more likely to default and step up ‘Alt-A’ lending to restore profit at its mortgage unit by year’s end.”
“The company, which lost $113 million on home mortgages in the first quarter, is making fewer loans that don’t document a borrower’s income and cutting second mortgages, executives told investors Friday.”
The Associated Press. “American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said Monday first-quarter profit shrank 44 percent because of mounting payment defaults and sagging home prices.”
“CEO Michael Strauss said in a statement a ’severe disruption’ in that market forced prices for mortgages down. Mortgage lenders across the country are reporting that investors in the first quarter lost their appetite for mortgage debt as home prices slumped and borrowers defaulted on loans more frequently.”
“AHM said it set aside $60.5 million in anticipation of missed payments on loans. Most of the reserve was for a type of loan in which the lender doesn’t verify the borrower’s income and the home doesn’t provide enough collateral for the debt. AHM said its charges for loan delinquencies should diminish in the future because the company stopped issuing this type of loan.”
“Credit Suisse is being sued by a Florida insurer that says it lost money on investment-grade bonds backed by subprime mortgages sold by the bank.”
“The suit, filed last week by Bankers Life Insurance, is ‘one of three to five in the pipeline’ involving securitizations by Credit Suisse, said Dale Ledbetter of one of two law firms representing Bankers Life.”
“‘We suspect that once people understand what occurred here, there’s going to be a lot more,’ Ledbetter said. A total of $302.6 million of bonds were originally issued in the deal.”
“Bankers Life claimed that divisions of Credit Suisse caused it to lose money by overstating how much of a loss after foreclosures that the insurance on the loans would cover. It also says that the bank accepted ’shoddy, inferior’ loans, failed to buy back fraudulent ones, and covered up delinquencies of homeowners, according to the complaint.”
“Payments were being advanced on borrowers’ behalf to ‘maintain the illusion’ that defaults were not occurring, the suit says.
“Moody’s Investors Service, citing more subprime mortgage loan losses than forecast, has downgraded the ratings on 27 different pools of securities created over the past two years by Lehman Brothers Holdings.”
“Bonds created through Lehman’s Structured Asset Investment Loan Trust from 2005 and 2006 were cut because of ‘higher-than-anticipated rates of delinquency,’ Moody’s said Friday.”
“‘The servicers have started to sell the properties and therefore losses have started to come in,’ said Nicolas Weill, Moody’s chief credit officer for its Structured Finance Group in New York.”
From The Record. “We’ve come a long way since the giddy heights of 2005, when the real estate market peaked. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the nation’s sixth-largest home builder, has lost a total of more than $174 million for the past two quarters, its first losses in at least nine years.”
“In an extensive interview last week with The Record, Ara Hovnanian, the company’s CEO, talked about his company, the housing market and the home-building industry, where they are, and where they’re headed.”
“Q. How’s the outlook for housing for the rest of 2007? A. ‘My response is different today than it would have been a couple of months ago. Had you asked in January or February, I would have said it really looks like the market is stabilizing. Then this whole issue regarding the subprime mortgage industry came out, and that caused sales to dip.’”
“‘Now my prognosis is not as optimistic as it was. Obviously, the industry is still selling a lot of houses, but the recovery and spring bounce-back we had been hoping for seems to be stalled.’”
From MarketWatch. “A sharp drop in investment-home sales offset a record number of vacation-home purchases to bring down the overall share of second-home purchases in 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.”
“‘We expected the drop in investment sales because speculators left the market in 2006, which caused investment sales to fall much faster than the primary market,’ David Lereah, the association’s chief economist, said in a news release.”
“The median price of a vacation home was $200,000 in 2006, down 2.0% from $204,100 in 2005. Investment-home prices were also down, with the typical home costing $150,000 last year, down 18.3% from $183,500 in 2005.”
“‘The drop in investment prices comes as no surprise, but for vacation-home prices to edge down in a record market is a bit puzzling,’ Lereah said. ‘It may result from a large dumping of inventory on the market by speculators, especially in the condo sector, with long-term, second-home buyers taking advantage of the glut and buying at negotiated discounts.’”
“David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, is leaving NAR to join a new business entity next month, NAR said Monday.”
“Lereah has directed NAR’s research division, regulatory and industry relations division and other activities. He will leave the association in mid-May, NAR said.”
WHAT? Who will tow the line for NAR if Lereah leaves?
I heard that Bozo The Clown just quit the circus. Hmmm.
Bozo the Clown was Greenspan.
Though I do say his timing was better than Lereah’s.
Have they hanged Baghdad Bob yet, or is he alive and looking for work?
I think he committed suicide
I think the NAR now needs to hire that ‘Oxyclean!’ guy Billy Mays to step up the cheerleading.
the real news will be when the NAR disbands…
We need the BooRah guy, Cramer, the original cheer leader to put the spin on things. He can call the bottom if anyone can? hehehehehehe
They need the Australian “tap light” guy.
Mikey from American Chopper?
Casey Serin!! He’ll do some wheat grass shooters, wash it down with a little jamba-juice and tell us allllllll about those SWEET DEALS now that its a ‘Sheriff’s Market’…
Or how about Jeff Squanky (or whateverthehellhisnameis) over at SDCIA? He is a freakin’ real estate MOGUL with his 14 houses in 14 months! Those three in Cape Coral are pure strokes of GENIUS!! He would be the man to fill Lieahrhea’s shoes- after all, real estate only goes up! By the way, he appears to be having a bad day today at SDCIA. I think that he is under a little stress. He ought to buy another house!
Yea, I vote for that guy.
Promote LAY now or I will lose all faith in NAR.
That guy’s an idiot. Every post of his has the trendy little signature “The first million’s the hardest”. He will need to replace ” the hardest” with “impossible”. He’s going down in flames, but wants to somehow walk from the alligators, sticking it to the noteholders, yet keep the homes which still have equity. A true greedy a$$hole who won’t take his medicine and liquidate everything while there’s still a window.
Nah, he’s a genius, remember he used to Manage a Taco Bell.
Another specuvestor bites the dust. From Jeff:
“I have been ill…
I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, when I do eat it comes up. This morning I started the day with a shower and threw up in the shower…
I am barely functioning, I try to read everyone’s posts…
To those of you that insist that these houses were a mistake, you were right.
To those of you offering constructive advice and support, thank you.
I try to read everything but the words are just swimming, I’ll try again later…”
Had he not been such an arrogant, greedy, know-it-all jacka$$ I would feel pity. As it is, I am enjoying watching him crash and burn:
Jeff
Senior Member
Registered: 3/14/05
Posts: 1,464 Today at 09:19 AM
I have been ill…
I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, when I do eat it comes up. This morning I started the day with a shower and threw up in the shower…
I am barely functioning, I try to read everyone’s posts…
To those of you that insist that these houses were a mistake, you were right.
To those of you offering constructive advice and support, thank you.
I try to read everything but the words are just swimming, I’ll try again later…
__________________
The first million is the hardest…
Oops, you beat me to it!
It’s so pathetic, it needs to be posted twice!
Can you imagine being the woman married to this worthless whining wimp? And with four kids?
I’m guessing he is now lying in a corner, curled in the fetal position, crying for his mommy.
I’m guessing he is now lying in a corner, curled in the fetal position, crying for his mommy.
oh thats rich…I remember a seen in dumb and dumber where Loyd was about to be attacked by C-bass.
seen=scene
I feel a little sick just imaging his situation.
For the record he said (in 2005) he actually bought 14 homes in 14 WEEKS not months. All pre construction 100% financing I think.
He does have ballz I will give him that. I am very conservative. Once in a while someone will mention to me ‘going in together’ on a real estate purchase and my reply is ‘I found a CD at 5% do YOU want go in on one with ME?- we’ll make killing!!!’ Partnering is bs and/or fraud.
Supposedly the ‘last crash’ was due to the BUILDERS builing spec homes with no buyers. No its FLIPPERS who bought spec homes with no buyers lined up who caused the overbuilding. Builders have learned!
Just like BA commercial during dotcom mania. Developers didn’t throw up empty buildings without tenants and big deposits, but tenants leased anything and everything in sight for future growth.
Demand led speculation, with developer accommodation.
Bwwwaaahhhaaa, That’s too funny, talking the talk but can’t walk the walk. Investor my a$$. The worm turned on him real quick and he doesn’t have the stomach or the gnads for the game. What a wuss. Stand up be accountable and make a plan. Do something, but don’t just lay down in a corner and whither away. Even that Casey guy the moronic idiot he was at least tried. Bwwwaaahhhaa. That made my day. I saw a post about him in the L.A. Times a day or two ago. I had no idea he was this close to the edge.
Linky?!
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/sdcia/vpost?id=1854186&trail=30
Jeff the F’d Flipper Man
All his posts should be compiled and published as a book on how NOT to invest in real estate.
Doesn’t Jeff have anything to say to those he stepped on and screwed over in order to get rich? Guess not.
Wonder if he put any of the equity from his personal residence into the pot.
Yeah, karma’s a b*tch, huh,Jeff???
Yeah, I wonder if txchick57 has come across his woes yet, I’m sure she would be loving it.
I am pretty sure Txchick is banned for life from the SDCIA board.
It was hilarious while she was at it, though!
“I am pretty sure Txchick is banned for life from the SDCIA board.”
That is a badge of honor.
It will be interesting to hear Ol’ D.L.’s comments once he leaves the NAR. So many change their tune once they hit the exits. If this guy does he better wear Armor Piercing Body Armor, you just gotta think some FB somewhere might go lookin for him.
It’s pretty damn funny that he basically gave 2 weeks notice, just like any other menial job.
“It’s pretty damn funny that he basically gave 2 weeks notice, just like any other menial job.”
What do you want to bet he ends up at a hedge fund? He’s been a successful, cheerleading shill, so some he’s valuable to some hedgie who wants him to work his magic. Watch for him to pop up like a turd that won’t flush.
He actually “gave notice” when his latest book was published.
“All Real Estate is Local” (or something like that…), released in March.
The book’s theme seems to fit with his new organization’s description of its business (”local this, local that… before and after you move…”).
I think the title was actually “All Real Estate is Loco” but the printers messed up.
I’m speechless..if that’s not the ringin’ of the final bell, I don’t know what is..Now I’m waiting for someone to go after ‘realestatenevergoesdown-Dave’. I have to think there will be a mob with torches looking for an effigy to burn..he’s gonna be the poster child of animosity.
Rumor has it - this last year he’s been slacking off and giving ‘nutty’ predictions on purpose to try to get fired so he could collect unemployment… but finally he got fed up with surfing the net all day and playing solitaire and minefield and gave his 2 weeks notice.
Bring back “Joe Isuzu”!
Beat me too it. David Leisure would be great
I would love to see a commercial where a realtor says: “Now is a great time to buy!”, with the old Joe Isuzu caption on the bottom of the screen: “She’s lying”.
Lereah’s mom finally told him to quit!
NAR needs to pay another thick face to call the “bottom” every month.
Amazing how cloudy my crystal ball is. I figured Liarreah would be with them forever, as they need to create a sense of security for their audience. Conceivably it was Liarreah himself who decided to go elsewhere, maybe he actually doesn’t like being a laughingstock.
az lender & others:
Maybe he couldn’t live with the lies he was telling
Inspired:
maybe he read this blog!
“‘The drop in investment prices comes as no surprise, but for vacation-home prices to edge down in a record market is a bit puzzling,’ Lereah said.
Because it has been so puzzling for you, you were fired…oops I mean you took a new job elsewhere. Good bye.
Bummer he won’t be around to explain when all home prices “edge down.”
I hope the NAR hires Baghdad Bob. If I’m going to be lied to, I want it to be from someone who spins the lies in a fun way.
Got popcorn?
Neil
who’s gonna keep on track of how the weather affects housing sales now?
I see we’re on the same page today, literally, LOL
Were do I send my resume?
Roidy
I’d be careful, the test to get the job is to stick your arm in a vat of boiling oil and to yell “MY ARM IS FREEZING!”, for three hours, or until you quit…
“‘The drop in investment prices comes as no surprise, but for vacation-home prices to edge down in a record market is a bit puzzling,’ Lereah said.”
Oh God, save me!
sorry, God’s too busy giving real estate advice on the other part of Ben’s blog…
There is a spring bounce, what are they complaining about, it’s just not in sales, it’s in foreclosures, LOL.
LOL can use that line at the next open house I go to?
Okay, but don’t blame me if they don’t give you any cupcakes, LOL
hehehe I actually had a good time looking at a new development here. They fed us lunch while being grilled about population data for the area.
The highlight of the afternoon was when one of the salespeople said that all the existing homeowners here were going to choke and foreclose since Centex could uncut them continuously until all the new units sold.
Jeez, THAT was their sales pitch?
Too bad you don’t have a recording of that, I’m sure the existing homeowners would like to provide a copy to their attorneys. Not that they have a legitimate claim, mind you.
Resale homes in Woodland are about $270 sqft (Davis being $310 to $440). The new homes which are right up the road from Davis city limit are $200 sqft.
Over the causeway in West Sacramento, there are a few forclosures of practically brand new 2700 sqft homes for $145.00 ouch
The Yolo county market is completely wacked.
Spring bounce? More like a catapult launch here in V.C. People around here aren’t as upbeat as they were 6 months ago..Foreclosures for everyone…
Do you have access to any of those foreclosures, I mean that you can post? Remember there’s a delay if you post more than one link in a single post.
“David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, is leaving NAR to join a new business entity next month, NAR said Monday.”
I guess it was finally time for him to give up the ghost. I wonder where he’ll pop up next? Can Leslie Appleton-Young be far behind? You think that David is getting out now, hoping to become obscure, before the lawsuits show up?
lereah has already accepted a job mucking horse barns in Kentucky…
I saw on CBS marketwatch that he is joining Move Inc, some real estate related company in southern california.
“Mission Accomplished” David Lereah
David Lereah Watch
http://davidlereahwatch.blogspot.com
Wow, we just witnessed the end of a blog.
best laugh ive had all day!
thank your rentor!
anyone have a guess on what commision % will be after the fall for
A. RE now 5.2%
B. Loans .5 to sky’s the limit when they’re sticking it to a dumbo
I’m guessing 2% for a total RE transaction(like EU)and the .5% for morts may be high cause congress will squeeze them hard
I suspect that there will be more movement toward fee-for-service activities, where the agents are guaranteed a specific income for a specified service. Or the company is guaranteed the fees and pay salaried people. More or less, they’ll be hybrids of FSBO sites. But I doubt that the traditional broker/agent services will die out altogether, even at 4%. I have a friend who is a commercial broker. While I doubt that his take if from a 10% total commission that was the norm here in days of yore, it still is hefty. The commercial guys are the ones you see at the country club.
Maybe David Lereah is going to be a weatherman. Where else can he go with his background of being right (almost never) and still have a job. I see a correlation here. He was a NAR weatherman intern!
According to HP, he is joining Move Inc. I thought it was a joke at first, but I guess it is real.
So he’s joining MOVE? Bring in Frank Rizzo.
We all like to laugh at DL– but hey let’s face it.. whatever he’s pimped has been *the bubble* of that decade.
Maybe we should just follow DL up, and then really enjoy laughing on the way down with some extra $$$$’s floating around.
After the last two “jobs” he’s had, it certainly seems as if he is the guy they call in to pump before the dump.
Actually, being a professional meteorologist (i.e., not at a TV station) is a pretty hard job…the background is virtually the same as an engineer.
maybe LIErah gave Merrill a tip ” buy this one” Nat City
the Ohio bank that sold its subprime mortgage unit to Merrill Lynch & Co. last year,
can anyone shed light on how Banks may be dragging their feet on reporting issues
like 1099 for foreclosed and REO transactions
-the next shoe to drop
imo
I think what they do (I’d guess) is simply keep them on the books at their mortgage cost. For example, if a 500K house with a 500K mortgage goes into foreclosure…the bank assumes it can sell it at 500K…thus no need for a write down. A mortgage asset of 500K is replaced by a ‘house’ of 500K…net effect is $0.
When they actually sell it for 400K, then they have to report a loss. Right now, they SHOULD report a loss if they estimate that their proceeds are less than the amount owed…but somehow I think they’re trying to get away with assuming full recovery.
What I was told was that the lenders were looking into judical foreclosures before agreeing to a short sale or a non-judical foreclosure. They are looking at making the FB fork over other assets to make up for the loss.
Now since lots of people bought spec homes here in Sacramento (heloc on the 800k BA home to purchase the 250k Sac investment), I can understand why they’d do this.
“They are looking at making the FB fork over other assets to make up for the loss.”
Examples of that could provide us with LOTS of entertainment, here on the blog.
From Bloomberg. “Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan, will cut back on terms that make subprime home loans more likely to default and step up ‘Alt-A’ lending to restore profit at its mortgage unit by year’s end.”
Yes, step up those Alt-A’s. That is a brilliant idea. I was just at my bank (Wachovia) and the branch manager (who processes all of the loans there) told me that subprime lending standards have not changed in the last few months. When I asked her about Alt-A, she gave me a blank look and said “What is Alt-A?”. Upon further elaboration she proclaimed that inerest-only and neg-ams were still quite popular among her clients. On a side note and quite coincidentally, the same woman had just closed today on her brand new overpriced KB home while telling me in the same breath that she had rented the house she was moving from because “now is just not a good time to try and sell it”. It seems to me that this one bank manager singlehandedly sums up the entire problem with the attitude of our current housing/lending situation. Good blog-fodder I was thinking the whole time she spoke…
One of many reasons I don’t bank at Wachovia anymore!
The “invisible hand” is going to bitch slap her.
Many people don’t realize how much force is going to be behind that “invisible hand” this time. Many people imagine it being weilded by a waif lady. Ugh, uh. Let me introduce you to Igor, the strongman. Why yes, those are brass knuckles.
WHAM!
Got Asprin?
Neil
I suspect it won’t be the whole hand, just the Dirty Digit of Destiny… on a very large hand…
That’s WAMU, not Wachovia. Wachovia did take on the former Golden West Financial and their portfolio of option ARMs…we’ll see how that goes.
That is just frightening. I’m glad I don’t bank at Wachovia.
No sh*t.
From The Record. “We’ve come a long way since the giddy heights of 2005, when the real estate market peaked. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the nation’s sixth-largest home builder, has lost a total of more than $174 million for the past two quarters, its first losses in at least nine years.”
Several posters on this blog refer to the home builders going bankrupt in the future. These reports of losses are surely covering things up as much as possible, but soon the dam will break.
David Lereah was leaving at the perfect time. Let someone else be the scapegoat.
Let me guess, he wants to spend more time with his family…
My thoughts exactly…
When the team is sucking, you change the quarterback.
You can’t be completely wrong for over a year and have any credibility left. They are bringing in someone else to try to bring more credibility to the messages they are sending to the homebuying community.
You talking about d.l. or ’ssshrubery?
“’ssshrubery?”
That’s a case of the whole team needing to be sacked.
“Bankers Life claimed that divisions of Credit Suisse caused it to lose money by overstating how much of a loss after foreclosures that the insurance on the loans would cover. It also says that the bank accepted ’shoddy, inferior’ loans, failed to buy back fraudulent ones, and covered up delinquencies of homeowners, according to the complaint.”
“Payments were being advanced on borrowers’ behalf to ‘maintain the illusion’ that defaults were not occurring, the suit says.”
I’m giddy!
That is an amazing statement.
They can’t be the only ones covering up losses. This sort of thing is a lot like roaches–you see one little bad loan scurrying around, it’s safe to guess that there are hundreds more hiding out there.
Baghdad Bob’s real identity is Gary “It’s in the Bag” Watt’s - maybe he can interview for the job?
Check out the drama, jeff the Sand diego investor
is very sick, has not slept in three days. Bk next.
Read all about it, sdcia.com
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/sdcia/vpost?id=1854186&trail=240
I copied that thread to WP, to save for all time or the death of my hard drive, whichever comes first. Next time (next bubble) I run into a smart-ass “investor,” I’ll print a copy for them.
I knew it!!! Last month on this blogsite I predicted that Lereah would be gone in a month. Well, his time has come.
Next in line for the ol’ shit can is LAY of the CAR. I predict she’ll be gone by August.
You know, I kinda like LAY. Then again, I have a soft spot for women.
I think you mean Leslie Appleton Young.
Ken Lay was with Enron.
Oops. Nevermind my last comment. I get it now. Doh!!
L = Leslie
A = Appleton
Y = Young
New Century employees’ retirement funds to be used to pay off creditors?:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-new30apr30,1,5079530.story?coll=la-headlines-business
F them. I especially like the last line about lives being ruined. Give me a break. Gosh, those poor executives that only made a few hundred thousand per year, they’ll have to get rid of their Porsches! And the the focus man or the article - an executive that had no idea they would be in bankruptcy the very next month?????? LMAO.
The headline should read: Overpaid NCF executives get burned.
New Century employees’ retirement funds to be used to pay off creditors?:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-new30apr30,1,5079530.story?coll=la-headlines-business
800k in the toilet, man that has to hurt.
“…it will be tough for New Century’s top hat participants to show they weren’t sophisticated enough to merit being exempted from ERISA.
“You’re talking about people who live in a big house, have nice cars and made a lot of money holding themselves out as financial experts,” he said. ”
So he quit in mid-Feb., but not because subprimes were blowing up. And, to be in the plan, he had to make a quarter million a year. And, he was in marketing, on the front lines of suckering FBs into financial ruin.
Gee, karma’s a bitch.
You could argue that people at that level in the organization were at least partly responsible for the bankruptcy.
“I honestly felt like somebody’s got to do something,” he said. “There’s so much money at stake. A lot of lives are going to be ruined.”
I wonder how many of his clients feel the same way towards him.
At least this scenario is better than socking it to the taxpayers.
The guy in the article saw this coming. I do not feel at all sorry for him. Think of the thousands of people he may have palyed a part in ruining. While the builders and mortgage guys companies may go under, they took out billions in inflated salaries and stock options. I wish the investors and hurt borrowers could sue each of the top executives personally.
Yeh right…. As above, how many has he left twisting in the wind? Sounds like David may have some company with his head on a pike….
“.. he said he had become tired of the lending business after 20 years at mortgage companies and quit New Century in mid-February without any inkling that the company would soon wind up in bankruptcy. ”
“I honestly felt like somebody’s got to do something,” he said. “There’s so much money at stake. A lot of lives are going to be ruined.”
but how is he supposed to pay for all the necessities in life like a brand new hummer for him, Plastic Surgery for the wife, the trip to the cayman islands to check on his real nest egg, the boat to go out fishing with a couple of broads every weekend? Life is so unfair, and to think that he will need to work again at the ripe old age of his late 40’s after putting in 20 years as a mortgage broker. The insanity I tell you!
The Spring Bounce just put a hole in the RE Canoe.
Keep bailing, spinning…Hey ! David …WHERE’S the Paddle ?
David Lereah is the Dave Wannstedt of the business world. When he leaves, the whole industry is in shambles.
whtya you a cowboys fan or what?
test
Hey, important news here: A&E channel changed the format of “Flip that House”. They used to show you the purchase price, the rehab job, then at the end the giddy real estate agent would waltz in and estimate what it would sell for, then they’d roll credits. Now, maybe one of their producers got schooled by someone from this board, I don’t know, but now they follow through and show what the thing actually sells for.
Last night, they had on this ugly gigantic slab of a woman, Beverly, who tried to do a flip with a major fixer she bought in Westchester for 730K. After reducing the price THREE times, she couldn’t sell it and ended up moving into it with her husband, and losing 61 pounds (she claimed from dieting but I suspect otherwise–property taxes on a 730K purchase can cut into one’s food budget quite a bit).
There is nothing in Westchester worth 730k, that’s insane.
Not even a small, featureless ranch style home with no landscaping on a small lot, with highly damaged interiors throughout, like the one our friend Beverly bought?
Not even close, I’ve always wondered about the attraction to that area. Me personally could do without 747’s for alarm clocks.
It’s a boring suburb like the San Fernando Valley, but with better weather and access to the westside and beaches.
In a flight path, don’t forget the flight path.
I love the smell of jet fuel, all the time…
“in a flight path”…
I’m sure there is some way a realtor could spin that to be an positive, I can’t think of how at the moment, maybe “conveniently close to transit corridors”, LOL
Many years ago I had a bank owned listing there, standing in the front yard with an agent and her buyers. We all looked up everytime a plane landed, believe me there is no way to spin that… well unless your client is deaf. But the vibrations from the planes would even kill you there.
It’s not Westchester County?
Yeah, I immediately thought Westchester county too at that price.
And there really are houses worth that much there. (Of course, it’s still way over priced on the whole).
When I saw the house I thought, maybe, MAYBE she bought it for $350K. When they announced $730K FOR A FIXER of that style, I lost all control of my bodily functions.
LOL. I’ve only seen that show once and that’s the episode I’ve seen. And I thought the exact same thing about the weight loss.
the HELOC diet - new book coming out soon…
Cool…..maybe now I can actually watch that show without vomiting.
“but now they follow through and show what the thing actually sells for. ”
‘BOUT FRIGGIN TIME!!!!!
The “Update” shows are awesome. All the pros got out at the going market price. All the amatuers have moved in or lost their arses.
nah, this is how the new show ends, the appraiser walks in and the couple and everyone beats the sh** outta him.
Only two times I watched, the “flipper” couldn’t get their asking price, lowered it, couldn’t get that either, and “conveniently” decided that they like the house and will keep it.
The foreclosure proceedings a few months down the road were not included in the episode.
I dont watch that show… already broke two TVs.
You feel like behind the iron curtain and the commies
are pumping you with propaganda.
Surreal experience…just back from standing in line at bank to desposit a check, and the usual one teller for about 15 customers…anyway, I’m waiting right by the loan desk…in the space of about 6 minutes, 3 people went up and wanted info on getting a HELOC. I watched those three leave….two got into construction type big ol’ trucks (brand new), and one got into a BMW.
Is it just me or is everything going quickly to hell for many more people than ever we cynics believe?
Honestly, I hope so.
me too
“Is it just me or is everything going quickly to hell for many more people than ever we cynics believe?”
I’ll vote for the latter!
I went in a few weeks ago to Citibank by Overland and Pico, just to ask for a new ATM card (mine was cracked), and the woman had this huge stack of home equity line of credit applications sitting in front of her that she was processing before I came in…I guess that’s all they do these days.
i’d like to know what percentage of the call backs that she makes end in anger on the rejected borrower’s part.
you know that movie from the 1930’s “Reefer Madness”…supposed to educate the public about the dangers of weed…
Some HBBer ought to do HELOC Madness. Then upload it to YouTube.
I was thinking the other day, there should be a good movie or novel somehere in all this madness. But who would be the hero?
That was a fat juicy pitch down the middle.
Ben Jones!
everytime i see those new porshe shaped mercedez benz’s they are parked right next to a house for sale.
why do all the realtors have the best cars?
Last month it was clear to me that David Lereah would be gone in short order. Today’s the day. I predict that LAY of the CAR will be gone by August.
The NAR will not come to an end, but they will be gutted.
“The NAR will not come to an end, but they will be gutted. ”
That won’t happen
“That won’t happen ”
Why not? They’re member revenue is going to go waaaaay down. What will they make payroll with?
Their, not they’re sorry.
Their member numbers are already decreasing…
Not enough to evaporate. Most of what they will be getting rid of is the new meat. Too many old heads, to much money, etc etc.
david today
can that day cinderella kuntlow and leslie applehead will be next to go?
Right now on tv…. CNBC. Green Light Financial Commercial. Refi with almost no paperwork. No income verification. No bank statements.
While I typed the above, came the next commercial. Merchants funding. Do you have a porperty you are flipping. We specialize in fix and flip loans.
Last change to generate transaction fees before all their bonds get kicked back and they fold?
I’m sitting here stunned…
I guess not every 401k bond fund is done being fleeced. Gasp…
Got popcorn?
Neil
Why advertise “no income verification” unless you are telling people to LIE!!!!!!
How can you blame people for lieing when the brokers are telling them to?
Oh that’s right. IT’S ILLEGAL!!!!
So, all these mortgage commercials were happening as they were teasing “where real estate is still hot and how you can profit”.
When they finally got to the story, it was the “2nd property numbers” that while investment buying is off 28%, vacation home is up 4% 2006 over 2005.
Did they come right out and say “Gotcha…. These numbers are 4-16 months old and therefore totally irrelivant”?
As close as they could I guess. They went out to a vacation home area “on the sound” for an openhouse over the weekend. No one showed up at the open house. No one. They closed with there being lots of very eager sellers with lots of very agressive listings.
oh, you mean the national anthem. “Eight six, six, sixty six faster, You’ve go the green light!” Land of the freeeeeee - shackled by debt…
I still hear a lot of ads from that Barney Aldrich guy: we specialize in bad credit, and hey, we’re nice people too.
It’s the biggest no-brainer in history.
Until you have to pay it back.
Fukk off, Lereah!! I mean every word of it, you lying sack of turds! Now you won’t need to explain how wrong you were, you fukkin weasel!
The strong language above, whether appropriate or not, appears to be indicative of an enormous dislike for liars which is beginning to creep back into our society. For a long time now, liars have been secretly admired. Liars got the big loans. Liars got the good jobs and kept them as long as they kept lying and spinning. Liars got the babes and the action, they got the cars and the houses and everything good. Lying permeated politics like never before. (here’s an interesting article: http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese354.html ).
Now, finally, when the lies become apparent and damage begins to appear, there are faint traces of outrage, of anger and resentment. People begin to get the idea that the lies told by so many others will not just bring down those others, but the honest people as well. Now, suddenly, there is a problem?
Our nation’s integrity has been sullied in the eyes of the world and our currency is falling like a waterfall. Our laws are overburdensome and consequently widely flouted or ignored. Our finances, national and personal, are overextended and in peril. Out entire society and way of life have been sold down the river, and there’s no recovery. There’s nothing left to do but bunker up and wait for the resolution.
Where was the anger when the lies were first being told? Where was rational discourse and hard-edged questions when they could have done some good?
“The strong language above, whether appropriate or not, appears to be indicative of an enormous dislike for liars which is beginning to creep back into our society.”
I hate to quote Martha Stewart, but that’s a good thing. I hope it continues.
I think there WAS alot of anger here from us at the beginning from all the lies and spin of the NAR and all of the liar loans being used.
I wrote numerous times to the MSM LA TIMES Rag and never got a response. My comments years ago could have helped but
they didnt want to listen.
Charley Reese has been my favorite columnist for decades. He was at the Orlando Sentinel (syndicated) for decades. He is one of the few who pulls no punches, ever. He has a good sense of humor, but seldom reveals it in his columns. Since his retirement from the Sentinel a few years back, I think he writes only for Lew Rockwell now — his LR archives can be found there.
The national motto used to be something like; “Apple Pie and Chevrolet”, but was replaced with; “Lie, Cheat, and Steel Your Way to Success”.
Now that you have complemented the guy, would you please tell us his faults.
Just heard an ad on a San Diego radio station, now is the time to invest in a condotel room in Orlando, “one of the fastest appreciating real estate markets in the country.” I’m pretty sure this is an inaccurate portrayal of the Orlando RE market, can anyone confirm?
Yeah, you could say that…..
http://www.orlandorealestatehomes.com/articles/233/FL/Glut-of-Homes-Available.php
You know they’re desparate when they have to advertsie on a radio station 3,000 miles away.
Yes, it is inaccurate. The fastest-appreciating part was fairly accurate in 2004-05. IMO, it’s never been accurate that “now is the time to invest in a condotel.” Flippers who flipped them in the early stage were lucky — the buyers were screwed. Think 52 weeks of a single timeshare unit.
“Q. How’s the outlook for housing for the rest of 2007? A. ‘My response is different today than it would have been a couple of months ago. Had you asked in January or February, I would have said it really looks like the market is stabilizing. Then this whole issue regarding the subprime mortgage industry came out, and that caused sales to dip.’”
Ignore the man behind the curtain! The problems with subprime lending are contained!
Ugh - an Orlando condo-tel. I’d rather burn my money — at least I’d get something out of doing that (warmth, amusement, shocked onlookers).
I’d call one of those toll-free numbers in one of those radio ads, just to see what the sales pitch and brochure were like — but I’m afraid of the mailing lists it would get me on.
I recall reading somewhere that Disney is going to build a huge motel complex on the west side of their Orlando property. The intent is to offer lower cost rooms than in the rest of the resort to lure those who chose to stay in cheaper lodgings in Kissimmee to stay instead “on property”.
Sounds to me like there is going to be a major glut of “Off property lodging”. That condotel offer sounds like a great way to invest in an oversaturated market. Plus as the HELOC part continues to crash, I think that there will be fewer families taking vacations to DisneyWorld (unless Euro laden foreign tourists make up the slack).
I vote for Lawrence Yun to be new NAR Chief Economist.
He mentioned early last year that the Seattle Metro area would experience a 30%+ increase in the median price this year. Not even close.
Privately, I think that many academics are laughing and snickering at David Lereah and he feels the consternation and embarrassment.
“David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, is leaving NAR to join a new business entity next month, NAR said Monday.”
So they won’t even name the business his going to work for? Does he get plastic surgery and a new identity as well?
I heard he’s going to be on the witless protection team.
He went to work for Move.com
It appears he went to Move.com Crap he moved to California!!!
Leading Real Estate Economist, David Lereah, Joins Move, Inc. as New Executive Vice President and Chairman of New Venture
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 30, 2007–Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE), the media leader for the when, where and how to move, announced today that Dr. David Lereah has joined the company as an executive vice president for Move, Inc. and serve as chairman and partner with Allan Dalton, who will be the president and CEO, of a new business entity which will launch in the third quarter of 2007 and which is expected to be transformational for both consumers and real estate professionals.
Lereah is the nation’s leading real estate economist. For seven years, he has served as senior vice president and chief economist of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) (NAR) as the Association’s spokesman on the U.S. economy, the housing and real estate markets as well as other economic and policy issues affecting the industry in the U.S. and abroad. He also directed the Association’s Research Division, the Regulatory and Industry Relations Division, the Real Estate Services Group and Strategic Planning Activities for the Association.
“With the addition of David’s unique qualification and expertise as an economist, Move will continue to be recognized and sought out as the leading online real estate destination with the most comprehensive information available to real estate professionals and consumers,” said Mike Long, chief executive officer of Move, Inc. “After serving as the spokesperson for the NAR for many years, David brings vast real estate savvy and knowledge to the company. He will help guide us in our next phase of growth and expansion with new ventures as well as serving as the company’s spokesman on economic and real estate issues.”
Lereah is recognized as a leading expert in the real estate and financial services industries and his career has included tenures with private industry, government, and academia. Prior to joining NAR, he was chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) and acted as the COO with responsibility for MBA’s Research, Business Development, Industry Technology, Education, Marketing, Public Affairs and Meetings divisions. He also had responsibility for the MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America and Societas, an international lending institute. At the same time he served as president and chief executive officer of Lender Technologies Corporation - a wholly owned subsidiary of the MBA which specializes in technology and information solutions for the mortgage lending industry.
“David Lereah has established himself as the ultimate expert for the real estate industry,” said Allan Dalton. “Having David partner with me on this new venture will ensure that consumers and the industry will benefit from his unparalleled knowledge of financial issues and the real estate marketplace.”
Prior to Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), Lereah was managing principal and chief executive officer of Vantage Financial Group, Inc., a consulting company focusing on financial and investment management for the banking and real estate industries. He also was the chief economist of Sovran Bank (predecessor of NationsBank and BankAmerica) in Richmond, Virginia, and served on the Asset/Liability and Investment Committees for the holding company. Lereah spent several years as a bank regulator and a financial economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In that capacity, he authored numerous articles on bank management and hedging strategies. He also was a member of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Counsel. Lereah began his career on the faculties at the University of Virginia and the Graduate School of Management at Rutgers University, where he specialized in banking issues, market information problems and financial market research.
Lereah’s economic and real estate market commentary is regularly quoted in major news media including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BusinessWeek, USA Today, CNN Business News, CNBC, CBS Evening News and C-SPAN. Dr. Lereah has also served as an expert witness, testifying on economic and financial services issues before the U.S. Congress. He is a prolific speaker, giving presentations and seminars on economic, real estate and investment issues throughout the U.S. and other countries. He has written numerous articles and books on finance, investments and real estate, and his new book, “All Real Estate is Local,” was released in March 2007 published by Doubleday, Random House.
Lereah has served on a number of Board of Directors/Advisory Councils, including Velao Interactive Solutions Corporation, EZ Archive Corporation, The Harvard University Industrial Economist Council, The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego, The Gerson Lehman Advisory Council and the National Housing Conference, Center for Housing Policy. Dr. Lereah received his B.A. in Economics & Marketing from American University, Washington, D.C. and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.
ABOUT MOVE, INC.
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE), the media leader for finding, improving, and enjoying your home, provides homebuyers and renters with the real estate and community information, and professional connections they need before, during and after a move. The Company operates Move.com(TM) (http://www.move.com), the most comprehensive real estate search site for rentals and homes to buy and REALTOR.com(R) (http://www.realtor.com), the official Web site of the National Association of REALTORS(R). Move also operates Welcome Wagon(R) (http://www.welcomewagon.com), a 78-year old neighborhood expert that provides new movers with valuable and comprehensive information about businesses and professionals in their new communities. Move.com is the official new homes Web site of the National Association of Home Builders. Move also operates Moving.com (http://www.moving.com), SeniorHousingNet(TM) (http://www.seniorhousingnet.com), TOP PRODUCER(R) Systems (http://www.topproducer.com), FactoryBuiltHousing.com (http://www.factorybuilthousing.com) and Home Plans (http://www.homeplans.com). On the Net: http://investor.move.com.
I am just wondering about how much identitiy fraud will occur since all these financial people are going under. They have access to all sorts of stuff I’d rather they didn’t have.
oh… good point. And very scary!
Anyone who ever believed anything “David Lereah” said in the last 5 years - deserves whatever fate befalls them. Meanwhile, I can imagine Mr Lereah on a sunny day floating on a mattress/chair in his mega-sized swimming pool with a cocktail in his hand repeating over and over and laughing loudly “there certainly is a sucker born every minute”
“Last night, they had on this ugly gigantic slab of a woman, Beverly, who tried to do a flip with a major fixer she bought in Westchester for 730K. After reducing the price THREE times, she couldn’t sell it and ended up moving into it with her husband, and losing 61 pounds (she claimed from dieting but I suspect otherwise–property taxes on a 730K purchase can cut into one’s food budget quite a bit).”
Too funny
Think positive, a real estate crash induced recesssion/depression for an extended period might have some positive benefits in some cases, for example actually cause certain people to move their legs a few miles a day and actually WALK or run a few hundred fee, and engage in exercise for the first time since 4th grade recess decades ago, and just maybe eat w/o stuffing their gourdes everytime - and get rid of the gym memberships they never use or the wasted gym equipment in their homes now being used as a laundry rack
Consider that it might once again make it safe to enter Walmart w/o being threatened with being rurn over by an (otherwise abled bodied) WALMART SCOOTER FATTIE rushing to their latest diabetes medicine sale and the sale on Twinkies and Ho-Hos