The Housing Bubble

“realtors are liars”

Ah, the music! Realtors tells lies, I make money as a result.

The realtor lies, spends his own money taking out ads to promote his lies, spends time and money to convince a schmuck to become a FB, and then he brings the lied-to and convinced schmuck to me so as I can fininsh up the job.

The realtor collects a one-time fee and then he is gone. I also collect a one-time fee but as a bonus I get to collect money from the FB each and every month for … well, forever if it can be arranged. And it can be arranged if the schmuck is clever enough to continously cash-out equity whenever (and if ever) he happens to run across some.

The FB schmuck works hard to earn a paycheck and then sends to me a large chunk of this hard-earned paycheck each an every month for as long as he is living. All I have to do is accept it.

What arrangement could be any better than this?

Republicans block nomination of Mel Watt to be key housing regulator
By Jim Puzzanghera
October 31, 2013, 10:35 a.m.

WASHINGTON — The nomination of Rep. Mel Watt to be the regulator for housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed a key procedural vote Thursday because of strong Republican opposition.

President Obama nominated Watt, a veteran Democrat from North Carolina, in May to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

But attempts to bring his nomination to a vote by the full Senate failed Thursday as supporters were unable to muster the 60 votes needed to stop a threatened Republican filibuster.

Most Republicans fear Watt would force bailed-out Fannie and Freddie to take more aggressive steps to help the housing market, such as reducing principal on mortgages.

The so-called cloture vote fell three votes short. Only two Republicans — Richard Burr of North Carolina and Rob Portman of Ohio — joined all 53 Democrats and two independents in voting to advance Watt’s nomination despite strong lobbying by the White House, along with civil rights and housing groups.

Senate Republicans also blocked a confirmation vote Thursday on Obama’s nomination of Patricia Millett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The White House is expected to continue to push Watt’s nomination. In an indication of that, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), changed his yes vote to no at the end of the roll call. The procedural maneuver makes it easier for him to bring up the nomination for another vote.

The final tally was 56-42.

Watt would replace acting director Edward J. DeMarco, who has led the agency since 2009. Many liberals have criticized DeMarco, saying he has not done enough to try to help struggling homeowners, and there have been widespread calls from Democrats for him to be replaced.

DeMarco, a career bureaucrat, has not allowed Fannie and Freddie to reduce the principal on mortgages the firms own or guarantee. The government seized Fannie and Freddie in 2008 to prevent their collapse. They play a major role in the housing finance system, owning or backing about 60% of all mortgages.

Obama has been trying to replace DeMarco for several years. But Watt is the second nominee to be blocked by Republicans, who like the job DeMarco has been doing and support his opposition to principal reductions.
…

Boehner signs up for Obamacare

House Speaker John Boehner enrolls in an Obamacare health-care plan over the web on Thursday … and it apparently wasn’t pretty

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November 22, 2013
10 views on asset bubbles: Faber vs. Buffett vs. Yellen

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA (+0.69%) closing above 16,000 for the first time ever this week, it’s hardly surprising that market chatter over whether we’re in an asset bubble is intensifying. The 2000 dot.com bubble and the collapse of the housing bubble and financial crisis remain painful memories in investors’ minds. But are we so scared of bubbles that we see them even where they don’t exist? Recently, Mark Dow, portfolio manager at Pharo Management, suggested as much, telling CBNC in an interview that there’s “a bubble in calling for bubbles.” With that in mind, here’s a look at 10 notable names and their recent take on where the markets stand.

— Wallace Witkowski

It amazes me how much time and energy economic policy wonks devote to discussing nonexistent bubbles!

Nov. 22, 2013, 8:41 a.m. EST
Lockhart: Fed will be accommodative ‘for years’
By Steve Goldstein

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart on Friday said the central bank will remain accommodative “for years.” Lockhart, speaking to CNBC, nonetheless said he favors changing the mix of policy tools, stressing that asset purchases and the future of short-term interest rates are not tied together. He called Janet Yellen a “very qualified candidate for this position — as qualified as probably any person who’s been put up in recent years” to run the Federal Reserve.

“Taper or notaper — that is the question.”

They are busy trying to sign up Afghanistan for another ten years of crusades. Patience.

Healthy?

Certainly not what we’re seeing now with housing demand at 1997 levels and falling.