The Housing Bubble

Why aren’t public builders filling that void, since by all measures, they are flush with cash? Why aren’t they taking advantage of the massive profits they could be making?

Occam’s razor says that they can’t compete with the current prices of already built houses- at least not in areas where people actually want to live.

That certainly would have been my guess, but it flies in the face of “ample land at cheap prices with low construction costs means that builders will continue to undercut the current market until prices fall by 65%” meme.

Occam’s razor says that they can’t compete with the current prices of already built houses- at least not in areas where people actually want to live.

Or they know that if they flood the market with new construction that they won’t sell and are waiting for the bubble to fully re-inflate.

Or they know that if they flood the market with new construction

That assumes they all work in tandem with a common strategy. I (and Occam’s razor) find that unlikely.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 13:48

For over 14 years, Daniel Estulin has investigated and researched the Bilderberg Group’s far-reaching influence on business and finance, global politics, war and peace, and control of the world’s resources and its money.

His book, “The True Story of the Bilderberg Group,” was published in 2005 and is now updated in a new 2009 edition. He states that in 1954, “the most powerful men in the world met for the first time” in Oosterbeek, Netherlands, “debated the future of the world,” and decided to meet annually in secret. They called themselves the Bilderberg Group with a membership representing a who’s who of world power elites, mostly from America, Canada, and Western Europe with familiar names like David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Lloyd Blankfein, George Soros, Donald Rumsfeld, Rupert Murdoch, other heads of state, influential senators, congressmen and parliamentarians, Pentagon and NATO brass, members of European royalty, selected media figures, and invited others – some quietly by some accounts like Barack Obama and many of his top officials.

Always well represented are top figures from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), IMF, World Bank, Trilateral Commission, EU, and powerful central bankers from the Federal Reserve, the ECB’s Jean-Claude Trichet, and Bank of England’s Mervyn King.

For over half a century, no agenda or discussion topics became public nor is any press coverage allowed. The few invited fourth estate attendees and their bosses are sworn to secrecy. Nonetheless, Estulin undertook “an investigative journey” that became his life’s work. He states:

“Slowly, one by one, I have penetrated the layers of secrecy surrounding the Bilderberg Group, but I could not have done this withot help of ‘conscientious objectors’ from inside, as well as outside, the Group’s membership.” As a result, he keeps their names confidential.

Whatever its early mission, the Group is now “a shadow world government….threaten(ing) to take away our right to direct our own destinies (by creating) a disturbing reality” very much harming the public’s welfare. In short, Bilderbergers want to supplant individual nation-state sovereignty with an all-powerful global government, corporate controlled, and check-mated by militarized enforcement.

“Imagine a private club where presidents, prime ministers, international bankers and generals rub shoulders, where gracious royal chaperones ensure everyone gets along, and where the people running the wars, markets, and Europe (and America) say what they never dare say in public.”

Early in its history, Bilderbergers decided “to create an ‘Aristocracy of purpose’ between Europe and the United States (to reach consensus to rule the world on matters of) policy, economics, and (overall) strategy.” NATO was essential for their plans – to ensure “perpetual war (and) nuclear blackmail” to be used as necessary. Then proceed to loot the planet, achieve fabulous wealth and power, and crush all challengers to keep it.

Along with military dominance, controlling the world’s money is crucial for with it comes absolute control as the powerful 19th century Rothschild family understood. As the patriarch Amschel Rothschild once said: “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes its laws.”

Bilderbergers comprise the world’s most exclusive club. No one buys their way in. Only the Group’s Steering Committee decides whom to invite, and in all cases participants are adherents to One World Order governance run by top power elites.

According to Steering Committee rules:

“the invited guests must come alone; no wives, girlfriends, husbands or boyfriends. Personal assistants (meaning security, bodyguards, CIA or other secret service protectors) cannot attend the conference and must eat in a separate hall. (Also) The guests are explicitly forbidden from giving interviews to journalists” or divulge anything that goes on in meetings.

Host governments provide overall security to keep away outsiders. One-third of attendees are political figures. The others are from industry, finance, academia, labor and communications.

Meeting procedure is by Chatham House Rules letting attendees freely express their views in a relaxed atmosphere knowing nothing said will be quoted or revealed to the public. Meetings “are always frank, but do not always conclude with consensus.”

Membership consists of annual attendees (around 80 of the world’s most powerful) and others only invited occasionally because of their knowledge or involvement in relevant topics. Those most valued are asked back, and some first-timers are chosen for their possible later usefulness.

Arkansas governor Bill Clinton, for example, who attended in 1991. “There, David Rockefeller told (him) why the North American Free Trade Agreement….was a Bilderberg priority and that the group needed him to support it. The next year, Clinton was elected president,” and on January 1, 1994 NAFTA took effect. Numerous other examples are similar, including who gets chosen for powerful government, military and other key positions.

Bilderberg Objectives

The Group’s grand design is for “a One World Government (World Company) with a single, global marketplace, policed by one world army, and financially regulated by one ‘World (Central) Bank’ using one global currency.” Their “wish list” includes:

– “one international identify (observing) one set of universal values;”

– centralized control of world populations by “mind control;” in other words, controlling world public opinion;

– a New World Order with no middle class, only “rulers and servants (serfs),” and, of course, no democracy;

– “a zero-growth society” without prosperity or progress, only greater wealth and power for the rulers;

– manufactured crises and perpetual wars;

– absolute control of education to program the public mind and train those chosen for various roles;

– “centralized control of all foreign and domestic policies;” one size fits all globally;

– using the UN as a de facto world government imposing a UN tax on “world citizens;”

– expanding NAFTA and WTO globally;

– making NATO a world military;

– imposing a universal legal system; and

– a global “welfare state where obedient slaves will be rewarded and non-conformists targeted for extermination.”

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/05/the-true-story-of-the-bilderberg-group-and-what-they-may-be-planning-now-2-2648732.html - 58k - Cached -

The typical Gen Xer borrowed the most and gambled the most in the housing Ponzi.

Bilderberg? Agenda 21? Skull & Bones? Bohemian Grove?

Pentagon Unilaterally Grants Itself Authority Over ‘Civil Disturbances’

http://www.longislandpress.com/2013/05/14/u-s-military-power-grab-goes-into-effect/

washington gets explicit - its ‘war on terror’ is permanent

http://m.guardiannews.com/commentisfree/2013/may/17/endless-war-on-terror-obama

Looks like the WaPo misspelled “turrrr”.

Don Rumsfeld was on NPR Marketplace last night, promoting his new book/memoir. He’s still sticking with the line that we will view W’s War on Turrrr differently 50 years from now. Historians will see the wisdom. I hope to live to at least 80 so I can see if that’s true, assuming DHS doesn’t provide the Official News by then and block out all competitors.

Another observation about Rumsfeld is that he stonewalls and “stops to think” a lot, even on questions he HAS to have been asked hundreds of times before, e.g. “Any regrets about going into Iraq?” or “Was it a mistake to think we’d be greeted as liberators?”

“The typical Gen Xer borrowed the most and gambled the most in the housing Ponzi.”

Agreed.

And the typical Silent and first-half Boomer made out like bandits.

“The typical Gen Xer borrowed the most and gambled the most in the housing Ponzi.”

But may have had significantly less student loan debt. Depends on how early they were in Gen X and if they did their schooling straight through or went back for more later.

But may have had significantly less student loan debt. Depends on how early they were in Gen X and if they did their schooling straight through or went back for more later.

It is still possible to go to a state school and work at the same time to avoid taking on debt.

I’m a Gen Xer and went back to school in my late 30’s for a teaching credential and then a masters degree. Both took longer than usual because I held down a full time job at the same time, but I didn’t have to take out any loans.

But you couldn’t do that on a minimum wage job.

Don Rumsfeld was on NPR Marketplace

Heard some of that and on the tube (don’t remember the show) a few days back.

Dude never ceases to make my skin crawl. He’d make a good sales guy. He has his story and he’s stickin’ to it!

Insights into the 2009 Bilderberg Group Meeting

From May 14 – 17, Bilderbergers held their annual meeting in Vouliagmeni, Greece, and according to Daniel Estulin have dire plans for global economies.

According to his pre-meeting sources, they’re divided on two alternatives:

“Either a prolonged, agonizing depression that dooms the world to decades of stagnation, decline and poverty (or) an intense but shorter depression that paves the way for a new sustainable world order, with less sovereignty but more efficiency.”

Other agenda items included:

– “the future of the US dollar and US economy;”

– continued deception about green shoots signaling an end to recession and improving economy later in the year;

– suppressing the fact that bank stress tests were a sham and were designed for deception, not an accurate assessment of major banks’ health;

– projecting headlined US unemployment to hit 14% by year end – way above current forecasts and meaning the true number will be double, at minimum, with all uncounted categories included; and

– a final push to get the Lisbon Treaty passed for pan-European (EU) adoption of neoliberal rules, including greater privatizations, fewer worker rights and social benefits, open border trade favoring developed over emerging states, and greater militarization to suppress civil liberties and human rights.

After the meeting, Estulin got a 73-page report on what was discussed. He noted that “One of Bilderberg’s primary concerns….is the danger that their zeal to reshape the world by engineering chaos (toward) their long term agenda could cause the situation to spiral out of control and eventually lead to a scenario where Bilderberg and the global elite in general are overwhelmed by events and end up losing their control over the planet.”

Estulin also noted some considerable disagreement between “hardliners” wanting a “dramatic decline and a severe, short-term depression (versus others) who think that things have gone too far” so that “the fallout from the global economic cataclysm” can’t be known, may be greater than anticipated, and may harm Bilderberger interests. Also, “some European bankers (expressed great alarm over their own fate and called the current) high wire act ‘unsustainable.’ ”

There was a combination of agreement and fear that the situation remains dire and the worst of the crisis lies ahead, mainly because of America’s extreme debt level that must be resolved to produce a healthy, sustainable recovery.

Topics also included:

– establishing a Global Treasury Department and Global Central Bank, possibly partnered with or as part of the IMF;

– a global currency;

– destruction of the dollar through what longtime market analyst Bob Chapman calls “a stealth default on (US) debt by continuing to issue massive amounts of money and credit and in the process devaluing the dollar,” a process he calls “fraud;”

– a global legal system;

– exploiting the Swine Flu scare to create a WHO global department of health; and

– the overall goal of a global government and the end of national sovereignty.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-true-story-of-the-bilderberg-group-and-what-they-may-be-planning-now/13808 -

“exploiting the Swine Flu scare to create a WHO global department of health;”

4/12/2013 @ 6:30PM

Urgent Warning On New Bird Flu H7N9: Could Pose Global Threat

As new death reports come in, a team of experts from China published a scary report yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) suggesting that the new H7N9 avian flu virus is even more deadly than previously believed.

The conclusions: H7N9 causes unusually severe respiratory infection, sepsis and brain damage, and appears to be resistant to vaccination and treatment.

But here’s where it gets really worrisome. In a commentary on “global concerns” pertaining to H7N9, also in the NEJM, influenza experts Timothy Uyeki, MD and Nancy Cox discuss the potential of H7H9 to cause a pandemic (a fast-moving global epidemic) and warn that this possibility is real.

Given the severity and speed with which H7N9 is infecting and killing people, Uyeki and Cox write, “It is possible that these severely ill patients represent the tip of the iceberg and that there are many more as-yet-undetected mild and asymptomatic infections.”

With today’s toll now at 11 deaths and 43 people infected, the threat is getting real.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/04/12/new-bird-flu-danger-worse-than-believed-says-urgent-report/ - 101k

The problem (if one can call it that) is that China and India won’t go along with these nefarious plans.

The Chinese Hit up Bilderberg Conference in 2011
http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-hit-bilderberg-conference-2011-290201 - 131k - Cached - Similar pages
In yet another sign of China’s rise, Chinese delegates are now invited to the super-secret and super-elite Bilderberg Conference in 2011. …

List of Bilderberg participants

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

China Fu Ying (2011, 2012),[3][32] Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador to the UK and Australia

China Huang Yiping (2011, 2012),[3][11] Professor of Economics, China Center for Economic Research, Peking University

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bilderberg_participants - 332k -

Buying depreciating assets “builds wealth”? BWAHAHA

Looks like your losses are growing.

have you ever made any money on assets? Are you bitter cause you keep missing the boat?

Borrowing inflated amounts of money to buy depreciating assets like houses builds wealth?

Are you really that deluded?

“this cycle….”

That phrase is popping up more frequently among the housing pumpers. Is it an indication of day-trader mentality? A carry over from realtor blogs?

stating the fact the real estate is cyclical.

lots of people seem to be blowing a lot of hot air and whining cause there always broke.

Debt-Junkies are ALWAYS broke.

Don’t borrow.

u basically have to borrow to get anywhere in this system. it is all built on leverage.

You might because you’re a debt-junkie. And you’ll always be broke.

I know the system. keep sitting around waiting for a collapse and saving your dollars as they erode in purchasing power.

the bankers are telling you to speculate in assets. make some money for once in your life.

You’ll always broke.

‘I know the system.’

From the desk clearing post today:

‘Welcome to the 2006 economy, where stocks are booming, the art market is setting records, and home prices are soaring all over the country. In fact— not to rush things along too much— it’s already time for you to start worrying about the collapse of the next housing bubble. ‘Aw gee, we just had a collapse of a housing bubble!’ you exclaim, kicking the dirt in frustration. ‘I still have three partially constructed condos in Bed-Stuy to flip and IT’S NOT FAIR.’ We know, we know. But what can you do? These things happen. It’s been, like, five years since the last housing collapse— plenty of time for Americans to put it out of their minds entirely.’

‘I wouldn’t worry, though: if there’s anyone smart enough to get in and out before the whole thing collapses, it’s you. You’re smarter than the others.’

I think lenders get more out of this “system” than borrowers.

You only “have to borrow” if you need more than you can afford.

“u basically have to borrow to get anywhere in this system. it is all built on leverage.”

+1 However you must be able to cover those periods when the tide is out.

i know the system once again.

You have to recognize when people are getting piggish and take profits.

You have to buy when blood is in the streets.

There is money to be made. Get on the right side of the trade.

use leverage to your advantage.

sitting around talking about how horrible things are is not going to make you a dime.

Horrible?

Housing prices falling to dramatically lower and affordable levels is horrible?

Hogwash….. Falling housing prices to dramatically lower levels is positively bullish.

Things are not horrible at all! We have our health and freedom and all that we need. We steer away from the waterfall to improve our prospects and you call that sitting around talking.

“You have to recognize when people are getting piggish and take profits. You have to buy when blood is in the streets.
There is money to be made. Get on the right side of the trade.

sitting around talking about how horrible things are is not going to make you a dime.”

Exactly. There is no permanence to any of it. People like HA who say the sky will be falling forever are just the mirror opposites of the “housing will never go down” types. It’s all about balance and recognizing when to shift positions. Nothing goes up forever, nothing goes down forever. People who make money are those who understand this and act accordingly. This goes for houses, stocks, art, classic cars, whatever.

Borrowing at 0% interest is a no-brainer, though. Anyone who has those terms is doing a-ok.

We borrowed 100K at 0% and it feels just fine. The rest at 3.5%.

The folks paying 24.99% on their credit cards are screwed.

housing will never go down” types. It’s all about balance and recognizing when to shift positions.

Ha!

You must be one of the lucky ones that beats the house everytime in Vegas, too. Too bad, most aren’t like you.

“this cycle….”

That phrase is popping up more frequently among the housing pumpers. Is it an indication of day-trader mentality? A carry over from realtor blogs?

I think it’s a concession that houses don’t *always* go up…at least in the short term. But also an encouragement to everyone to think of them like slow motion day trading. You just need to cycle in and out of housing with the waves. Because you’re smart.

Falling housing prices is horrible?

Don’t be foolish.

What. Is horrible is paying current massively inflated prices for a depriciating house…… and borrowing to do so which serves to magnify those losses.

Where can I go to borrow $100k at 0%?

Where can I go to borrow $100k at 0%?

You could rob a bank. But, last I heard, the banks don’t take kindly to that sort of behavior. Neither does law enforcement.

“You must be one of the lucky ones that beats the house everytime in Vegas, too. Too bad, most aren’t like you.”

It’s really not that hard. Rule #1, during inflationary times like now, don’t hold cash.

Slithers….. there is no “inflation”.

refute it….. Junkie.

take some risks for once in your life.

How large are your losses?

I dont have any losses, only profits. Get in the game. quit sitting on the sidelines talking.

You have massive losses. Like anyone else holding on to depreciating assets like houses.

“Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be much less tomorrow for many years to come.”

my profits are growing daily as your depreciating dollars in your savings account go down the tubes.

Show us your “profits”. lmao

I dont need to show u jack sh@t buddy.

Be have a nice lobster dinner tonight while you eat alpo again.

Of course you don’t. Because you’re lying…. you have no profit.

Of course. Just affirming the sarcasm

It’s a crisis! Ban all lettuce and spinach!

obama washes his with the u.s. constitution

you’re busy today.;)

Why buy FACEBOOK when the price is falling?

He’s right about half the things he says, you just have to know which half. That’s the RAL way. He’s an omnicient god in his own mind, though.

Hey harpsichordists…. not a single one of you junkies have adequately refuted any of our posts. Not a single instance.

I found an awesome stock for you to buy with strong fundamentals.

make william shafter proud and buy some PCLN. The experts say it is going to 1000.00/ share. Back up the truck bro.

Save your money folks.

why save any money dude? they punish you for saving.

Why spend it when it increases in value by the day?

they punish you for saving.

Then punish them by saving more.
You will only win if you don’t play their games. Otherwise, you are just a sitting duck and they will empty your pocket.

It’s always hilarious how the same people who scream about inflation (and the ones buying gold) are the ones who think saving is good and debt is bad.

And you will never beat the system. You may not like the system, but trying to fight it is a losing game.

It’s always hilarious how the same people who scream about inflation (and the ones buying gold) are the ones who think saving is good and debt is bad.

Generalize too much?

And you will never beat the system. You may not like the system, but trying to fight it is a losing game.

If this is the end result of playing along with the system, you can have it all. It’s all yours.

Between 2007 and 2010, members of Gen X saw their median net worth sink 45% from $75,077 to $41,600. That’s compared to a drop of around 25% for both younger Baby Boomers and older Boomers, between the ages 58 and 67.

By the end of the recession, Gen X held investments, retirement plans and savings with a median value of just $14,500, down from $19,382 in 2007. Younger Boomers had median savings of $32,135 and older Boomers had $55,850, according to the report.

not a single one of you junkies have adequately refuted any of our posts. Not a single instance.

Yeah, I did and you are to afraid to even respond.

Here it is again:

Go to SF Bay Area Craigslist. Find me a rental 3/2 SFH with a yard that takes dogs for under $2500. Search “san francisco”, NOT the east bay or some other suburb.

No Bayview or Vis Valley (not safe even in daylight)

Now come back and tell me that I can rent for half the cost.

The ball is in your court debt junkie.

We’ll do the analysis when you disclose the number of square feet you bought.

What is it or are you going to keep avoiding?

We’ll do the analysis when you disclose the number of square feet you bought.

1450 sq. feet.

You CAN answer the question without the sq. footage, you just don’t want to. Square footage means nothing if you can’t even find a place to rent at any size.

Find me a rental FOR HALF THE PRICE (any sq. footage): 3/2 SFH with a yard that allows dogs - bet you can’t find one for less than $2500 month, anywhere in SF except for maybe across the street from the housing projects.

C’mon, find me a rental for half of our PITI+M (2K month, and that’s a generous number, as I receive something called MCC, which is a dollar for dollar CREDIT for 15% of all interest I pay, plus MID).

Our P&I is under $1600 month.

Admit it, you cannot rent for half the cost in many cities.

If it were possible, we would still be renting.

So Debt Donkey…. You paid $300/sq foot for a run down shack in SF?

You just stand by junkie… We’ll find scores of rentals at a fraction of your carry costs.

I agree that there seems to be a reluctance on the part of “sfhomeoner,” “oxide” and the like to actually disclose the square footage of the house they purchased along with the zip code. Why is that?

Then stop asking them for the zip code. No wonder.

OK, 1450 square feet. What was the total purchase price, not just the amount financed?

She got fleeced for $450k.

Why is that?

I already said why: cuz you are an unhinged, creepy Internet troll.

Duh.

Yeah MoralHazard… you’re a creepy internet troll…. The Fleeced Debt Junkies says so.

SFH, maybe it’s time to turn on Joshua Tree again. It’s so hard to resist feeding the troll, and Ben seems to have a fondness for this one. He’ll still be here when most others have gotten fed up and moved on.

Ben seems to have a fondness for this one

Maybe he IS Ben?

“I agree that there seems to be a reluctance on the part of “sfhomeoner,” “oxide” and the like to actually disclose the square footage of the house they purchased along with the zip code. Why is that?”

Because they don’t feel like sharing personal financial details with strangers on an internet chat site? Just a guess. If you know sq ft and price and location, you could find out the actual house. Wouldn’t that be fun to have Housing Analyst show up outside your front door?

Or just maybe you got suckered like millions of others…… and you don’t have the mental fortitude to face it.

You certainly don’t have the fortitude to ignore us.

Because they don’t feel like sharing personal financial details with strangers on an internet chat site? Just a guess. If you know sq ft and price and location, you could find out the actual house.

What he said.

If those trolls are so weird online, imagine what they are like in the flesh.

Run Junkie Run!

(but you’ll always hang on every word I write )

Maybe he IS Ben?

That is awesome if Ben is a split personality trolling his own blog. It makes the blog even better!

QE is not propping up the economy, QE is propping up the market. Uless you regard market = econonmy, oh well…..

If that’s the case, then we have a ways to go in this bull run, since the P/E of the market is less than prior market peaks (when there wasn’t this amount of QE).

Sure you do….. You call their data rubbish. You have a beef with Zillow.

“I have no beef with zillow. they give you a very rough estimate of home prices.”

That’s an understatement. It’s a joke.

I checked my house’s value on Zillow the range was about $200,000 between high and low estimate. Gee thanks Zillow for narrowing that down for me. Might as well throw some numbers up in the air and see how they land. About as accurate as using Zillow to get house prices.

At least Zillow is honest about their inaccuracy.

They are pretty transparent about saying that between approximately 75% and 90% of homes sell within 20% of their Zestimate. Only about a quarter to a third actually sell within 5% of their zestimate, and about half sell within 10% of their zestimate.

Which is why their “rough value” per home is I think a pretty poor measure.

However, they track enough sales to give you a pretty good sense of where markets are going, just not a great snapshot of the value of one particular home.

Sales volume is Always indicative of demand. ALWAYS,.

Now what did you pay for your CA debt shanty?

HA you would make a great character in 1984.

Look everyone…… the ruse players coming to the rescue.

Pot, meet Kettle.

“Sales volume is Always indicative of demand. ALWAYS,.”

Then I refer to my post of a few days ago where it noted that new home sales were up off the bottom, but still well below “normal”.

ALWAYS

“He’s about as honest as the average realtor.”

I’d say about as honest as the most crooked realtor you can find.

He’s about as honest as the average realtor.

You and I may not like it. It may not be right. It probably won’t last. But it’s true:

Monthly Bay Area Home Prices Soar At Fastest Rate On Record
May 15, 2013

Bay Area Home Prices Up For 12th Straight Month 04/18/2013

Bay Area home prices climb amid bidding wars Apr 19, 2013

You cowards. DEMAND is cratering in Sacramento.

http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Sacramento-home-value/r_20288/#metric=mt%3D24%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D5%26rt%3D8%26r%3D20288%252C275845%252C268409%252C268284%26el%3D0

Why? Because that’s what happens when prices are grossly inflated.

Prices are significantly below where they were in 2004 and 2005:

http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Sacramento-home-value/r_20288/#metric=mt%3D34%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D20288%252C275845%252C268409%252C268284%26el%3D0

Yet sales are also less than where they were in 2004 and 2005:

http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Sacramento-home-value/r_20288/#metric=mt%3D24%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D20288%252C275845%252C268409%252C268284%26el%3D0

If demand craters with higher prices, then why were sales higher in 2004 and 2005?

and prices are significantly above the long term trend, thus have a very long way to fall.

How much did you pay for the house you bought last year in per square foot?

Easy, simple question. Go.

How chivalrous….. The Fleeced Drama Queen comes to your rescue Rental Watch.

What did u pay for the dump you bought last year?

@sf - He can be both right (at least about some things) and a creep. Being a creep doesn’t automatically mean he’s wrong all the time.

You’re a fraud AlWog.

HA, just so you know, I’m not just posting under handles that start with al, but all handles with al in it anywhere. Buggabugga boo!

We’re happy for you AlWog.

Did you know that most of the posters here are actually realestate agents? Not just a few, but about 80%! We’re out to get you. And once houses fall by 50%, we’re going to buy them all! You’ll be just sitting there waiting for them to fall by 65%, but it’ll never get there because we’ll buy them all first. Ha ha!

We’re still happy for you AlWog.

That brings up an interesting point. If all those vacant houses are still on somebody’s balance sheet at what point do they depreciate to a negative value? By negative I would assume that there will be a constant accumulation of back taxes, fees, minimal maintenance expenses etc. year after year. I guess as long as FASB rule 134 is in effect this stuff is all invisible.

“unemployment has been conquered”
More like unions have been crushed and gutted. When was the last time we had a nation wide strike of a key industry? Want to see what happens when workers have strong unions then look back to Nov. 2012. There was a limited dock workers strike involving 10,000 union workers. It took less than a week for the industry to give in and reach a new agreement. That industry, (transportation) currently has the highest profit margins in history and clearly isn’t hurting by looking at their stock prices.

Here is what a good union can do for it’s members:
“The clerks, who make an average base salary of $87,000 a year, have some of the best-paying blue-collar jobs in the nation. When vacation, pension and other benefits are factored in, the employers said, their annual compensation package reached $165,000 a year.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/los-angeles-port-workers-strike_n_2241985.html

This country needs a lot more union workers.

This country needs a lot more union workers.

Warren Buffett disagrees.

I’m always surprised when people say they want to be in the best school district. What’s wrong with an average school district where your kid is at the top of the class? I’d much (understatement) rather my kid be near the top of the class and be essentially assured a spot at Johns Hopkins/Duke (if not an Ivy) than have my kid go to high school in Lutherville, be barely top 10%, and end up at U of Maryland.

I’d also rather plow all my house and prop tax savings into giving him/her the best of everything. I strongly believe that the best things you can give a kid are strong work ethic, love, and space to grow up, not some moderately-good public HS that will get them into a so-so college which isn’t worth the tuition charged.

Joe, RW didn’t say the best school district (unless I missed it), just a good school district. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Plus, what happened to your “coming home to kids” nightmare, are you softening? Do you have a big HBB announcement to make?

Encouraging my children to be the best of the mediocre isn’t really my style.

“Good school district” (I didn’t say “best”) for me means a school where parents are involved, there is little to no violence, and is well funded (stability of faculty). The public school that our kids will attend through 8th grade have all of those things.

If I wanted the “best” school for my kids, I would be spending huge amounts on private schools.

I find your view that being at the top of an average school gets you into a top university as quite curious. That certainly hasn’t been what I’ve seen. If you are in the top 10% of an excellent high school, you will have better chances of getting into the college of your choice than if you are #1 at a mediocre public school.

You’re selling a completely different life for me, and I don’t want to buy it.

I’m sure living in his parent’s basement is just fine for him, but not all of us want to live that way.

I just spent a buttload of money on a depreciating asset: plants and flowers and seeds and bulbs.

I even (gasp!) bought some annuals - they won’t even be around next year but I bought them anyway.

Why did you buy flowers when you could have rented them for half the price? Except for Holland’s Tulip Bubble, flowers always decpreciate. ALWAYS.

Rental Watch…..

Unlike us, you’ve remained in hiding and are 100% anonymous. There is no connection to you other than what you paid.

What did you pay per square foot? You have no excuse to hide.

I’ve kept one username, but I’m not anonymous. Ben knows my name via my e-mail, and I’ve told you what I do (even if you don’t understand it).

And I’ve told you that I paid north of $150 per foot for my home, and that’s all you’re going to get. So, go ahead and berate me for buying a deteriorating asset at above replacement cost.

Sure you’re anonymous. What you paid per square foot is relative to no other personal info here. You’ve got nothing to hide.

Now go ahead.

I think Joe’s understanding of the word “average” is different from my understanding of the word “average” if he thinks University of Maryland is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

oh, bilderberg. we’ve been reading about it since al gore invented the internet. but it’s good to be reminded sometimes…