Who Bears Personal Responsibility For The Bubble?
One reader has posted a topic idea patiently for several weeks that has a little edge to it. Let’s make it more a question of ‘fitting’ a just deserve to possible personal responsibility for the housing bubble. “My favorite topic is ‘What is the most fitting form of punishment for David Lereah?’”
To which another responded, “Game show host.”
A reply, “Game show host..for satan.”
One was a little more specific, “Used car salesman in Bakersfield.”
One reader was more harsh. “You guys are too nice. Food server at a truck stop!”
And this, “Tech support person.” Or, “Fluffer.”
It’s a good question; does anyone have personal responsibility for some part of the housing bubble and what is a fair outcome for the actions taken?
Another reader wants a debate. “My weekend topic suggestion is this: How many housingbubble bloggers would like David Lereah to come here and field our questions?” “If he really believes what he says, he wouldn’t have a problem talking to us, would he? It’s time for the HB blog to debate David Lereah. The stakes have never been higher, the outcome never more unpredictable.”
“Would Lereah ‘convert’ us, or would we ‘convert’ him? Would he refuse to come here? And if so, why? I’d like the blog to debate inviting David Lereah here to become an active participant.”
“First- we need to debate whether we should invite him here. Then, we need to figure out what to do, based on the consensus. After that, we either invite him- or don’t invite him. And…if he comes here, and kicks our butts- we don’t whine about it.”
“I, for one, promise to be civil, and refrain from ’spitballing’ if he comes here. From my point of view- it might be an ‘Intervention’. And it just might do some good.”
1. Fed - ZERO Oversight on Lending Standards
2. Greedy Realtors and Mtg Brokers
3. Sheeple
That’s a good point. The average Joe who bought into this quackery should take their share of the responsibility. The idea that a house can ‘earn’ one more than working should have been recognized for what it is.
I tend to agree with your order of blame crispy.
Just plain GREED!
…and fear will be the other side of the coin…
As always, those who hold the purse strings are at fault. NOTHING can get out of hand if the lending standards remain tight enough. If the rules are poorly written so that you can drive a truck through the standards all the while saying you are still in compliance then regulators must step in.
Power and money = Greed. It’s the unfortunate weakness of the capitalist society, no matter what Ann Rand says in ‘Atlas Shrugged.’
easy question.
1. Alan Greenspan
all the rest are irrelevant
an important perp is left out here. the investors buying the “exotic mortgage” MBS. There’s a serious lack of due diligence here, and I think a major cause. lender’s would be less prone to originate this stuff if they couldn’t sell it, and if lenders didn’t originate, buyers couldn’t buy.
Realtors (TM) and mortgage brokers have always been greedy. the questions is, what caused that greed to translate into a bubble this time and not all the other times?
And, yep, no need to spare the people who actually believed what they heard in these investment seminars.
Human emotional cycling is the cause. If the Federal Reserve had not plunged rates to historic lows in 2001-3 the world would have joined Japan in deflation and a potential depression. Rational people making short term rational decision result in long term irrational decisions and a continuation of the cyle. The FED probably bought the world 4-5 years prior to a deflationary depression. The collapse of the world housing bubble will unleash tremendous deflationary forces as wealth is destroyed and consumption falls. Don’t blame the river for the flood, blame the raindrops. We are all at fault in various degrees.
All kidding aside, I doubt half of one percent of the public even knows who DL is. I would say Mr. Greenspan and the rest at the Fed are more responsible. A fair outcome? If the citizenry wakes up to the damage arbitrary money creation causes, and acts on it.
Troubleshooter at a sewage treatment plant.
that is his job
Just noticed the Bakersfield comment - That one actually hurts a little. LOL
And I work in Tech Support :o.
A lot of people have been waiting patiently for multiple years, the fed didn’t force anyone to pay ridiculous prices. Ultimately, you bought the house…just like the tech bubble. I’d say it’s human nature. It’s humanity’s fault.
Me too….keeping up w/Jones or being better than the Jones Mentality. Nobody wanted the classic “starter home” or the party invites might dry up.
I’m trying to figure out the psychology behind the housing market-economy linkage now. Think we have perhaps around 80% of homeowners, who may be largely indifferent to the fact that a part of their big windfall is being given back. As long as it’s only 5-10% off the peak, or just back to early 2005 levels, their behavior will be impacted only marginally, especially if they buy into the still are single digit increases nonsense. And if not, their attitude is probably, “oh well, easy come, easy go, not going to harm me, I’m Teflon”. This is the audience of the shills and canards that Mish alluded to.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2006/03/apologists-club.html
The big wildcard though are the 20% or so dicey buyers who bought late (2004-2005), or have serial refied aggressively almost all their late stage gains, see “gaming out the housing Bubble, 2/15/2006)
http://www.xanga.com/russwinter?nextdate=2%2f16%2f2006+18%3a40%3a1.373&direction=n
But those are the folks that seem to be in biggest denial, so we only see them changing behavior marginally once again?
The key then will be new activity and new marginal buyers, and I really feel that’s what’s lacking now. So listings will just sit, and prices slip away, the lending standards will gradually get tightened more, layoffs in real estate sectors will pick up leaving big holes in Bubble dependant locales, and the housing market just gets sandpapered. But sandpapering isn’t the same as a “soft landing”, it just takes longer.
The other prospect is a big credit event, a sudden risk recognition, much like a big ice flow breaking up, which quickly unravels available credit for housing, and especially for marginal buyers and speculators. Then we will see a rapid waterfall regardless of what homeowners think. Personally I lean towards this outcome, feeling it could come at any moment, or may even be underway.
Well said and thought out, Russ Winter!
another question is: what happens in international bubble markets if we see really serious (30% or more) declines in the US average sales prices?
I don’t expect such a decline to occur soon in the US (needs a serious panic, MUCH higher rates and/or much tighter credit standards) but if it happens, it might create a stir overseas where most homeowners are sitting on huge and extremely comfortable 50-1000% gains by now.
In ‘mature’ markets like UK and Netherlands, the price gains are so big now that we need a really big decline before a significant number of people start getting nervous (probably a big decline in the US would have at least some influence on EU credit rates/standards …).
If enough EU homeowners blink we may see a real stampede to the exits (because many of them are highly leveraged in foreign markets as well).
Engineer
Everyone who bought in the last five years.
The question ought to be, “Who backed this culture of CONSUMPTION?”
Why is it that you think you NEED 4500sq ft of space?
Why is it that you think you NEED a bloated Chevy SLOBurban?
Why is it that you think you NEED a triple BigMac?
Why is it that you think you NEED a $3 coffee everyday?
Why is it that people just can’t say no to shit? But when the fan splatters all that shit, these same braindead physically bloated SLOBS look to be bailed out by those who are good stewards of their own economic resources.
Is it any wonder why we’re hated by the world?
Is it any wonder why we’re hated by the world?
No. We’re a stupid, lazy society of people who think we “deserve” all the crap we want. Walk through Wal-Mart or your favorite box store and look into peoples baskets. Look at all that plastic useless imported crap they’re willing to mortgage they’re kids future for. Most of the junk just goes home and into the garage waiting for the next garage sale. Houses are just the topic of the day here. You can talk $3 cups of joe, cars, or anything else you want. Who’s to blame? We all are.
End of rant. Sorry.
Just went to a garage sale. Picked up a cute strand of jack ‘o lantern lights for .25 cents. Probably cost them 8 bucks a few years ago. Perfect condition.
In a few years time, I figure I’ll go back and buy the whole damn garage for about the same deal (only if they agree to throw in the house).
So that is where those (probably)(jack-o-lantern lites)went. I’ll check with my wife ..she is the best salesperson I know. she sells for 10 cents on the dollar vs.(cost)..but the kids are grown now! Please enjoy…always ;>)
We needed to make room for our boomerang kids, food storage program and growing ammo supply…( I figure Ammo should replace those Fed RESV. notes..those greenie paper things we call money)…
maybe you too should “beagle up” on this coming wave of the future!
Seriously though!
Fed Chairman is but a puppet calling the tunes for the “great money alchemistsof thepast 1 huindred years, in charge of creating lead into gold..i mean electrons into USD to pay you & i FOR OUR SWEAT BLOOD AND A LIFE TIME OF ENDLESS HOURS working, while they post a debit in our account and credit theirs..
Who else is responsible..certainly not (Morgan, Rockefeller, Kuhn, Lehman, or Rothchild -the war maker,)Families, and the balance of the Majestic 12 CABAL!These intellegentry are up standing comrads.
RE: Ammo-Checked on availability of 7.62cal. for your AK lately? Not much out there, and current prices up 50% Lots of shootin’ goin’ on over there in rag-head land…
I wouldn’t put 3 dollar coffee in the same category. S-bucks makes a damn good cup a joe
Stop by sometime. Mine’s better and cheaper.
don francisco french roast is a good cup of bad coffee.
Blech. Their beans are better suited for the bottom of the BBQ pit.
Not sure who all is to blame, but one of the new designated titles in the industry could be:
FlipFlopper (TM)
copyrighted by SB BubbleBeliever
luv it! “flip flopper”…..but where did I hear that before ?
Inspired,
referencing a political figure or ??? Did I miss a previous post that someone else may have already thought/claimed this one?? Hope I didnt step on any toes… wasnt aware/didnt mean too!
If you’re not part of the solution( let this baby fall and get it over with) then you’re part of the problem(anybody who participates in purchasing a house at these stupid prices) I believe the contributors WILL pay, that is if the Fed doesn’t tax us savers for it. They’re already laying off mtg. brokers right and left, realtors don’t get paid if they don’t sell anythin…and sales are down…and sheeple will have theit mtgs adjust VERY soon.Instant Karma! As far as DL…perhaps the village idiot????
Easy. The Federal Reserve. If you watch this video (WMV) and listen to this (Real Audio) and still want to blame this on the family who just wanted to get in before it was too late then you have no soul
I don’t blame the family for being stupid - as long as they acknowledge in two years’ time that they were stupid. I DO blame the lying bastards who told them to get in now before it was “too late.”
There are alot of people culpable for the bubble… but who is going to prison? Anyone?
Greed is to blame …….where is that guy .
I find it highly unjust that a guy can sell pot and then spend years in jail; whereas, whitecollar criminals barely ever see a jail cell
My guess - a lot of folks going to prison. It’s a predictable pattern (we saw it play out in the dot-com bubble): everyone turns a blind eye while the party’s raging, but when it’s all over the inquisition starts, and somebody’s got to pay. I think we’ll see some mortgage brokers, bankers, flippers, and possibly a few Realtors do the perp walk before long.
Personally I think the FED recognized there was a housing bubble two years ago. They have raised rates 14 times. I think what caught everybody by surprise were the effects of the “Carry Trade” I distinctly remember at the beginning of 2005 the bewilderment that the 10 yr note was so strong in the face of the FED tightening. In essence I think the FED really wanted the bubble to Pop last year and was caught off guard at the foreign demand for the 10 yr note. That kept mortgages artificially low for another year. I also don’t think the FED realized that lenders were going to be so aggressive mass marketing suicide loans. This will prove to be devastating. The money that propped up this bubble came from Japan. Japan’s central bank has had a policy of zero percent interest rates plus they flooded their economy with money to break the spiral of deflation. Even with that policy people in Japan did not begin to borrow until very recently. Where did all that money go? US Treasuries and with those gains that money went into mortgage backed securities, REITS, among other investments. The people at the FED and the NAR know what happened. Bascially the FED played with fire by lowering the fund rate to almost zero. So instead of having a camp fire to keep everybody warm on a cold night the fire spread into the trees and now we have a forest fire called the Housing Bubble.
Well said, and written LARenter!
ditto SE Believer
Here’s one a reader posted in the topics thread:
‘David Lereah - ranger host for the summer in Death Valley - wearing a full suit (dark colored), and a heavy hat. Winter - ranger in Barrow, Alaska for all of the night time visitors. Gives the night time stories of the area (in the cold and the wind).’
The blame ultimately has to be on the predators who make money off of real estate, i.e. the lenders, the builders, the RE agents, etc. They knew from long history that structuring loans and prices the way they did would not ulitimately work, and that all they had to do was market it to a gullible and greedy public.
Of course you can blame the foreign markets and Greenspan, but they did not force anyone to go out and commit financial sucicide over leveraging themselves, though it was predictable that would happen.
It’s sort of like this. Say someone stockpiled a few million bottles of booze and a few tons of cocaine, and enough fire arms to supply an army, in a less than secure warehouse in the middle of Los Angeles. You know every thug and punk in the city would be raiding the place at night.
Now whose fault would it be?
I would say alot of the blame would go to that “someone” who stockpiled a few million bottles of booze and a few tons of cocaine, and enough fire arms to supply an army, in a less than secure warehouse in the middle of Los Angeles.
I am really not that negative on the FED. They were presented with a very impossible situation, the nasdaq collapse, Enron, and 9/11. I believe they had good intentions. It was was a very crazy and weird time in the history of this country. I think we are going to have to prepare ourselves for the real pain that we put off. The best thing we can do now is just plow through this.
I don’t think this is correct.
The FED started pumping money long before the Nasdaq blowoff, 911 etc. They have been doing this right from the start, and especially after Alan Greenspan took control. They stepped up the printing presses whenever there was a (perceived) threat to financial markets, like in 1987, peso crisis, LTCM, the ‘millennium-bug’ etc.
They just pumped a little harder after 2000. Please look beyond the US border and you will see that this bubble is an international problem. With all the differences between the bubble countries there is one common theme: easy money. It’s obvious that the housing bubble is strongly related to the anglosaxon (banking-) world; all courtesy of the US FED and their friends in the London City.
LA R.Enter…you have made several really good comments…but you need to beagle up on your FED. History /..the Real Estate bubble is NOT new i.e.different this time! This is a practice an Art! a Plan.See the Treaty of Verona , recorded by Congress in 1916…3 yrs after the creation of the Creature “the Fed”..
Or the Protocols of the Wise Men Zion (Sion)..H.R.4079 & H.R.5210, & FEMA,etc..” Silent Weopons for Quiet Wars”{TM-SW7905.1} 1954…
That guy! (points across the street)
I blame it on the participants. Speculators, flippers, and people who willingly paid too much because they thought housing prices can only go up.
If this beast hadn’t gotten so huge, I’d agree with you. But if it hadn’t reached these proportions we wouldn’t be here talking about it and the individual stories would be news only to local communities. This bohemoth will likely send ripples throughout the economy and make all of us pay some kind of price.
Many people have gotten lazy, and want the good life quickly. Every generation makes some of the same classic mistakes that all of us make. Every few generations we manage to really f*ck up something huge unless wisdom at the top protects us from ourselves without being Big Brother.
Unfortunately we got it backwards….. Big Brother without the wisdom.
Bad combination….
Why anybody thought the real estate agents were anything but self-serving sales people puzzles me. Its the lenders that really surprised me in this Real Estate run up ,( especially the last 2 years ).
I agree with you Housing Wizard,
nowadays, you hear about internet predators… I kind of believe that some of the greedier lenders got in to predatory lending.
What about the ‘blame’ on the people popping the bubble? As I and thousands of others sold in the last 18 months and never repurchased. I would say the bag holders didn’t do their due diligence.
I think D.L. should be sentenced to a lifetime on that planet where the big fly-swatter thingies come out of the ground and smack you in the face every time you have an idea.
What sort of punishment is that? He gets one hit for “it’s always the right time to buy”, and maybe another one for “soft landing”, and that’s it.
How about making him spokesman for the Baghdad Association of Realtors, and requiring him to complete a walkthrough appraisal every morning and afternoon?
Promoting properties in all the ME and especially Big Dud, Iraq. On the good side, of course. Prices can only go up due to the rapid influx of guppie insurgents looking for investment opportunities in land speculation and SFH(s) in residential areas with an eye toward growth. Yes, the NAR should definitely look into this.
David Lerah spinning the the market over the last few years: Hurt a lot of folks who listened….
David Lerah continuing to tell people that real estate never goes down in value and we will see a “moderation” in price increases in 2006: Total bullshit and should be criminal….
Seeing David Lerah in his new job as a “sign spinner” standing on a corner in a clown suit during the summer for a condo conversion complex in Las Vegas: Priceless!
Can we blame a little of the boom on the TV shows and advertising . I think there was a big increase in flipper investments after FLIP THAT HOUSE and PROPERTY LADDER aired . Those shows made it seem like total jerks could make a killing in real estate .
Houses only sell for what people are willing to buy. Those people in San Diego who purchased homes for inflated values screwed not only themselves, but all who follow. I really can’t blame the sellers. Would you really sell an asset for less than it’s market value? I sure wouldn’t unless it was for a charitable cause.
No problem, those who overpaid and didnt research things out will suffer. They were easy pray for the realtors. Sorry, but thats life in a free market economy… Let the buyer be aware! There wont be any relief or jail time. What is to blame is bad practices and process in purchasing a home. NAR has been hording information for years. No one even audits NAR’s press releases as major corporations must do. There is no full disclosure regarding who the bidders are or if they even exist. How many times have you heard.. There are other bidders.. will go higher on your offer by realtors. There is not a single trace of accountibility on these transactions. I think the FED and others in the banking industry do understand the problems. Since our Stock Market Scandal in 2000, it is unlikely there will public exposure to second wave of financial scandals that would rock the economy.
I also think that society as a whole benefits from people following something as simple as ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’
100% financing is my main culprit. I have done 100% financing for non-owner occupants without having to prove their income. When I got into the business in the early 90’s, 100% financing was blasphemy. Why would you lend to someone who had none of their own money in a deal?
Now, not only does the borrower get offended they have to put any money down, they also don’t want to pay closing costs either. At least when you had to come up with 3% (FHA) or 5% (conventional - owner occupied) or 10% (non-owner occupied), it forced you to save money and budget which prepared you for being a homeowner. Not as many deals would have closed, but at least homes would be affordable and you wouldn’t have as many people taking out risky loans for homes they otherwise didn’t have the means to buy. The government is somewhat to blame for this when they failed to crack down in the late 90’s on the Nehamiah type programs which basically allows 100% financing on FHA loans. There was also a lot of heat on Fannie/Freddie for 100% programs. This in turn created the 80/20 when it became more cost effective than paying MI. Of course 100% programs, at least on the conventional side, make the lenders more money because of the risk premiums priced in.
If you want to really prick this bubble, make downpayments mandatory. Start with 1% initially, then gradually raise it up to 3% or 5%. Make sure the money comes from the borrowers own funds. And also crack down on closing cost assitance as well, all this does is artificially inflate property prices. If the seller wants to give the buyer money, have them write a check before the loan closes.
If a borrower can’t come up with any funds to buy a home and they have the means to do so, the truth is they shouldn’t be a homeowner in the first place. The borrowers that don’t have the means but really do need homeownership should be the only ones to have access to the 100% financing/special assistance.
Well said .People don’t walk when they have their hard earned money in the deal .
What about the ‘blame’ on the people popping the bubble?
Thats like saying … the person who spoke out regarding Enron was to blame.
OT Ben - GREAT NIGHTLINE PIECE LAST NIGHT
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=1764935&page=1
Robert Shiller prominently featured.
How about these jokers using their fame. This is happening in SF right now.
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Who bears personal responsibility for the bubble? The buyers, pure and simple. Yes, they were conned and misled by unscrupulous R/E industry hacks. But in every case I’ve seen, they were simply too lazy or uninterested in questioning common, but faulty, assumptions or considering the risks and dangers involved. More often than not, they dismissed out of hand any suggestion or advice that urged caution or pointed out signs and portends of the coming crash. So forgive me, but when these fools get their hands handed to them, I for one will feel little sympathy.
Suze Orman was listed as a speaker. If she is out pimping RE, then she is pretty 2 faced after doing a show regarding the bubble a few months ago.
I would expect “the Donald” to be one of the main celebrity pimps.
Suze Orman is the last person from which to take financial advice. Her constant hawking of her products on PBS is a constant source of irritation.
I would love to see David Lereah make comments. I could then be civil. If not, he should be commuting to Death Valley in a 1978 Pinto w/ no AC in the middle of the summer.
Who gives a rat’s ass what David Lereah and others of his ilk have to say?
Oh, the joys of doing business with flippers. Note this gem from a popular real-estate professional’s forum:
“For Sale By Owner / Bad Roof
Well here is my situation in a nutshell. I’m looking to get thoughts from agents.
Just purchased a house for sale by owner on Dec 15, 2005. Seller is a “flipper”. Seller explained that “new roof” was put on house. Inspection showed that yes new shingles but inspector could not gain access to crawl space to see if any damage occured. Anyway within a few weeks of moving in we get a leak. We look look look until finally we gained access to the attic/crawlspace where we find a wet roof. The underside of the plywood is soaked in water and dripping. We call a reputable roofer to come inspect. He gets up there and walks. Certain section of the roof feels “spongy” and weak. Roofer explains that this indicates rotted plywood. He says has to scrape off the two layers and remove rotted wood and replace and lay down new mod-bit system shingles. He offered to do only one section but explained that there could be other sections that are damaged/leaking. Only way to find out is to remove all shingles. For now we have a tarp nailed in to prevent further damage. Also the flashing around the chimney was done incorrectly as well.
Now the headache. Contacted seller to notify problem and to find out who did the roof. Seller would not disclose and says, “they are not here, i’ll have to call you back” Waited 10 days with no word from seller, so in the meantime that’s when the roofer came, tarp secured, etc… I contacted my closing attorney to let him know what’s going on. Attorney sends seller’s attorney a letter and a copy of the proposal. I also called the town and find out seller never took out permits.
Well to make a long story short seller refuses to do anything as he alleges he had no idea the roof was bad and disclosed this in the disclosure. Offered to send out his “people” to inspect roof and fix leak but I do not trust. Says there is nothing wrong with roof and now that we have secured a tarp with nails we have compromised the whole roof, etc…
I am in the process of hiring a litigation attorney to file suit.
NOW before the seller went “FSBO” he was represented by a real estate agent. The seller left their sign in the back yard but it has been under the snow for the past few weeks so I never noticed it. As I recall the “flipper” told me he did not want to deal with an agent because they “cost too much” and they are nothing but problems. So I am wondering if I can contact the agent listed on this sign to ask questions. I need as much evidence as possible and am curious to find out the “real” reason why their relationship dissolved. Thoughts? Sorry this is so long. I appreciate your thoughts!!!!”
The tale of woe continues on the thread, but bottom line seems to be, when you deal with flippers, “caveat emptor” applies even more than usual, as the slimeball quotient for this particular population means you shouldn’t be surprised to find many are quite a bit less than ethical in their business dealings and general outlook.
we should thank god every morning for people like liareah, ag and the lot. had they not pumped this bubble up so high, it would probably not have the same bursting effect that we are about to see. the old straw that broke the camel’s back thing.
Susie Orman was a former Insurance Salesperson… LOL!
She is no expert in anything else.
I think it is a big leap of an assumption that David L. is capable of debate with bloggers.
It would be hard to believe that he could actually listen to a question and give an answer that is in direct relation to the question. He is full of jargon, empty rhetoric, his agenda rules his mouth and his intellect. People like him look at others only as an opportunity. If they don’t represent an opportunity he can gain from, he doesn’t engage.
It would be hard to believe that he could actually listen to a question and give an answer that is in direct relation to the question.
=====================================================
I got some questions for him…
What is his comments on the Appraisors complaints regarding pressures by his members of the NAR to inflate the price of homes.
also…
Given that all companies must ahear to SOX 404 these days due to fraud from Enron WorldCom and Fannie Mae… what steps is the NAR taking to ensure their members are in good order with ethics. Lets start with full disclosure on actual bids and bidders amoung all buyers. Example we hear multiple bidders, but no one can actualy confirm that counter bids actually exist or is the realtor trying to sponge more off a single buyer.
To this day the State of California was defrauded by Enron for $9Billion on phony tactics by Enron staffers. Some may recall the Rolling Black outs. When was the last rolling black out since Enron was shut down.
David Lereah:
Link
What about the twin liitle people? One of them died recently. They run infomercials late at night.
Who bears responsibility? Mr. and Mrs. Howmuchamonth do. They’re the ones who spend, spend, spend instead of saving and investing.
come on guys! check out Dirty Jobs. Lereah is perfectly suited for Chief Manure Shoveller.
OOps, guess that wouldn’t be a change.
“The only way to build wealth, for 80 percent of Americans, is real estate. If the balloon bursts, then 80 percent of Americans will have trouble with retirement.”
Gosh why is that… Is it because they have no savings to account for.
Check out this blog on David Lereah
Buyers built this bubble.
I remember thinking when the bidding wars started in Seattle: “What is the MATTER with these people!?! Don’t they understand that the way to buy a house is make an offer under asking and let the negotiation down begin?”
I will never understand why somebody would offer MORE for ANYTHING than a seller is asking. That EVERYBODY would get sucked into that model completely blew my mind.
The low interest rates could have been a BONUS for the buyer but the buyer turned the low interest rates against their own interests by bidding the prices up in the beginning of this insane cycle.
Buyers built the bubble and buyers are going to have to rip it apart. I’m afraid nobody and no outside agency will “help” us do that.
Everyone is entitled to their fair share of egg on their face.
As David Lereah reads this thread, it’s pretty apparenent that I’ve gotten mine.
Congratulations, David, you won.
For the very first time in I don’t know how many months…
…I am defeated.
We don’t really want to talk to you.
We don’t really want to debate you.
We don’t really think our ideas could give yours a challenge…
…we think we’ve got it all in ‘the bag’.
More ammunution for you.
We DON’T have it all in ‘the bag’.
Spring might see a sales jump.
Summer might see a sales/price jump.
But in terms of debating the fundementals of what we inherently disagree about…
…you’ve won.
I don’t have an army here to back me up.
Apparently, this is a ‘bitch blog’.
We’ll all just come here and complain.
But when it comes to real change…
…we don’t need to debate anyone…
…since the sales volume is down, and the inventory is up…
…instead, we’ll just create funny one-liners to appeal to the anger in people. To appeal to the fear in people.
To appeal to the crowd.
It’s what you’ve always wanted, David.
It’s why you re-titled your book the way you did.
You knew that when push came to shove-
-you’d beat the housingbubble blog.
Do you win?
Maybe you do.
Obviously, your fundementals are better than ours, and our need for debate clearly isn’t worthy of your self-assurance.
Have we reached a consensus?
Is this what we want? Is this what we don’t want?
I’m a f’ing bastard.
The Truth Rules- and that’s about it.
My Truth got trounced.
David-
-we’ll look forward to your next book…
…since we don’t want to debate you.
Easy there Auction Heaven
I would be happy to debate with DL similar to JL’s interaction.
I just don’t think it will happen. I also wasn’t in front of the computer yesterday.
Back in the fall of 2005, another blogger posted a job announcement for a handler for DL after he made some candid bubblish comments.
DL is a bought and paid for hack with minders that watch him to be sure that he doesn’t stray from NARs talking points.
There is no way he will ever (while employed at NAR) talk to us. The real persons to talk to are his handlers and we don’t know their names. DL is a patsy. Essentially a fall guy for the health of his employer.
I don’t know his age but he probably doesn’t have any savings and needs the job to pay the bills. He might even be feverishly looking for other work.
Regulators who made exotic loans possible. Not the fact that these loans exist, but introducing them at a time when interest rates are very low. It would have been better for the economy to allow these loans to evolve when interest rates are high.
Who is responsible for the regulation of these exotic mortgages?
Didn’t we see this before in history with the S&L meltdown? Wasn’t something learned at that time?