The Housing Bubble

A report from the Arizona Republic. “A major Valley real estate broker shut its doors just days before Christmas, leaving 350 agents without a home, and about 20 salaried employees without a job. RE/MAX 2000, based in Gilbert, is closing its 13 offices around the Valley. An attorney for owner Robert Kline told 12 News Sunday the company was not generating enough sales to meet its expenses because of the Valley’s depressed housing market.”

“As for the timing of the closing, attorney Dax Watson said, ‘We felt it wouldn’t be fair to our clients to wait.’”

“Bruce Fraser, an agent with RE/MAX 2000 in Gilbert, said Sunday the company held its Christmas party about two weeks ago, and there were no signs the broker was in trouble. ‘I did not see this coming,’ he said.”

“But Fraser said he had already received about a dozen calls Sunday from other brokers looking to hire him.”

“A year ago, Phoenix housing counselor Joann Hauger spent her days helping people buy their first home. Now, the executive director of non-profit Community Housing Resources of Arizona is swamped with calls from homeowners about to lose their homes.”

“‘So many people were in denial too long,’ said Hauger, referring to homeowners who took out loans they didn’t understand or couldn’t afford. ‘I am afraid the problem is much worse than many people think.’”

“‘There are some very sad stories, and there are some people who made bad decisions,’ she said.”

“Sales slowed and listings climbed across the Valley, but prices hadn’t yet slipped much from the speculator-spurred run-up of 2004-05. Many sellers were still holding out for those inflated prices and the hope that the market would rebound in early 2007.”

“‘People would come to us wanting help purchasing a new home somewhere in one of the Valley’s outer suburbs, but they didn’t have the income to do it,’ said Hauger. ‘Many didn’t like what they heard and went to a mortgage broker who would make the loan.’”

“‘We were appalled when we saw what kind of loans people were getting to buy homes last year and the year before,’ she said. ‘People would call looking for down-payment help to buy a $300,000 house. We would look at their monthly income and see they should only qualify for a $120,000 loan.’”

“By February, Community Housing began receiving calls for foreclosure help. But those first calls were people ‘just fishing,’ looking for money to catch up on their mortgage instead of help fixing their loan or counseling, Hauger said.”

“Some looking for help were investors who had more than one property in foreclosure but still believed if the market came back in a few months they could sell for a profit. ‘When people found out we didn’t have the cash to catch them up on their mortgage payments, they didn’t call back or come in,’ Hauger said.”

“By March, complaints about bad loans flooded into regulators. ‘Some people felt entitled that they should be able to buy even if they didn’t have the income,’ Hauger said. ‘We saw people getting ‘no doc’ (no documentation) loans showing they had income that wasn’t there. That’s fraud, and those loans are bad and can’t be fixed.’”

“Hauger’s agency worked with a man from California who was being transferred to Phoenix and wanted to buy a home. He couldn’t afford it with his Arizona income, Hauger said. But a mortgage firm used his California income to work the deal.”

“‘That’s when we began to see what the housing market was in for,’ she said.”

The East Valley Tribune from Arizona. “The Valley’s most expensive rental community is getting pricier. In March, Tempe’s Grigio apartment development will open up six luxury suites with monthly rents ranging from $5,500 to $6,500.”

“Grigio, which opened in early 2007, meshes together the concepts of rentals, condominiums, time shares and resorts, said Mike Clow, senior VP of project builder Gray Development Group.”

“The big question is whether there is enough demand for rental units that have such a high monthly rent, local apartment market analyst Bob Kammrath said. ‘At that price, you could buy yourself a pretty high-end condo and still have a pretty good view,’ he said.”

“Grigio and other Valley apartment complexes will face competition from frustrated home sellers who are renting out their places until the market recovers, he said. Local experts have estimated that there could be thousands of single-family homes for rent across the Valley.”

“The short-lived fad of converting apartments to condos has also created more competition, as failed projects revert to rentals.”

“‘That’s been a real drag on the apartment market on all levels,’ Kammrath said. A person can rent a home with the same square footage and a pool in a gated community for far less, he added.”

The Whittier Daily News on Arizona. “The widow of a former mayor claims she was taken for more than $600,000 by a development company co-owned by a former police chief. In a Dec. 12 letter to the Orange County district attorney, Joanne Lopez alleges The Hoover Companies ‘criminally mismanaged and stole’ retirement savings she invested in Arizona housing developments in 2005.”

“Lopez said she asked for the return of her funds after the first investment note was due this past June. She said Brad Hoover told her the company was having problems.”

“Lopez said she gave the Hoovers a total of $660,000 to put into two proposed residential and one commercial development around the Arizona desert community of Fort Mohave. ‘He told me they were having trouble getting loans and I said, ‘Brad, you are starting to scare me,’ Joanne Lopez said. ‘Someone has to look into whether there has been fraud, or just bad luck.’”

“Hoover investors include prominent names in Whittier and law enforcement, including Steve Simonian, former chief of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation; David Carlisle, former Whittier police lieutenant who now heads USC’s department of public safety; and former Assemblyman Frank Hill.”

“Kirk Linklater, another Hoover investor, said he put a total of $80,000 into the Mariposa development and El Rio, a country club and residential project the Hoovers were building nearby.”

“‘My three-year note was due in June, and I haven’t sent in a letter requesting my investment plus my 4 percent return,’ said Linklater, a Whittier resident and former contractor who now works as a building inspector for the city of Los Angeles. ‘I have heard from other investors that have received letters back (from the Hoovers) saying that at this point they don’t have the money.’”

“While he acknowledged the real estate market has taken a turn for the worst, Linklater questioned management of the El Rio development.”

“‘It took them forever to build the clubhouse, engineering has been an issue and there is a lot more that should have been completed,’ said Linklater, adding that years after he invested in the project there are only a few model homes on the site.”

“‘They have a ton of money sitting in that raw land that is still empty,’ Linklater said.”

The Las Vegas Sun from Nevada. “About this time two years ago, real estate agent Ben Correa was laying out his finest semiformal attire for his office’s lavish holiday party, held in one of the grand ballrooms at the Wynn Las Vegas.”

“This year, his boss threw an office potluck.”

“If mortgage and real estate professionals needed one more reminder of their dismal 2007, they’ve found it in the chips and dip-filled holiday parties that have replaced the posh blowouts of past years.”

“‘It’s drastically different from other times in the market,’ Correa said.”

“‘This time last year I had no friends who were unemployed, and this year I don’t have enough fingers and toes now to count all of my colleagues who are unemployed,’ said Stephanie Prather, president of the local chapter of the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women.”

“‘Most companies last year were telling people to invite every past customer and client, and bring all their family members, bring anybody,’ Prather said. ‘They would buy everyone gift cards and all kinds of goodies. This year is definitely toned down. They can’t turn off the power, so these extravaganzas are the easiest things to cut.’”

“At Countrywide, the largest mortgage lender in Nevada and in the country, the holiday season has been particularly tough, its workers say. One office replaced a party at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House with an office potluck, and workers at other offices say they’re not sure they’re having parties at all.”

“‘It’s definitely not like what it used to be,’ said one Countrywide worker who did not wish to be identified. ‘People understand that the budget is tight. And some people could care less about a Christmas party; they’re just happy that the office is going to close early.’”

“D.J. Kopple, an assistant general manager of Hamada of Japan, said she’s seeing fewer groups, but the ones that are coming are spending more money than before and are more likely to allow an open bar.”

“‘Perhaps they want to keep the morale up,’ Kopple said. ‘It’s a lot easier and cheaper to do a Christmas party than give out Christmas bonuses, and this way people still get something, at least.’”