Bits Bucket for April 21, 2012
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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“Because it’s juvenile.”
Well, I’m simply trying to understand how someone can hate teachers so much as to compare them to Nazis. I’m not opposed to tenure or pension reform, btw.
In my experience, people only get this upset when they have a personal connection that ignites an emotional response. How many times has he mentioned the $80k kindergarten teacher in Jersey?
I want house prices to be low because they’re overpriced, not because I have irrational, misplaced anger.
I’ve long given Tooby the benefit of the doubt and presumed he’s either a paid hack or an angry retiree sitting in front of the tv 16 hrs a day watching fox noise. I’ve even attempted to break bread in an attempt to better understand his perspective and if it’s based on a negative personal experience or just an ideology. He seems reticent to answer any questions about himself.
He did once discuss having bootstrapping immigrant parents IIRC.
How about this reason: Because it is stylish to hate teachers. It’s monkey see monkey do for the most part. It’s also why idiots say Ron Paul is crazy and talks nonsense. That is merely a monkey chant on their part.
I love teaching; even substitute teaching. And teachers who enjoy their jobs and try to help all the kids. For me, it’s like going to a party every day. Some people abhor it; but I like a fresh group of kids to interact with; getting off at 3 or 4 without needing to plan and stress about the latest admin BS. Of course getting to know some of them helps with classroom management. And going cold into a room full of strangers; it makes you feel more comfortable at social gatherings, being used to being on stage, and not getting freaked out over public speaking. It is also fun to see how different ages act and how to manage them accordingly. Or how different schools or different teachers run things so differently. To better or worse results.
Your job, Muggy, of turning schools around, sounds fun.
I have been offered the opportunity to sub for $250/day while a teacher strike occurs(if it occurs) near Portland. Sign me up! But I would have to cross the picket line and I’m OK with that.
“Your job, Muggy, of turning schools around, sounds fun.”
It is ridiculously rewarding. Graduation is freaking awesome. I’ve been attacked (and once injured) a few times, but I love it. I’ve never once questioned what I do, or how or why I do it. My wife is not far behind. She is still a classroom teacher and dept. chair, but she’ll be in leadership in a few years.
It can be heartbreaking at times. One of my mentees was shot last year (he survived). So… I couldn’t get him out of drugs/gangs, but at least he can read. This June I will see 7 kids walk across the stage that I had as a classroom teacher in 6th grade. I’m stoked.
Despite how I come across here, online, I am consistent and energetic throughout the day, which is all it really takes to turn around a school. When people feel like hiding behind doors, I get out and sweep the halls and whatnot. I basically swim against the current (if everyone is excited I let them run with it, if everyone is down, I step in).
More later, the kiddos need a bath!
“Because it is stylish to hate teachers.”
I see this as symptomatic of America’s decline. I’m guessing this sentiment is not “stylish” in China, Germany, Japan or any of America’s other international competitors.
I agree. Even back in public school in the 1970s it was considered “cool” to be stupid, act stupid, and to ridicule studying.
The strange thing is another topic we hear so frequently is the importance of education. Almost everyone seems to agree on the importance of education. If education is so important, shouldn’t the job of teacher be a profession that is respected in society?
+infinity.
And compensated as if we respect it as well.
“Well, I’m simply trying to understand how someone can hate teachers so much”
I don’t know why banana boy hates teachers and other gov’t workers so much, and I don’t really care. But to stoop to his level and come up with cockamamie reasons is just childish.
There are indeed some egregious abuses of the public sector pension system– particularly as regards first responders in CA and teachers in NY. And there is no denying that teachers’ unions protect and reward some major high and low-level idiots.
That said, bananatube is obviously laboring under some major resentments and a minimal paycheck (and imagination for that matter.) But keep in mind that he does us a great service by watching (and distilling,) Fox news/Clear Channel so we don’t have to. Plus, he’s so partisan that he’s a hoot to discredit. C’mon, admit it….
Happy Saturday. Now go outside and play.
I just ignore his posts entirely.
“Because it is stylish to hate teachers.”
We should hate everyone then. I hate mechanic because he adds cost to fixing my car, and my dentist for making a visit expensive, and so on, etc.
“But to stoop to his level and come up with cockamamie reasons is just childish.”
I’m sorry you see it that way.
Not all teachers are government workers. Over my 14 years in teaching (private), I never had a pension -
Perhaps some in our society do not care for the “organized” teacher and what their communist unions represent. Teachers, Cops, Firemen, Garbage guys, etc are working stiffs just like me and I respect the honest hard working members of these and other public sector professions. Sometimes I just think the whole gets confused with the individual in these discussions.
Can you hate communist unions and praise honest unions? Can you hate the organization while still respecting most of the individuals within the organization? I suppose it’s all or nothing.
Can you hate communist unions
I don’t hate “communist unions” but I do hate ignorance, propaganda and misrepresentation of the truth.
Jeff, are you by any chance certified?
“The Palm Beach County School District is proposing to hire 89 new middle school teachers to help deal with class-size requirements next school year.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/school-district-proposes-adding-89-new-middle-school-2316942.html
BTW, I am hiring 6 teachers for an advanced secondary program and we haven’t received a lot resumes. Apparently nobody wants a gold-plated pension for a part-time job.
“Jeff, are you by any chance certified?”
Oh I`m certified, just not as a teacher. I got tossed out of the University of Rhode Island my freshman year in 1980 after an unfortunate incodent at the Pub. But honestly there were a lot of unfortunate incodents I was involved in between 1978 and 1988.
Funny thing is when I was coaching youth sports down here for over a decade which started in 1996 I had a bunch of parents who came up to me and told me I should really be a teacher. I do a lot better with kids and animals then I do with full grown humans.
“I got tossed out of the University of Rhode Island my freshman year in 1980 after an unfortunate incodent at the Pub.”
They didn’t take kindly to your re-write of “This Land is Your Land”?
“They didn’t take kindly to your re-write of “This Land is Your Land”?”
I wasn`t re-writing back then. I was however partying. A very attractive girl came up to me and started a conversation that was at the point where she wanted me to show her my room. It was about then that her boyfriend showed up and along with his 2 friends and showed their displeasure for the given situation. It was about a month later that the school showed their displeasure for what I had done to her boyfriend and his 2 friends. I plead nolo contendere to the charges brought by the Kigston police and paid a fine but my football scholarship was revoked and I was suspended for 1 year from the school and never to return.
My husband says I am certifiable.
+1…I like it…
Maybe incogent?? -
Got an unsolicited bulk email from a Liar that to me is UNKNOWN yesterday.
Palm Beach County Home Sales Rise, Supply Falls…..
Sent By:
“Kate Wetherby” On: Apr 04/20/12 8:43 PM
To: unkmowntenant@deadbeat.net
Palm Beach County’s median sales price for an existing single-family home lifted to $197,000 in March, a 6 percent increase from February driven in part by depleted inventory and voracious investors.
A sales report the Florida Realtors released Thursday showed the number of homes sold in Palm Beach County and the state was up 24 percent and 29 percent, respectively, in March compared with February.
“In the last year my buyers have had to increase their offers by 10 percent,” said Sharon Restrepo, vice president of the West Palm Beach-based Florida Real Estate Investors Association, which deals almost exclusively with investors. “Cash is coming from everywhere and everyone is finally emptying their mattresses of money.”
Statewide, the median sales price for a single family home was $139,000 in March, up 10 percent from last year and 4 percent over February.
The Florida Realtors report, which is produced by the Minneapolis-based 10K Research, differs slightly from what the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches posts because of how the data are collected by regional Multiple Listing Service groups.
According to Palm Beach Realtors, the median sales price for a single-family home not in foreclosure or sold as a short sale was $216,000 in March, up 3 percent from last year. More detailed Palm Beach County information can be found at http://www.rapb.com.
Palm Beach County’s inventory of single-family homes shrank to 6.2 months in March from 13.5 months last year. Inventory statewide was at just 5.9 months, down from 10.4 months in March 2011.
More notable is the sharp drop in distressed homes - short sales and foreclosures - on the market. Just 1,090 distressed single-family homes were for sale in March, a 69 percent decrease from March last year. Distressed condominium inventory was down 78 percent.
“The Florida market, particularly South Florida, is recovering very rapidly from oversupply to a shortage of inventory,” Yun said on Tuesday. “Florida’s market is almost back to normal.”
If you are thinking of buying, this is clearly the moment. Please call me to discuss your real estate thoughts, plans or needs. I will be happy to talk to you or your friends and family. (no you wouldn`t TUT)
Happy Spring!
Kate Wetherby
Golden Bear Realty
Associate Broker
cell - 561-596-4325
Search MLS for Homes
Would a credible person even >think< of saying such a statement?
Even if it’s true I interpret that as meaning we’re close to the top of the dead cat bounce.
Now that’s funny! “Close to the top of the dead cat bounce!” I love it! Register it!
Realtors Are Liars®
Yeah, they aren’t the only ones.
Realtors are Listeners®
Good morning, muppets and fellow members of the genus homo economicus!
Guess what? The folks who “rule the world” have no idea what they’re doing. The emperor has no clothes!
“The folks who ‘rule the world’ have no idea what they’re doing.”
IMO if one fully understands this then he fully understands most of what he needs to fully understand.
The other part that is worth understanding is that people who really have no clue often pose as knowledgeable experts for the sake of personal gain.
They understand what they are doing. Anything else is too painful. Hope and pray and kick the can one more time…..
They know what the F they’re doing. They want us to think they are pursing “our” best interests.
They aren’t. They are pursuing “their” best interests.
End.Of.Story.
Palm Beach County courts get $346,000 to gut foreclosure backlog
By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 7:03 p.m. Friday, April 20, 2012
On average, it takes 861 days - more than two years - to foreclose on a home in Florida, according to a report released this month by the Irvine, Calif.-based company RealtyTrac.
Some homeowner advocates and foreclosure defense attorneys fear the additional money will lead to speedier hearings, sometimes referred to as “rocket dockets.”
Royal Palm Beach-based attorney Tom Ice said that while cases may go faster, he believes judges are more knowledgeable now about potential problems in foreclosure files, such as robo-signing or lacking required documentation.
“Hopefully, the senior judges will be applying that knowledge to benefit the homeowners because so many of them are not represented,” Ice said. “Judges shouldn’t side with one side or the other, but I do think they owe the citizenry who aren’t able to hire an attorney.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/palm-beach-county-courts-get-346-000-to-2317141.html -
Responses to a different article from last week “‘Dramatic’ 65 percent increase in Palm Beach County foreclosures”
3
rOn cOn cOMa Says:
April 6th, 2012 at 11:12 am
Make the banks give back the Mortgage recording fees and erase the debt!
Lisa Epstein for County Clerk!
6
Bob Says:
April 6th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Pbc court gets a 2.5mm cut in the biggest housing bust in history…..r u kidding?
Why does anyone pay your mortgage?
Don’t pay!! U can live free for yrs
Incredible they actually cut the money to help clear foreclosures….
Stupidity
A mess getting worse …not better..
7
Tom Says:
April 6th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
This should come as no surprise. I know a person who recently signed with a law group specializing in foreclosures and underwater mortages. This person owes more than the home is worth. This law firm solicited his neighbors and him to file for forclosure, then later settle with the bank for a lower mortage amount, then the lawyer also settles to have the bad credit removed. Sadly the banks are not seeing this as a game, punishing the rest of us. Also the people ripping off the system saved money by not paying their monthly payment all the months in court and prior to the court filing, then having the luxery of a reduced mortgage
16
lies is all they tell Says:
April 6th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
they are trying to get in as many as possible before the rug is pulled. wells fargo has already had a department investigate my fraud already sent me a letter stating who my investor is and they unknowingly put me in a stated income loan so why are the foreclosing on me when there are no assignments??? they have no standing to foreclose. i hope the judge dissmisses my case and lets us go on with our lives. this is a sick twist and shows you they are trying to collect as much as possible before the money train ends. please if you or you know anyone in foreclosure stay in these homes fight the bank. go to foreclosurehamlet , livinglies, do research this is not our fault. i was working and sent my mortgage broker my w2 forms and pay check stubs my husband was unemployed. i deserved to be told the truth. the worst that would have happened is i would have rented or my sons would have had to share a room in a 3 bedroom home, ahhh its better then losing what you worked for all your life. i didn not sign up for this
17
John hunter Says:
April 8th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Chase finance sold our $370,000 condo at the auction to themselves for $2100 now that is a rip off!!!
19
j de la riva Says:
April 18th, 2012 at 7:51 am
why is it that the banks and all of there run around boys (the attorneys) who are filing cases without standing ,are getting away with it and the judges who we put into office are letting them getting away with it.if we even tryed too pull half of what some of the attorneys for the banks are doing we be dragged off to jail .time has come that the judges in thought out the state get together and see the light.that in fact it was not the home owner who started this whole mess it was the banks the investers trying to get rich by lending money to people who could never pay off there loans and were hoping for defauits,
anyway fight ,fight and fight dont let the banks run you over stay in your homes in numbers we are strong
“$346,000″
Isn’t that figure missing quite a few zeros?
Anyone else see the Zimmerman bail appearance on the news? Is it just me, or does it look like his skin is a few shades darker than it was when he first went into the pokey? Weird.
It’s not about race, it’s about achieving “social justice” by looting Foot Locker
I noticed it. Is it his defense team making him look a little darker?
Or, somebody at media paintbrushed his photos to make him look whiter?
Understand the media business. You need eyeballs on your product in order to make money. People will devour neatly packaged, interesting stories. So the narrative became “angry, racist white guy shoots innocent black youth for no reason but hate.” The narrative caught the imagination of the nation.
Remember that NBC editor who edited the 9/11 tape in such a way that it seemed like the first thing out of Zimmerman’s mouth was stating that Martin was black. Why would someone do that? Because it supports the narrative that’s bringing in the eyeballs. Race war is ever so interesting.
So, it wouldn’t surprise me at all that someone just lightened up Zimmerman initially. In his courtroom appearances, his skin color is identical to the light skinned black guard behind him. I doubt you get much of a tan from fluorescent lights. Or office workers would wind up looking like tanned Adonises, not pasty doughboys.
I saw this on a local real estate blog called “For What It’s Worth”, by Chris Fountain out of Greenwich, Connecticut. One of his readers posted it, under the name Thurston Howell III. I’m posting it for those here on the blog who like to engage in inter-generational bashing. You know who you are.
“Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.” The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribbling. Then we were able to personalize our books. But too bad we didn’t do the green thing back then.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.
But isn’t it sad? The current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from smartass young people. We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to piss us off.”
Bluehairs are selfish, thoughtless and ignorant.
Your point?
Struck a nerve, I see. LOL!
What does that mean?
Refute my assertion.
“Your point?”
Buried in your left butt cheek. Let me find my large tweezers.
“the young cashier suggested to the older woman”
I wonder how much student loan debt “the young cashier” has?
I recently had thoughts about this generational superiority complex.
It seems that every generation goes through a phase were they think they are the brightest, most enlightened bipeds to have ever inhabited this earth. What made me think of this is the work I have been doing at Google recently. The overall campus area is in its own state of reality. People walking all around, nobody with an apparent care in the world. Free gourmet food, generous salaries, and an ever increasing stock price, making this edition of the most enlightened club seemingly invincible. There is a smugness in the air that can’t be missed.
Having been through my own experience of “the club” many moons ago I believe I see it for what it’s worth. Wealth can be fleeting.
Honesty, compassion, & hard work are timeless traits.
“It seems that every generation goes through a phase where they thing they are the brightest, most enlightened bipeds to have ever inhabited this earth.”
This is my opinion of most people with advanced degrees who find themselves immersed way over their their heads in leadership positions but do not know it.
+10,000
“People walking all around, nobody with an apparent care in the world. Free gourmet food, generous salaries, and an ever increasing stock price, making this edition of the most enlightened club seemingly invincible. There is a smugness in the air that can’t be missed.
Having been through my own experience of “the club” many moons ago I believe I see it for what it’s worth. Wealth can be fleeting.”
Patton: [voiceover] For over a thousand years, Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph - a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot, or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.
There is a smugness in the air that can’t be missed ??
Yeah..I see it also…Its the attitude that comes with believing you are the best of the best…We see it in other area’s also… Professional athletes for example…But, I would think you would agree, that campus and working environment sets a new bar in how a company treats their employees…Without a union by-the-way….
There is no doubt Dave that Google employees are pampered like no other.
Those that I know at Google however (including my wife), work ridiculously crazy hours. I figure my wife has been averaging about 70-90 hours per week for at least the past 6-9 months.
What keeps her there? Sure the pay is good, but she could get similar pay elsewhere. What keeps her there are the people she works with–high caliber, strong work ethic.
Those that I know at Google however (including my wife), work ridiculously crazy hours.
Funny, I’ve heard exactly the opposite—that folks at Google don’t work crazy hours. And I’ve even heard that they pitch that to prospective hires, and compare it against the hours they would work at a start-up…
Hmmm…
I wish that were the case for my wife.
I went to bed last night (Sunday night) at 2:00 am. My wife was still on the couch with her computer on her lap on instant message with her boss (who was also working).
When I woke up this morning my wife wasn’t in bed. She fell asleep on the couch at about 5:00 am. I left the house at about 7:00, she got up, got our daughter ready for school, and then she’ll go to work to start all over again.
One of our neighbors before we moved worked on the server side for Android…he was frequently working similar hours.
I know they have thousands of employees, and so not all positions are created equal. My (albeit small–wife, wife’s boss, neighbor) window to the company shows plenty of long hours.
I can’t think of a time when my wife was working less than 50-60 hours since starting there a few years ago…most common has been 60+ hours, recently it has been much more.
that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment
They can be recycled.
I wonder how often the enlightened clerk upgrades her made by slave labor smart phone?
It’s not enough. The plastic bags are basically a bad idea.
It may not be an obvious thing since America is such a large country but if you go to the Philippines or India or anwhere in highly-populated Africa (either Nigeria or the Tanzania-Uganda-Kenya trifecta), you see the problem right off the bat!
Plastic bags are a really terrible idea. Even paper bags are an improvement and they are terrible in their own particular way.
I call BS on most of this. The bluehair generation did all this hard work because things like plastic bags hadn’t been invented yet. They returned coke bottles not because they were being environmental but because each bottle had a one-cent deposit, and milk bottles were even more. They walked up stairs because buildings were only two or three stories high and you weren’t afraid to use them for fear of setting off an alarm. It was the same bluehair generation which invented suburbia and zoning laws which outlawed corner stores, so we can’t walk to the store even if we wanted, nor do we have time to. It was also the same bluehair generation who were lucky enough to have jobs and unions so that one parent could stay home with the kids which made home cooked meals and walking to the store possible.
But the minute all that plastic convenience came along, did they say no thanks, we like being environmentally friendly? Oh hell no. That bluehair generation was attracted like moth to a light. Pick up any magazine from the 50’s to see all the advertisments where mom could turn on the dishwasher and go watch the soaps. And if this generation was so wonderful, then how could they have raised their kids to be such slobs?
It was also the same bluehair generation who were lucky enough to have jobs and unions so that one parent could stay home with the kids which made home cooked meals and walking to the store possible ??
I believe there are a lot of places in this country were you can still do that….
Sure, there just aren’t any jobs that pay well there…
Don’t need a lot of pay if you can buy a house for $65,000…
True.
Are you going to move to such a place?
(Neither am I, at least not during my peak earning years… Plus I love living here.)
But they pay enough to support a middle-class (1950’s) lifestyle.
Are you going to move to such a place?
I did, but it comes with a “quality of life” price tag. You see, today is a nice warm and sunny day. The problem is that I could count the number of warm sunny days this year on one hand. In fact I just started bicycle commuting again last week, and two days were rained-out!
Exactly My Lady….And the discussion originated in my observation about oxide comment regarding not being able to have a one provider household…You still can…You may or may not like where you are living but many still do it…
Also, from yesterdays discussion regarding mandatory two years for high school graduates…I agree with you that can come in the form of national service other than the National Guard or Coast Guard…
As far as someones comment about having a gang banger out of high school in the military or coast guard, there are so many high school graduates we will have the pick of the best for those two groups…Maybe a two year stint of national service somewhere away from the bad influence the gang banger has will give him a chance o get it straight…
My father (who served as a Navy medical officer during WW2, and found himself in the awkward position of having to deny medical deferments to my boyfriends during the Vietnam era,) was an avid advocate of the draft. Not out of ideology, or even his sense of patriotism, but because, as he put it,
“The democratizing effects of having a diverse group of people spend two years stuck in a totalitarian socialist clusterfrack together will ensure hatred for all things military for the rest of their lives.”
Interesting & funny really…
I guess every high school graduate (I also said you can defer until 30) will be Whaling about the mandatory service…Well, for most of the high school graduates that I see, a totalitarian socialist environment for two years away from their parents & friends is exactly what they need…
Yes, there are places like that, ahansen. In fact on HBB we gave it a generic name: OIL CITY. It’s still doable if you are willing to live as they did in the 50’s — including 50’s health care and 50’s college educations (i.e. none).
Keep in mind that in the 1950’s college education for millions was free, subsidized by the fed government under the GI bill. And we had a public health clinic system that innoculated and treated the whole (urban, at least,) country.
Perhaps my sarcasm eluded you?
The GI Bill nowadays didn’t pay for much schooling for my brother, who spent 3 tours in Iraq as a Marine reservist. The school he went to was only $2k per semester, and he still needed some help from the parents and loans along with the GI Bill.
Being in the military was good for him in certain ways, because my brother really needs someone to tell him what to do to be a positive functional adult, but I don’t have a lot of respect for the military given the way they have constantly screwed him over. The recruiters overpromise benefits and somehow they are never delivered.
“Keep in mind that in the 1950’s college education for millions was free”
Somebody was paying for it.
Perfectly stated truth Oxy. Thank you.
Nobody had a choice. It was forced on ALL of us by corporations.
Article in the Sac. Bee this morning..I am just posting a few excerpts;
Investor ‘feeding frenzy’ gobbles up Sacramento-area homes for rentals
Share
By Phillip Reese and Hudson Sangree
preese@sacbee.com
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/21/4431322/investor-feeding-frenzy-gobbles.html#storylink=cpy
The longest lasting impact of the mortgage mess is going to be deterioration of neighborhoods as renters move in and turn previously desirable neighborhoods into their versions of the ‘hoods’ they came from. My neighborhood used to be fairly quiet. Now we can’t go for 15 minutes without someone driving down the street with their music turned up all the way with their subwoofers thumping. That’s been the end of our nice neighborhood.
Rick Lunsford bought several rental properties for the first time in 2009.
“I’m not as optimistic now as I was then,” said Lunsford, a Roseville resident and part-time investor. “It’s been a rough couple of years.”
A home Lunsford bought in Natomas for $235,000 in 2009 is likely worth $190,000 today, he said. “I thought we were at the bottom then, but we weren’t.”
An update on an acquaintance who bought a local foreclosure with a low down VA loan. Seems the VA had a program to pay toward refinancing to cut payments. Same appraiser as a little over a year ago, put it at less than what’s owed, so no refi, no lower payment. Somebody is out $500 for the appraiser.
That’s not possible, Ben. Real estate always goes up.
And who the heck is paying $500 for an appraisal nowadays? Most are starving and will do it for $350.
$595. for an appraisal here….
‘who the heck is paying $500 for an appraisal’
That’s what I asked, and was told it was a VA appraiser. Had to drive up from Phoenix or something. There’s more; the mortgage broker, who had set up the original loan, said he would pay this 500 bucks to make the refi happen. Now that there is no deal, who know what will happen.
A home Lunsford bought in Natomas for $235,000 in 2009 is likely worth $190,000 today, he said. “I thought we were at the bottom then, but we weren’t.”
As long as he made sure that they cash-flowed with a decent ROI, then he shouldn’t care—right??
Sounds to me like all those Sac area investors in rental properties are going to ensure lots of cheap rentals in the area for years to come, which is actually good in a capital city where many folks come and go with the political winds.
Woke up this morning and the B-Day cheers with a tad of magenta set in. 55th, and that “ain’t” young.
You young whipper snappers, your day will come, when you can’t buy any more green bananas either. lol
Happy birthday, Awaiting. Many happy returns.
My 54th occurred earlier this month so I can relate to your “ain’t” statement.
Happy B-day.
(And it’s the mileage, not the age that counts!
)
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to Deeeeeaaaaaar Awaiting
Happy birthday to you
Saw this somewhere…..
One words of wisdom for your bday, “Smile while you still have teeth!”
Hey 55 is great. When the politicians talk about changing all the rules for SS and Medicare they always exempt 55 and older. You are safe! Congratulations.
Many happy returns of the day, A. (And it’s time to stop waiting!)
-Big Sis.
Happy Birthday! (same day as Queen Elizabeth)
Happy Bday, Awaiting!
Thank you all. It meant a lot to me that you HBBers cared.
I went out and bought a green banana today. I have time
The Canadien dude who called Ben, Benny and said he had been looking for something in the $400k range in Florida. He said anything in that price range where he was looking was going under contract in weeks and we had hit a bottom in house prices. I told him that listings around here were sitting on the market for years and anything in a decent hood that showed up at a decent price was listed and Contingent the same day which was the result of a deal by some honest Realtor. Here is an example of that in the hood I am in where there are $330k and up listings.
Realtor.com
50 Dogwood Rdg Tequesta, FL 33469
$219,900
Status:Contingency
Beds:3 Bed
Baths:3 Bath
House Size:2,231 Sq Ft
Lot Size:0.25 Acres
Year Built:1982
MLS ID: R3273825
Added to Site
April 12, 2012 (listed Contingency same day)
Property Appraiser Site
Location Address 50 DOGWOOD RDG
Municipality TEQUESTA
Parcel Control Number 60-42-40-25-25-000-2210
Subdivision TEQUESTA PINES
Official Records Book 20536 Page 1241
Sale Date JUN-2006
Sales Date Price OR Book/Page Sale Type
JUN-2006 $516,000 20536 / 1241 WARRANTY DEED
RAL you may remember this house, you looked at it and asked me if it was Dryvit or CBS when I put a $235k offer on it about 2 years ago and was told through my Liar by the owner that I was “not being realistic”. At the time I put the $235k offer in it was listed at $300k and had been on the market for about 1 1/2 years. They have since changed Liars and re-listed it at $279k.
8942 Se Ceres St Hobe Sound, FL 33455
$279,000 Price Reduced
Estimate My Monthly Payment
Get Mortgage RatesGet Prequalified TodayStatus:Active
Beds:3 Bed
Baths:2 Bath
House Size:1,704 Sq Ft
Year Built:2003
MLS ID: R3244962
Added to Site
December 8, 2011
I saw a post about education earlier this weekend, and I’d like to chime in my opinions.
I am singularly placed to talk about college and graduate education since I’ve seen both sides at an Ivy League. (I walked out of the “other” side a long time ago.)
Firstly, the idea that education is a good thing can hardly be debatable. More knowledge is ALWAYS a good thing.
The real problem is that while the worth of a great education is very high, it’s not infinite in terms of money. There is a rational maximum for any given profession.
It’s also different for different kinds of knowledge. Knowing Electrical Engineering is quite different from being a Sports Medicine practitioner.
Universities and colleges have completely siphoned out future earnings of their “graduates” while imbibing with minimal skills. The most egregious example, ironically, happens to be Law School.
The culprit is the fact that student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Here you can see a classic problem of the government interfering in the free market. There would absolutely be no free-market loans for people to study “womens’ studies” at NYU for $40K per year (= $160K for all the “womens’ studies” people that can’t multiply by 4.)
And on that front, I must say that places like NYU are basically designed to destroy humans. They siphon off ALL the future earnings of their students while giving them minimal skills.
People here continuously complain about banks, etc. I would argue that places like NYU are far more dangerous. They actually saddle people with an insane amount of debt with no chance of redemption (= bankruptcy.)
At this point, the educational complex in the US is basically EVIL.
It breaks my heart since I’m definitely unashamedly pro-education, and one of the “success stories” of the educational world.
The education you acquire on your own but not credentialed by an institution has no place in the marketplace. Colleges are like joining clubs these days. Come to think of it, not that it was any different in late 90’s when I was in college. Law schools are very fitting of what I am talking about. Not long ago, a wannabe lawyer could educate himself, gain experience being paralegal, etc and sit for Bar exams. Only a couple of states allow that these days . You must go to law school to be a lawyer. In other words, you must mortgage your future earnings for a “credential” which may or may not pan out.
Little off topic but I do see lots of similarities between the problems of healthcare and college education in this country. Both are outrageously expensive; government made it worse and the “service providers” are the only ones benefiting from this fiasco.
“The education you acquire on your own but not credentialed by any institution has no place in the marketplace.”
But it may just be the best of all educations.
If a person seeks out information on his own and internalizes this information as it suits him (internalize = convert knowledge into understanding) then, because of a selection process, his understanding of the information will tend to be much greater than the understanding (if there is an understanding) of information fed to him in order for him to score points toward obtaining a degree.
There’s a big difference between store-bought other-driven education and self-taught inner-driven education. The vehicles used in obtaining an inner-driven education may include college but not exclusively so.
Stephen King once stated that good writers are impelled to write. That’s the word he used: “impelled”. He could have used the word “compelled” but he didn’t because if he did then he would have lost the meaning of the message he was trying to convey.
Good writers write because they are IMPELLED to write - for whatever reasons they HAVE to write. And because they HAVE to write they do a lot of writing. And writing is one of those occupations whereby the more you do of it the better you get.
And it is the same with education. People who have an burning interest in a subject are IMPELLED to acquire as much knowledge about the the subject as they can, and then - afterwards - there occurs some sort of mental process that converts this knowledge into understanding, and sometimes these conversion sessions are accompanied by an “aha” moment, and these are the moments that makes the struggle worthwhile.
All of this is my own opinion, of course.
Guys like Einstein and Feynman didn’t go to college to ‘become’ physicists; they went to college because they were ALREADY physicists - physicists was who and what they were.
College was just one of many tools they used to learn what they were impelled to learn.
If a person gets the best of all educations but has no place in the marketplace, did it really happen?
educate himself, gain experience being paralegal, etc and sit for Bar exams. Only a couple of states allow that these days . You must go to law school to be a lawyer ??
Well sure…And for who’s benefit ?? Surely not the person self educating because they can’t afford law school…Don’t you also need a undergrad to qualify for most law schools also ??
Its self-serving…A way to protect your trade from competition…See it in California with the State Contractor licensing Laws…You must have four years experience to get a license…For years experience in house painting…I could teach someone everything they would need to be a competent house painter in a matter of a few months…
Hey, Faster. How was the exhibit last weekend? What else did you see?
I’m going in tomorrow. It is supposed to be pouring, so I expect less competition. And there is a lecture which I’ll go to *after* I see the paintings. Also the reading room at the Folger is open to the public (once a year) in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday.
Oh, and you weren’t picnicing with friends and/or family on the grounds of the Capitol around 4:30 on Saturday, were you. There were some people messing around with a camera and I wondered.
I went to the National Gallery twice (Sat & Sun). Two to three hours each.
It was too much to absorb in one round.
First time for the general gestalt and the second to understand how he achieved what he achieved.
Also went to the Freer-Sackler (my second favorite gallery in the whole wide world!)
The Hokusai was vaguely disappointing. I’ve seen all of the prints before so I didn’t get anything new out of it.
Great food, great art. Great 36 hours!
I only saw an advert preview of the Hokusai, but it seemed beautifully curated from what I could gather. Was it?
Still, there’s this disconnect between the artist’s intent and the exhibit. One can only imagine that the works were meant for repetitive and solitary contemplation, not a crowded public gallery. Were they screaming? GET US OUT OF HERE!
It was absolutely beautifully curated. Amazing job!
One of the hallmarks of almost all Sackler exhibits.
A few years ago I saw an exhibit of Jodhpur paintings at the Sackler that was absolutely amazing in its curation.
Saw them again last year in Jodhpur fort in their native milieu and they were just hanging there. Minus the context even in their native environment, they were nowhere near as incandescent.
One can only imagine that the works were meant for repetitive and solitary contemplation, not a crowded public gallery. Were they screaming? GET US OUT OF HERE!
They are woodblock prints, and as such meant for “mass consumption”.
Mass in this case would be a run of 1,000 prints.
However, I went there at lunchtime on Sunday when everyone was doing brunch.
I got plenty of solitary contemplation.
The hordes arrived as I was leaving.
I was on the Senate side of the Capitol. My hotel was in opposite the NAR building (two whores for the price of one!)
Naah, I wasn’t the party. My pictures tend to be in two different areas. Either via a tripod which is pretty obvious or discreet.
If you’d been around the H-street area on Sat night where you saw a high-energy someone with two very cute women (one Indian and the other Russian Jewish - my close friends) then that would’ve been me.
How can someone tell who’s a cute Russian Jew or a cute American Jew?
How can someone tell who’s a cute Russian Jew or a cute American Jew?
I used to wonder the same thing about the snipers watching over Sarajevo’s Marshal Tito boulevard. How could they distinguish their target’s ethnicity from 400-meters?
The Russians are tall, thin and blondish.
Not that it matters since we’re talking about my friend here but if you actually knew what you were talking about, it’d be pretty freakin’ obvious!
“And on that front, I must say that places like NYU are basically designed to destroy humans. They siphon off ALL the future earnings of their students while giving them minimal skills.”
Luckily my daughter didn’t get in there!
Faster:
I would also argue that because of the severe dumbing down of HR, You have a gatekeeper who knows nothing about the job, so she follows a script you must have a certain degree and Job experience is not important because she knows nothing about the job she is hiring for..
I run into this a lot…especially the last 5 years…never had a problem walking in and asking for a job, but today just try and get past a $10hr rent a cop.
——————
The culprit is the fact that student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. I would argue that places like NYU are far more dangerous.
They actually saddle people with an insane amount of debt with no chance of redemption (= bankruptcy.)
At this point, the educational complex in the US is basically EVIL.
It breaks my heart since I’m definitely unashamedly pro-education, and one of the “success stories” of the educational world.
Well put, Faster.
I heard a poignant anecdote from someone I went to high-school with recently.
She went to college, got an education degree, and came out with upwards of $40K in debt.
Not understanding the power of compound interest, and probably not being very good at math in general, she took multiple deferments (periods of time when she did not have to make payments, but interest accrues) due to some period of unemployment and other financial stress.
Eventually she took a BK, but the school loan debt of course is non-dischargable. Now she is very close to a BK again.
The balance of her school loans now? $200K.
She is a permanent debt-slave.
Now I’m not saying that she isn’t responsible for the foolish financial decisions that she has made; she clearly is. But it is pretty horrible when the the educational system, presumably intended to improve lives, actually is designed to entrap folks in an iron-maiden-like debt-embrace.
Not understanding the power of compound interest, and probably not being very good at math in general, she took multiple deferments (periods of time when she did not have to make payments, but interest accrues) due to some period of unemployment and other financial stress.
Bet she uses a smart phone though.
I’d argue that more knowledge is NOT “always a good thing” unless there is also a corresponding critical faculty there to process the additional information and put it into perspective. I offer in evidence the average Rush Limbaugh listener.
Secondly, “women’s studies,” while perhaps irrelevant to your particular field of endeavor and orientation, are nonetheless a valid component of better understanding our societal interactions in an increasingly complex and interactive world; particularly as our technologies overtake our hormonal responses. Our public school system, for example, is geared toward a more “female” (I.E.; more communalistic and theoretical rather than hands-on,) methodology. Understanding that and integrating it into our social structures can only enhance our (your)productivity and perspective.
As you say, knowledge is a good thing. Remunerative? Maybe not so much….
You miss my point entirely!
The claim is NOT that “womens’ studies” is a bad thing. The claim is that paying $160K for “womens’ studies” is a bad thing.
There is a vast chasm between the two statements.
Education is ALWAYS a good thing but not at any price.
Agreed on the critical faculty but some of that can be developed, no?
“…can be developed, no?”
Trained is more like it. Supposedly the province of institutes of “higher” education.
Happy,
Sorry, but you misunderstood my point of my post to Rio, yesterday.
I never said the Republicans would balance the budget. I said the opposite in around about way. The Rep’s will tax cut but keep spending by borrowing. The Dem’s will raise taxes and spend just a much a the Republicans (Congress will spend $1.2-$1.5 for every $1 it receives in tax revenue and this has been very consistent for the last few decades).
The Rep/Dem have had a monoply on the 535 seats of Congress since 1860. Congress has a spending problem and does not matter which party is the majority at any particular time because the REP/DEM are Congress and have been since 1860.
*****************
Comment by Happy2bHeard
2012-04-20 20:45:23
“It’s not a taxing problem, it’s a spending problem.”
Do you really expect Republicans to balance the budget? They want to cut spending so they can give tax cuts to the upper crust. They want to tax the masses at the bottom who are not even scraping by now and withdraw social programs that ease a little of their pain. It is a blatant redistribution of money from the bottom to the top, but it is not a balanced budget plan.
Original Post****
Comment by LasVegasDude
2012-04-20 15:57:42
Rio,
Unfortunately, no matter what party is in power, Congress has a history of spending $1.2-$1.5 for every $1.0 it receives in tax revenue. We can tax cut and try to strave the beast, but they will borrow to spend more. We can feed the beast with higher taxes and they will still spend more than they receive.
It’s not a taxing problem, it’s a spending problem.
*********
It’s not a taxing problem, it’s a spending problem.
Tis both:
—-1. Federal tax revenue as a percent of GDP is at the lowest level in 50 years. It’s at 15% compared to 21% in 2000.
—-2. Out of the more than 30 OECD countries, USA ranks near the bottom in total taxes levied and collected.
—–3. Taxes on the rich and corporations are at their lowest levels in 70 years.
—–4. The USA raises much less from corporate taxes than most other developed countries.
——5. Taxes are even lower today than they were under Pres. Ronald Reagan.
sources: OMB, IRS, US Treasury, GAO. Here’s some cool charts with numbers sourced from the same OMB, IRS, US Treasury, and GAO:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/06/low_tax.html
Good data points, my Friend.
—–4. “The USA raises much less from corporate taxes than most other developed countries.”
Yes, that one is really annoys the heck out of me. So many loopholes/deductions have been put in by Congress warping an already crazed tax code. Alas, the Congressional hookers need the cash.
Speaking of Reagan and Republicans, hears a little fact from Wiki:
“Conversely, Congress passed and Reagan signed into law tax increases of some nature in every year from 1981 to 1987 to continue funding such government programs as Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Social Security, and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (DEFRA).[124][125] Despite the fact that TEFRA was the “largest peacetime tax increase in American history,” however other tax increases passed by Congress and signed by Reagan, ensured that tax revenues over his two terms were 18.2% of GDP as compared to 18.1% over the 40 year period 1970-2010.
“According to Paul Krugman, “Over all, the 1982 tax increase undid about a third of the 1981 cut; as a share of G.D.P., the increase was substantially larger than Mr. Clinton’s 1993 tax increase.”[145]”
Reagan wipeout a third of his intial tax cuts and raised revenues to 18.2% of GPD by the time he left office and the deficit kept growing…too much spending.
Yes, Rio we are down to revenues of 15% of GPD as I don’t disagree with that fact. But if you take it back to 18.2% don’t be surprised if a big drop of the deficit does not occur. The first year may look better but the hookers in Congress neet to be fed election victories!
That 21% was from the year 2000….big tax revenues from the internet bubble…we lost that % revenue to GPD in the 2001 bust.
When a corporation’s cost of materials goes up, who pays? When a corporation gives its CEO an obscene bonus, who pays? When a corporation’s utility bills go up, who pays? When a corporation’s taxes go up, who pays?
Don’t bother with the counter-argument about when such expenses go down, who benefits. I already agree. But when those costs go up I guarantee they’re passed through to the customer. That’s you. If you understand and accept that, then we’re cool.
Yo, Bill were cool!
“But when those costs go up I guarantee they’re passed through to the customer. That’s you. If you understand and accept that, then we’re cool.”
But when those costs go up I guarantee they’re passed through to the customer.
I guarantee that not all costs are “passed through to the customer”. I lived it with my corporation.
Wow, apparently there is no shortage of fools out there; someone apparently believes that the Trump name will actually be a positive factor in selling a building? Apparently they haven’t followed the success of his bubble-projects here in the states:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-flies-ex-soviet-georgia-163544378.html
TBILISI (Reuters) - American property mogul Donald Trump flew into the former Soviet republic of Georgia on Saturday to expand his global real estate empire, lending his name to a glitzy tower on the Black Sea coast there.
Unveiling a $250 million residential high-rise planned for the Georgian coastal resort town of Batumi, Trump said the Caucasus mountain nation had become a prime destination for foreign investment.
“I think you have a lot of investment opportunities in Georgia. It’s amazing what’s going on. It’s one of the really amazing places in the world right now,” Trump told Reuters in an interview.
“You have a lot of opportunities beyond real estate in Georgia (too),” he added.
The Russians will have fun shooting that up during the next Georgia/Russia War.
American property mogul Donald Trump ??
Yeah, thats why he shows up to put on his shtick at $99. seminars…Such a Mogul…
Mogul = An important or powerful person….Is Trump either important or powerful ?? Well, maybe he is since Romney needed to go worship at the Trump Throne recently…
Romney lost a lot of cred in my book when he sucked up to Trump as some kind of American hero.
There’s a difference between hucksters and moguls, but they both have to have a shtick.
Here’s a puzzle: Just drove by this house, which has an OPEN HOUSE sign out front. But this information suggests it recently sold.
There’s no way it could sell twice in the same month, is there?
P.S. This is the first time I have seen a 4br home sell in 92127 for $322K. I wonder how bad a shape the interior is for it to sell for so little?
Sold on 03/29/2012
$322,000
16166 Rimstone Ln San Diego, CA 92127
Beds: 4
Baths: 2.5
Sq. Ft.: 1,835
$/Sq. Ft.: $175
Lot Size: 5,184 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Residential, Twinhome
Stories: 2
View: Greenbelt, Park-like
Year Built: 1980
Community: High Country West
County: San Diego
MLS#: 110039881
Source: SANDICOR
Status: Sold
Watch this (now) if you can:
http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/live/?id=M5002
+ 1 ahansen…
Mogul = Important or powerful person
Hucksters = a mercenary person eager to make a profit out of anything
So which one is Trump ??
On another board I read that the photo of Zimmerman’s head has a date/time/GPS stamp that puts him right then and there. Sounds reasonable, but can anyone hear confirm if smartphones add these tags to photos?
I know the iPhone adds the gps location into the photos. I can’t remember how now, but there’s a way to go back and see all your photos imposed on a map. Date and time would only make sense in addition to that.
ALL cell phones can be traced to the general area of the nearest tower it is/was using.
Little known fact: even when not using your phone, as long as it is on, it is being tracked by the nearest tower.
Rio,
I don’t know were my first post in response to your went. Just in case it was too long excuse me if this comes as a double post.
From Wiki:
Congress passed and Reagan signed into law tax increases of some nature in every year from 1981 to 1987 to continue funding such government programs as Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Social Security, and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (DEFRA).[124][125]….TEFRA was the “largest peacetime tax increase in American history,”
During Reagan’s presidency, federal income tax rates were lowered significantly with the signing of the bipartisan Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981[122] which lowered the top marginal tax bracket from 70% to 50% and the lowest bracket from 14% to 11%, however other tax increases passed by Congress and signed by Reagan, ensured that tax revenues over his two terms were 18.2% of GDP as compared to 18.1% over the 40 year period 1970-2010.[123]
President Reagan, has remained popular as an antitax hero despite raising taxes eleven times over the course of his presidency, all in the name of fiscal responsibility.[144] According to Paul Krugman, “Over all, the 1982 tax increase undid about a third of the 1981 cut; as a share of G.D.P., the increase was substantially larger than Mr. Clinton’s 1993 tax increase.”[145]
AND the deficit continued to climb as Congress spent all the incoming tax revenue and more! As the Congressional hookers need cash to win election victories!
Yes, corportations and the 1% are getting a good deal. I don’t argue that. Sure reduce the taxes on the poor/middle class and increase it on the rich and corportations I can live with that, but don’t expect it the deficit spending to decline. You can have a somewhat decent budget a year after the intial tax increase but the hookers are in charge of the cash box!
The 21% of GDP tax revenue was a result of the internet bubbble we lost high rate with the bust in 2001.
I know a guy who works for a real estate investing firm; he occasionally flies over to China to snap up investment properties for his clients.
I wonder if they are freaking out over the Chinese government’s active efforts to stick a fork in their property bubble? Will have to ask him soon (just missed my chance — saw him not more than two hours ago at a picnic…).
ASIA NEWS
Updated April 18, 2012, 7:19 a.m. ET
China March Property Prices Declined
By ESTHER FUNG
SHANGHAI—China’s campaign to tame housing costs showed fresh progress in March, as new-home prices in major cities posted their first year-on-year decline since Beijing began cracking down on the housing market two years ago.
But with sales volumes showing signs of revival and prices continuing to rise in some markets, analysts said the central government’s tough restrictions could continue or even intensify.
China’s hot property market is cooling, as home prices decline across many cities. The WSJ’s Deborah Kan speaks to China News Editor Carlos Tejada about whether the government’s tightening measures will last.
The March decline came as property developers offered more discounts to attract buyers to a market squeezed by government curbs on purchases, mortgages and developer credits. Prices of newly built homes in 70 Chinese cities in March were down 0.4% on average from a year earlier, according to Wall Street Journal calculations based on data issued on Wednesday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. For the first time, prices were down in a majority of the surveyed cities—38 of 70.
By contrast, in February home prices were up 0.17% from a year earlier, with declines in only 27 cities.
The market expects further declines.
“The authorities want property prices to fall to a ‘reasonable level,’ by which we infer at least a 10% year-on-year fall, before they scale back the April 2010 tightening measures,” said ING economist Prakash Sakpal.
…
Japanese land prices always go down.
Japan land price decline slows in 2011 -govt survey
TOKYO, March 22 | Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:50am EDT
(Reuters) - Japanese land prices fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2011 but the pace of decline slowed as the economy was able to bounce back from last year’s record-breaking earthquake, towering tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Land prices in part of one prefecture devastated by the tsunami rose slightly as residents look to rebuild their homes on higher ground. Land prices slumped, however, in Fukushima, where last year’s natural disaster triggered multiple meltdowns at a nuclear power plant.
Japan’s average land price fell 2.6 percent last year, slower than the 3.0 percent decline in 2010, a survey from the land ministry showed on Thursday.
Commercial land prices slipped 3.1 percent in 2011, slower than the previous year’s 3.8 percent decline. Residential land prices fell 2.3 percent, less than the 2.7 fall in 2010, based on calculations on Jan. 1.
The worst earthquake in Japan’s history and a subsequent tsunami destroyed a large stretch of the country’s northeast coast on March 11 last year.
Factory output and exports recovered from the earthquake quicker than some economists had expected, but reconstruction of areas damaged by the quake is proceeding at a slower pace.
In the northeastern city of Sendai, residential land prices in one neighbourhood rose 0.2 percent in 2011 after falling 1.4 percent in the previous year, as people abandon low-lying areas for higher ground.
Residential land prices in Fukushima prefecture sank by 6.2 percent last year, faster than the 3.4 percent decline in 2010 as residents left the area after the nuclear disaster.
Japanese land prices, which had been declining for years following the collapse of a real estate bubble in the early 1990s, finally began turning up in the mid-2000s, helped in part as foreign investors poured money into urban developments.
But the upturn was short-lived, as the global financial crisis rocked the market in 2008. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Edmund Klamann)