The Housing Bubble

UBS Profit Falls as Hedge Fund Losses Hurt Bond Fees
UBS seems to be the anti goldman…..

shiff vs a nuts guy on cavuto / video

Owning a Home in the Suburbs of London / NYT

M3 in europe / Chart
good that the ecb has an official m3 target…….

http://immobilienblasen.blogspot.com/

First!

GMAC, Some funny lines in this one. ” If you strip out the sub-prime losses they had a pretty good quarter” Hey same here if I strip out all of my debt I have a butt load of money.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHvtL.eadU6Q&refer=worldwide

I stopped by a local RE brokerage and management company to drop off my rent check yesterday. The person on front desk duty told me that 1 out of 7 homes in Hillsborough County (Tampa, Florida area) was in some stage of foreclosure. This was anecdotal, but this is a large RE company with a number of offices around the Tampa Bay area and they always have meetings at which the latest statistics are reported, so that everyone keeps up with market conditions.
That is a mind-blowing statistic. 1 in 7. Wow, just…wow!

Interesting articles about telecommuting in SF due to the freeway fire and subsequent collapse of a major artery.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20070501/tc_zd/206469

Interesting articles about telecommuting in SF due to the freeway fire and subsequent collapse of a major artery.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20070501/tc_zd/206469

Interesting articles about telecommuting in SF due to the freeway fire and subsequent collapse of a major artery.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20070501/tc_zd/206469

WBMZ - please don’t strip

Going, Going, Gone

http://wallstreetexaminer.com/blogs/winter/?p=735

Lets make a deal

http://sarasota.craigslist.org/swp/308259990.html

BMW profits plunge by 38%. They have a bunch of excuses but I’m guessing they will be one of the first casualties of the passing HELOC fad.

IBM is addressing its U.S. cost base

Maybe high home prices aren’t such a great thing?

“We’re putting in place a series of actions to address our U.S. cost base, including a basic focus on resource and cost management disciplines and rebalancing of resources as we execute our global resource strategy,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge said on a conference call with analysts on April 17, according to a transcript of the call.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2124847,00.asp

Another Report: Big Blue plans to bring on 14,000 Indian workers as it proceeds with U.S., European layoffs.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/24/news/fortune500/ibm_india/

People still think high prices for homes are great for society. It’s not. It means your cost basis, as the IBM CFO puts it, is unattractive and you may be out of a job.

High home prices are pricing people out of jobs.

From yesterday’s thread. From CNN Money. “John Devaney’s not a developer, and he’s certainly not a flipper. The CEO of United Capital Markets is a bond trader. And one of his specialties is buying and selling bonds that are backed by the mortgage payments of ordinary homeowners.”

“Option ARMs? Devaney loves ‘em. ‘The consumer has to be an idiot to take on those loans,’ he says. ‘But it has been one of our best-performing investments.’”

Will the consumer idiots get the last laugh on this asshat CEO when they stop paying on their mortgages and he becomes a big bagholder? I don’t want to invest in his company.

From yesterday’s thread. From CNN Money. “John Devaney’s not a developer, and he’s certainly not a flipper. The CEO of United Capital Markets is a bond trader. And one of his specialties is buying and selling bonds that are backed by the mortgage payments of ordinary homeowners.”

“Option ARMs? Devaney loves ‘em. ‘The consumer has to be an idiot to take on those loans,’ he says. ‘But it has been one of our best-performing investments.’”

Will the consumer idiots get the last laugh on this asshat CEO when they stop paying on their mortgages and he becomes a big bagholder? I don’t want to invest in his company.

Here is a little snippet that exposes some of the bias in the news.

May 1, 2007, CNN’s chief technology correspondent, Miles O’Brien, and his wife, Sandy, are asking $3,495,000 for a Manhattan apartment they bought two years ago:

http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnists/private/20070501-private.html

Now I understand this April 19, 2006 transcript, in which CNN anchor Miles O’Brien tries to muzzle any idea there is a housing bubble:

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/19/ltm.02.html

Pay close attention to comments made by Miles O’Brien near the end of the transcript as he insists that it’s a great time to buy RE.

O’BRIEN: It’s still historically low numbers.
O’BRIEN: It’s still a great investment. And now is the time to buy.
O’BRIEN: Oh, you are? Oh, you’re a bubble burster, huh?
O’BRIEN: Think of it as a buying opportunity. As interest rates go up, people will rush out to purchase.

O’Brien has a soap box with millions watching and uses it push the idea that buying RE in April 2006 is a good idea, while failing to disclose he has millions of his own money invested in it.

Watching Bloomberg this morning, I saw UBS earnings are down due to hedge fund losses of over $100 million in the last quarter. The culprit was subprime loans, and UBS will take a charge of over $300 million to close the fund. Not all Wall Streeters are rocket scientists.

Getstucco posted this story on “principles” on yesterday’s Bits N Bucket, but it was after dozens of other posts. I had noticed them at WaPo and put them up at my blog. They do seem like bloviating “style over substance”. I can’t believe they have any enforcement “teeth”. (Perhaps I’m too cynical). But I think the market itself is working to some extent as we see lending standards actually being tightened.

WASHINGTON — Several major participants in the home mortgage market have agreed to adopt a set of principles for dealing with homeowners with high-priced loans who face possible foreclosure, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee [Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn] said Wednesday.

These “principles” include:

- Contacting distressed borrowers promptly to try to work out arrangements;
- Making loans more affordable by reducing rates, changing terms and other means; and
- Providing refinancing at the lowest cost possible for those who are eligible.

The “major players” who adopted these principles include:

The Mortgage Bankers Association; Wall Street powerhouses Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. HSBC Holdings Corp. and Bear Stearns & Co.; government-sponsored mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; AARP; and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Those companies who did not endorse the principles include:

Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co.

“These principles represent a critical step in preserving homeownership and economic opportunity,” Dodd said in a statement. “The companies and organizations that endorse these principles demonstrate their commitment to being part of finding solutions to foreclosures.”.

Housing Bubble Haiku:

When you bought your own prison

Let me ask you

It was your decision?

Has anyone in CA know anything about Sharebuilders FCU?

DAILY NEWS) LIQUIDATION NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF SHAREBUILDERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION The National Credit Union Administration Board placed the Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union Charter No. 13135 19901 Nordhoff St. Northridge CA 91328 into involuntary liquidation pursuant to its authority under Section 207 (a) (1) (A) of the Federal Credit Union Act. All creditors having any claim or demand against Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union must submit their claim or demand in writing together with proof by August 3 2007.

2nd try

UBS Profit Falls as Hedge Fund Losses Hurt Bond Fees
ubs seems to be the “anti goldman”

M3 in europe / Chart
good that the rcb has an official m3 target…..

shiff vs a nuts guy on cavuto / video

Owning a Home in the Suburbs of London / NYT

http://immobilienblasen.blogspot.com/

“Nothing in the world makes people so afraid as the influence of independent-minded people.”

Albert Einstein

Bankrupcties up in Central Florida. Flippers, slumping housing market, rising debt and prices to blame.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-mbankruptcy0307may03,0,7779396.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Anyone know anything about Charlotte, NC? I was just offered a job down there and have to admit that it is interesting.

My impression is that Chalotte is a “less bubbly” market. There has probably been some overbuilding, and some area residents have undoubtedly used option ARMS and the like to overleverage themselves. That said, Charlotte really is growing by leaps and bounds and has a economy that is not predominantly re-based. And even if it is overvalued, it’s still far more affodable than places like CA.

Also, from a non-RE stanpoint, what is Charlotte like? What are the people like? How is the local economy? What are your subjective impressions of the area? Any information would be very much appreciated as I value the perspectives of my fellow bubble bloggers.

In 2006, homes went down almost 6% (including inflation). Homes would have to drop an additional 25% to be back at the expected value of homes based on their historical 2.3% yearly increase.

In other words, we have only seen the tip of the housing crash iceberg!

http://tinyurl.com/yq567f

Implode O Meter is down (Http 500 error)….Auto-Dogmatic blog is up yet….reports another subprime called Concord of Scottsdale, Arizona just up and closed.

Also, reports that Citimortgage will be closing some of its loan offices in July.

Anyone else reading this stuff or hearing more subprimes and now Alt-A financial outfits just up and closing in the middle of the night?

Just curious, but does anyone watch Property Ladder on TLC? It’s been a riot watching it lately b/c all of the FBs are taking a bath on their flips. Most of the homes they have featured lately have not sold by the time the show was aired. One of the best ones lately was a newly-wed couple who renovated a 2/1 in CA (I think it was SF, but can’t remember). It was a small house and they went overboard on the “upgrades” for the neighborhood. They paid 180K, spent 50K+ renovating it and were asking $279K. The only person who showed up to the open house was the woman who lived down the street that was also trying to sell. The woman told them that if they get an offer, any offer, to just take it. The show ended with the guy saying “We just want to dump it…. as long as we don’t lose money”. Has anyone followed up to see if any these homes have actually sold? Just curious…

I am Wilmington NC today visiting the family. The printed version of Star News has some good information on the Wilmington NC market this morning. 10.7 months of supply. I cannot find the article online however.

Anybody know of a blog for Austin, Texas? I’ve been considering buying a rental duplex there, but can’t find anything but realtor cheerleading on the net. Maybe things really are different there, since the run up hasn’t been as great, but I also am suspicious if the market is just 9 or 12 months out from the rest of the country. Foreclosures seem to be mounting, and the downtown luxury lofts are showing up out the wazoo, signs to me the end is near.

On p. C1 of today’s WSJ (Who could have ever possibly foreseen this remarkable development?):

Bond Investors’ Lament
By Serena Ng
Word Count: 717 | Companies Featured in This Article: Fremont General, New Century Financial, Moody’s, McGraw-Hill

More challenges are hitting bond investors who own securities backed by risky mortgages.

Over the past two weeks, Moody’s Investors Service cut credit ratings on more than 30 bonds that were issued in 2006 and backed by pools of “subprime” mortgages, home loans made to consumers with troubled or sketchy credit histories. The downgrades came as more borrowers defaulted on their mortgages and caused losses to spike among the pools.

More than half the bonds that were downgraded were originally rated “investment grade” but were cut to “junk” status, because they now are viewed as much more likely to lose money. A few bonds with weak ratings already have been eroded by losses, which means investors in those bonds probably won’t be repaid.

“It’s unusual to see downgrades in subprime deals so soon after they were issued,”said Jay Guo, a director of asset-backed securities research at Credit Suisse Group. “This is not a normal phenomenon and is a cause of concern.”

Is this push into loaning illegal immigrants money which is unlikely to ever be repaid to buy homes they cannot afford something new? I thought that was the purpose of liar loans? And why would the kingpins be interested in making more stupid loans if they did not think they had the backing of the U.S. taxpayer in the form of a future bailout?
———————————————————————————
Big Banks’ Loan Push: Illegal Immigrants
By Robin Sidel
Word Count: 743 | Companies Featured in This Article: J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Fifth Third Bancorp, Genworth Financial, Deutsche Bank

The nation’s big banks, scrambling for customers, are pitching mortgages to illegal immigrants.

Two years ago, making home loans to people who are in the U.S. illegally was largely limited to community banks that wanted to revitalize neighborhoods by offering low-cost mortgages to local workers. There are signs that these loans, which comply with regulatory requirements and which represent a sliver of the nation’s $10 trillion mortgage market, are starting to take off in the broader banking industry.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is developing a pilot program to pitch mortgages to illegal immigrants in Maricopa County, Ariz. If the bank proceeds, the plan could launch as soon as this summer. The New York bank joins Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Fifth Third Bancorp, which are also experimenting with the loans.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117815439999290317.html?mod=home_whats_news_us

Does anyone know what happened to http://www.mortgageimplode.com ?

Gulf oil producers assure thirsty Asia secure supply
“…But speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Al Hamili said crude fundamentals were sound and that Opec had no plans to hold an emergency meeting before its next scheduled conference in September, indicating an output rise was not imminent.

“We do not look at the price. We look at the fundamentals of supply and demand and they are in good shape,” he said.

Opec Secretary-General Abdullah Al Badri echoed that sentiment, saying in Riyadh there was no need for Opec to increase production this year….”

Gulfnews
3 May 2007
http://tinyurl.com/39vhkc

China’s forecasting center projects 43% rise in 2007 trade surplus

“China’s aggregate trade surplus was expected to surge 42.8 percent from the end of last year to 254.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2007 although exports might grow less rapidly, a forecasting agency of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has predicted.

The year’s total exports were projected at 1.20 trillion dollars, up 23.7 percent year-on-year, compared with a rise of 27.2 percent last year. Total imports were estimated around 946 billion dollars, up 19.5 percent from the previous year, said a CAS report.

The surplus against the United States would rose by 23.5 percent to 178.2 billion dollars, with exports hitting 263.6 billion dollars, up 29.8 percent year-on-year.

The European Union would remain to be the largest trade partner of China, recording imports of 239.3 billion dollars from China and exports of 111 billion dollars.

The report released by the CAS’s Center for Forecasting Sciences said that China would export 29.2 percent more new high-tech products worth 363.6 billion dollars in total and import 20 percent more worth 296.7 billion dollars.

It also predicted a slowdown in clothing, textile and shoe exports with their annual growth rates ranging from 13.3 to 15.8 percent.

Crude oil imports would grow by a slower 4.8 percent to 69.6 billion dollars….”

Xinhua
2 May 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2qj5hn

At its current rate of growth China will have reserves of $2T by August 2008. Current Asian reserves (China, Japan and South Korea) are $2.7 Trillion (total Asian reserves are 3.37 Trillion). Saturday the Association of South Eastern Asian nations are having a finance meeting. The reason is to discuss ways to prevent a future currency collapse as happened in 1997. For the most part, we have no conception of how much the IMF is hated in Asia for its (IMF) action during the crisis. As a result the Conference will discuss pooling the reserves to defend against currency speculators - this is going to happen. It is doubtful that the Asian countries will form a single currency unit at this time, but it is under discussion.

A brief glimpse of Mssrs. Paulson’s and Bernanke’s dilemma. The world is disassociating from the dollar and from the US consumer.

I’m hoping this is just more spin:
No. 1 nationally: ABQ homes keep appreciating
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/04/30/daily17.html?f=et201&hbx=e_du

“…According to the latest official U.S. government trustee reports that were released on Monday of this week, the infinite-horizon discounted present value of our unfunded liability from Social Security and Medicare—in common language, the gap between what we will take in and what we have promised to pay—now stands at $88.2 trillion. The potent combination of lower birthrates, higher medical costs and longer life expectancies provides little reason to hope the figure will fall. Last week, I shared my concerns about our long-term liabilities that were based on earlier trustee reports, which tallied the shortfall at $83.9 trillion, a full $4.3 trillion less that this new report suggests.

Just how big is an $88.2 trillion shortfall? Well, it is almost seven times the U.S. gross domestic product. It is more than 100 times the country’s annual defense budget. If you divide the $88.2 trillion evenly among the 302 million U.S. residents, you get a per-person liability of $292,000—more than six times the average household’s annual income. Each of us would have to pay that sum today if we wanted to guarantee the solvency of our entitlement system for future generations….
The reason is straightforward: Bad fiscal policy creates pressure for bad monetary policy. When fiscal policy gets out of whack, monetary authorities face pressure to monetize the debt, a cardinal sin in my mind.”
Richard W. Fisher
Comments on Current Conundra
April 26, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/237uxz

What, me worry?

OT. Be sure to watch Ron Paul wipe the floor with the rest of the field tonight in the first GOP presidential debate on MSNBC. Lots of viewers are going to be pleasantly surprised by his positions.

Is it a buyers’ market now?

I don’t know where I read it but I found that it fit my view of the market:
It’s not a buyers’ market, it’s not a sellers’ market either, it’s a sheriffs’ market - foreclosures rule.

The Dow’s Money Illusion
Scott Reamer
May 03, 2007 1:14 pm
The 2000 top was a top in the real SPX and Dow. The top in the Dow at present is a different story entirely.

Two things to note on the AAII bulls and bears statistics, which analysts have noted suggest public investors are extremely bearish relative to the more recent history of this sentiment poll.

First, in March 2000, bears spiked to 50 for the first time since October 1992 – eight long years in which the S&P 500 saw a 420% increase and the NDX advanced by 675% and both saw but one meaningful correction (1998). March 2000 of course was coincident with the price high in the SPX and NDX (the Dow peaked in January 2000). Imagine the headlines from that day if you will: “After the S&P 500 more than triples, investors are still bearish” or “Investors as bearish as they were at the start of the great 1990s bull market!”, etc. Based on the statistics surrounding this sentiment gauge up until then, it would have been a major buy signal. Precisely at the top.

Second, the public was, of course, involved and bullish up to their eyeballs at the 2000 top. But the 2000 top was a top in the real SPX and Dow. The top in the Dow at present is a different story entirely.

The new all-time highs in the Dow now being registered are a form of money illusion – the denominator has changed, in this case the value of the USD. Why? Because of massive, record credit growth over the last seven years. In real money (gold), in commodity terms (CRB), and heck even in other fiat currency terms (Euro, Swiss franc), the DOW is nowhere near its 2000 peak. The Dow priced in gold after all is down 56% from its all time peak in 1999; the S&P 500 priced in CRB index terms is down 37%. Heck, the DOW priced in Swiss franc and Euro terms is down 21% and 26% respectively from its 2000 peak. And of course the NDX is down much more in real terms against almost anything you care to price it in.

Thus, the real price of stocks is still far below the nominal peak in prices achieved in 2000 when the public was gaga for stocks. Why is this important in looking at the context surrounding the AAII sentiment stats?

As all students of market history know, no two secular (hell, no two cyclical) tops are made quite like those that came before it – particularly like those that came immediately before it: each has its own particular drivers – macroeconomic, microeconomic, sentiment, participation, etc. To look for the same public participation in stocks now is to (1) miss the fact that the US is not making real price highs and thus the conditions are materially different and (2) that whatever the next top is to form, it will almost certainly not be driven by the same dynamics (massive public participation) as the one that generated the real inflation adjusted (as opposed to the CPI adjusted) peak in 1999/2000. Rear view mirror investing is a form of illusion as well.

Hedge funds now make up about 50% of trading volume on the NYSE and in the corporate bond market on any given day. And they can be levered anywhere from two to 10 times their asset base. Whereas mutual funds can theoretically get 100% invested (and achieved close – 96/97% - in 2000 and now), hedge funds can get 200%, 300%, 1000% invested depending on the securities they trade and their risk appetites. The 19/21 days up in the Dow record recently set wasn’t a function of your no-good neighbor trading ETFs – it’s a function of hedge funds accessing a seemingly endless credit pool, driven by the free call option of 2%/20% economics, and fully embracing the type of moral hazard financial economics that the Fed, the BOJ, the PBOC, and the BOE have made public policy for the past five years.

If condo speculation on South Beach heats up again in three or four year’s time, the probabilities that it will be the same set of folks who are getting burned right now are close to zero. If another several trillion in credit is generated over that ensuing four years and prices of SoBe condos are back at the levels that prevailed in the halcyon days of Summer 2005 (while gold, oil, food, and natural gas are up another three-six times), you can bet another whole group of players will emerge to exploit that moral hazard.

Happens every time.

Oh look, MasterCard had record profits in the first quarter. Why would folks possibly be charging more?

NEW YORK -” MasterCard Inc., the world’s second-biggest credit card franchise, on Wednesday reported favorable currency exchanges and stronger use of its brand overseas led to a record first-quarter profit.

The Purchase, New York-based company said profit for the first three months of the year rose to $214.9 million, or $1.57 per share, from $126.7 million, or 94 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 24 percent to $915.1 million from $738.5 million….

The amount of money cardholders charged increased 16.4 percent during the quarter to $509 billion. There was also a 19.4 percent increase in the number of transactions processed to 4.2 billion.”

Ugh.. got this email from penfed today.

Here’s your chance to make Mother’s Day that much more special for your mom, mother-in-law, or your wife. Whether she’s been dreaming of a cruise, a new car, or even some home improvements, treat the mothers in your life to the gift you’ve always wanted to give!

How can you afford such extravagance? Apply online right now for a Pentagon Federal Credit Union Home Equity Loan. Whether your gift costs $10,000 or sets you back as much as $400,000, a low-rate Pentagon Federal Equity Loan can help you make this the best Mother’s Day she’s ever had!

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit…

Don’t one of you guys live in Sedona?

I’m supposed to vacation there in August and someone told me it was the monsoon season there - can that possibly be true?

I really would appreciate feedback on this crucial issue since i’m about to rent a house there for two weeks in August.

Thanks for feedback.

Rest in peace, Space Cowboy…

You inspired this child of the space age~

“ I don’t know if NASA could handle a von Braun today. They are so bureaucratic. In my day we had an inspired can-do agency. We had a president who was committed. We had Jim Webb who could sweet talk the Hill and the White House and we had von Braun to sell the program.”

Wally Schirra

Here are some hints for Dems hoping to recapture the White House:

1) Tighter lending standards now would be to the housing market as a sledge hammer blow to the head would be to a dying man.

2) Subprime will not be contained, regardless, but the devastating effects of non-containment would be faster if proposals to tighten standards pass.

3) It’s the economy, stupid! Most Americans (unfairly and ignorantly) attribute full responsibility for macroeconomic performance to the current occupant of the White House. Successfully crash the economy now and you increase the chances of retaking the Presidency. What’s more, the next guy in office will not get blamed if the housing market bust is already common knowledge as of inauguration day in 2009. (So far, the economic propaganda campaign to convince the average American voter that the situation will soon blow over is a success.)
——————————————————————————–
National & World News
5/3/2007 5:45:57 PM

Reforms demanded in Subprime lending market

Capitol Hill (AP) — Concerns that the distress in the subprime lending market could spill over into the broader economy are prompting some members of Congress to demand reforms.

Senators Charles Schumer, Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey have introduced a bill that would require tougher federal standards for mortgage lenders. They are also calling for greater public and private financing of consumer education programs aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/national/article.aspx?storyid=54110

quick update on W. Colorado RE:

Wells Fargo is having another massive (for here) bunch of open houses in my area (they sponsor it for the individual realty offices). Last week was the first one ever, and I went to bunches of houses and seemed to be the only person around (except the realtors). So here we go again.

Also saw a pickup by the side of the highway with a big billboard sign in its bed advertising “view lots.”

Today’s paper had several massive ads by builders offering specials (one was a “big fancy rock entrance” as an add-on) and also advertising “save realtors fees” - this is something I haven’t seen before, they always used realtors - or if not, they didn’t advertise like this.

Am also seeing “price adjustments,” “motivated,” and “new price” ads, more and more each week. Nothing massive yet, but it’s like an avalanche - always starts small then gradually becomes more massive and powerful.

Subprime is contained? American Public Media’s Marketplace claims otherwise. “GMAC lost $1b … could be the tip of a very large economic iceberg.” Includes quote of Schumer on bailout strategy… but his bill may not be going anywhere, as Christopher Dodd thinks the industry should “regulate itself.” (Thanks for listening! Maybe he will get some bubble bloggers to vote for him after all.)
—————————————————————————–
Mortgage meltdown keeps spreading
Listen to this story

GM reported today that the subprime mortgage mess has dealt a huge blow to its bottom line. And there may be more losses to come. Some analysts are predicting almost 2 million home foreclosures by the end of the year. Steve Henn reports.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/05/03/PM200705031.html

I work in the OC and live in the IE. (Orange County and Inland Empire for those of you not in the SoCal area.) Tonight on my drive home on the eastbound 91, I spotted a new billboard for Lennar.com, advertising “Homes in the 200K’s”. When I was in the Lake Elsinore area last Christmas, I saw some billboards advertising homes in the 300K’s, which until now was the cheapest price range I’ve seen on billboards in the IE. I would have to dig out my house-hunting notes from several years ago, but I am pretty sure this is the first time in 5 years I’ve seen a billboard advertising homes in the IE in the 200K range.

Just checked out the Lennar.com web site and they have exactly one development in Riverside County, in Beaumont, with prices “in the upper 200K’s”.

Does anyone know of any blogs covering the Inland Empire? I’ve seen plenty covering OC or the LA area in general. How about the Riverside area?