Bits Bucket for January 21, 2014
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
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January 16, 2014, 11:40 a.m. ET
China, Japan Boost Treasury Bond Holdings to Record Highs — Update
By Min Zeng and Eric Morath
China and Japan boosted their holdings of Treasury bonds to a record high in November, a sign two of the biggest foreign investors in the U.S. government debt market haven’t fretted about the rise in long-term interest rates.
The activities of foreign investors are highly scrutinized at a time when Treasury yields have climbed over the past year and bond prices have fallen on the prospect that the Federal Reserve would wind down its bond buying this year. Analysts said steady demand from foreign investors would help contain the pace of rise in bond yields, keeping long-term borrowing costs for U.S. consumers and businesses in check.
China added $12.2 billion in Treasury debt in November to $1.3167 trillion, according to the latest monthly capital flows release from the Treasury Department. It surpassed the previous peak of $1.3149 trillion set in July 2011, according to analysts.
Japan increased its holdings by $12 billion in November to $1.1864 billion. The Fed currently owns more than $2 trillion Treasury debt, bigger than any other investors in the $11.8 trillion Treasury bond market.
“While foreigners won’t be the sole source of buying when the Fed reduces its purchases, foreign demand should prevent U.S. rates from rising too quickly,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, which oversees $11 billion in fixed-income assets.
The release helped boosted Treasury bond prices Thursday. The benchmark 10-year note rose by 9/32 in price, yielding 2.849%, according to Tradeweb.
The November increase was the third straight monthly buying from China as the nation took advantage of a 0.2 percentage-point rise in 10-year yield to buy. The world’s second-largest economy bought $10.67 billion in Treasury notes and bonds in November, the highest since June 2013. The rest of the net purchases were Treasury bills, debt securities maturing in a year or less.
The buying reflects China’s limited options in parking its massive amount of foreign reserves accumulated from a trade surplus with the U.S., analysts said. China’s foreign reserves rose to $3.82 trillion at the end of December from $3.66 trillion at the end of September and a majority is denominated in U.S. dollars.
“As long as China has trade surplus with the U.S., it needs to put the dollar reserves somewhere and the Treasury bond market is the world’s most liquid bond market,” said Jeffrey Young, U.S. rates strategist at Nomura Securities International in New York. “China likely continues to do small tweaks on their monthly holdings but it is highly unlikely it would dump Treasurys because that would hurt not only the U.S. but China itself too.”
…
I guess the biggest risk with these treasuries is the chance that yields go up and your stuck holding your treasury to maturity to avoid taking losses on the principal.
This would tend to say they are piling into shorter term treasuries.
Any idea what the duration of all these treasuries the chinese keep buying?
“I guess the biggest risk with these treasuries is the chance that yields go up and your stuck holding your treasury to maturity to avoid taking losses on the principal.”
No. The biggest risk is that inflation turns out to be ‘higher than expected,’ leaving you holding the bag on ’smaller than expected’ real returns until you sell at a loss or the bond matures.
P.S. Provided fundamentals are setting prices, there is little difference between rising yields and ‘higher than expected’ inflation.
I dug around a little but couldnt find anything good on the distribution of chinas holdings. But as noted below most of the new purchases were in short term bills.
china needs to keep buying so yields stay low enough for homeowners in america to buy homes and use their equity to buy chinese imports at walmart and harbor freight tools.
Without low yields for homeowners the parties over. Time to go back to work for your money and there aren’t any jobs.
But it’s different for China. Their inflation is higher than ours by design.
I’m noticing I’m getting less and less RMB for my dollar every time I have to get more cash this month.
I wonder if the citizens of china and japan know their govt’s are buying paper assets at all time record high prices?
“China boosted its holdings by $10.7 billion in October to $1.3045 trillion, according to the latest monthly data released by the Treasury Department on Monday. Foreign investors overall added $24.4 billion in U.S government-debt holdings. China primarily bought T-bills due in one year or less, with $8.4 billion added in the month.”
“…at all time record high prices…”
Are you sure prices won’t go any higher from here, especially given the 15% (or so) drop in the price of 30-year Treasurys during last year’s protracted selloff? Or does ‘buy the dip’ only work for stock prices?
The U.S. stock market hasn’t run out of handwringers worrying about overbought / overvalued stocks just yet!
Bulletin More investors think U.S. stocks are overvalued than at any time since 2000 »
Jan. 21, 2014, 6:00 a.m. EST
3 risks that could crash the market
Opinion: Data points suggest market participants use caution
By Jeff Reeves
After a roaring run for stocks in 2013, there are some signs of trouble on the horizon.
December’s job report was ugly. Earnings warnings have picked up. And, of course, there’s that pesky problem with the Federal Reserve starting to ease off the gas.
Investors certainly shouldn’t panic. And for the record, I remain a long-term bull on the stock market and the American economy in general.
However, it’s normal to start wondering if we’re poised for a pullback in the next few months.
After all, 2013 was almost nowhere but up. The biggest “correction” for the S&P 500 was a roughly 6% slide from May to June … and you had to time the volatility perfectly (horribly?) to feel that loss and not get the snapback that followed.
I’m certainly not wishing for a pullback, and I’d love to see stocks power higher in a straight line. Still, I’m keeping an eye on three major areas of concern right now to gauge the state of things.
Here they are, and here’s what you should look for as signs of a breakdown:
…
Prof, are there any news stories about working Boomers locking in these equity gains by transferring into bonds? Because if I were 65+, that’s what I would do. Transfer into something safe — even if not growing — and then go Oil City or age in place.
It’s a pretty open secret that the government is holding back on giving fed employees cost-of-living increases not only to “control the spending in the face of crushing debt,” but also to encourage maxed-out GS’s to retire.
“…to encourage maxed-out GS’s to retire…”
Wouldn’t a pay freeze make them feel a need to continue working longer in order to ensure sufficient savings for their retirement years?
I wonder about that too. I’ve said: “well maybe they make the same salary as last year but it’s certainly more than they’d making not working at all.” But for some reason that doesn’t seem to get any traction. I guess it’s because the senior gov people were never in any real danger from the downward spiral of even the last 20 years. Never laid off, never had to move, bought the house early on, kids out of college, i.e. they might be boring but they have a very nice and boring pile. They don’t have to work. Some of the older folk feel pretty entitled to their step increases and COL increases, and I guess the gov management is taking advantage of that sense of entitlement. Not giving a 1-2% raise is enough to make someone retire — well fine don’t let the door hit yea. That’s the cheapest retirement buyout around.
(that said, there is a small segment who find that they are now subsidizing kids and grandkids who were affected by the recession. And the younger folk don’t appear to feel as entitled.)
‘now subsidizing kids and grandkids’
we have a number of those here, and without exception, the grandkids are the reason they need subsidizing.
dinks don’t have these problems.
I know a civil service chemist who got RIF-ed several times in the 1990s due to base closings. So not all government employees were insulated from the tribulations that the rest of us have suffered.
“Prof, are there any news stories about working Boomers locking in these equity gains by transferring into bonds?”
Bonds are not safe they are in a bigger bubble than stocks. The only things that are safe are paying about 0% interest, that is the game the Fed is paying forcing people to take risk for any return.
While government workers didn’t get an increase in wages the retires have. I know several that have done better by retiring!
Jan. 21, 2014, 10:48 a.m. EST
The market is at a major inflection point
Avi Gilburt
For the last month, the market has been stuck in a trading range. In fact, this is quite reminiscent of the November through December time frame as well. So, the question is if we will see the same result. I am not quite so certain that the popular expectations will be fulfilled. But either way, once the market decides on a direction here, the following move should be of some significance.
…
Many of pensions in this country depend on a 7.5 to 8% return on assets. Moreover, this return is based on their total return which includes returns on bonds and stocks. Last year was a great year for stocks not so much for bonds. The total return did buy sometime for pension funds but a major correction will bring on the municipal bond crisis in this country. Even a few years of low increases will cause the crisis. Because we still have not addressed the unrealistic assumptions needed to maintain pensions in this country this black of perhaps just gray swan is just waiting to derail the economy. This is why the PTB cannot allow a major correction of the stock market. However, at some point it may beyond their ability to manipulate.
“Many of pensions in this country depend on a 7.5 to 8% return on assets.”
Don’t think that is going to pan out…
Why would this person love to see stock prices power higher in a straight line? Wouldn’t that just cause them to become less valuable?
I think the idea is that stocks always go up or else this person gets sad.
I hate the grammar in the last quote of this post. Why the change of tense? Why the improper spelling of the word “treasuries”? I just can’t read stuff like that. Besides, the article is pointless. They are basically saying that if the US government offers to pay higher interest, then more people will want to lend it money. Well, of course. Of course they would.
Jan. 21, 2014, 7:02 p.m. EST
Pimco and Bill Gross will weather El-Erian’s exit
Opinion: Fund giant’s biggest concern is a weak bond market
By Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch
Last year was a rough one for Pimco, the bond-fund giant.
While some of it may have been his doing, this wasn’t really Mohamed El-Erian’s fault.
This year could be harder for bond managers, but that won’t be his fault either.
It’s also no longer his problem, as El-Erian announced Tuesday afternoon that he was stepping down as chief executive and co-chief investment officer at Pimco .
The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company itself will not suffer, not only because the legendary Bill Gross fills the other half of the CIO role, but because big fund companies typically have deep benches and no manager — even one as respected as El-Erian — operates in a vacuum. El-Erian’s replacement, Chief Operating Officer Douglas Hodge, is moving up in the corporate suite, but he’s not going to change or overhaul the culture. Neither will any of the other appointments announced Tuesday for the C-suite.
El-Erian represents the loss of a “name,” but it’s not like his reputation — or Bill Gross’s for that matter — could stop the pain bond managers felt in 2013. Pimco is more exposed to fixed-income assets than most of its large competitors, and when the bond business muddled through the year, Pimco was no exception.
Where El-Erian (and Gross) do bear some responsibility is that their flagship fund, Pimco Total Return had too large an exposure to longer-term Treasurys early in 2013, which set up its problems.
…
Mystery meat from the factory cafeteria is always an adventure. Today while I was eating what I think is pork, my coworker was eating what turned out to be a deep fried bullfrog. He’s Chinese, he knew what he was getting when he took it…a couple of minutes later it was just a pile of bones and cartilage.
So I presume this to mean that the gruel served there is nothing like what’s served in the typical WunHungLo chinese take out joint here?
Hows the Ho Fun there?
You can get good food all over the place in the city. The food we eat for lunch that at least some of which is the same stuff the factory workers eat is a real crapshoot, though. Mostly on the negative side.
No ho fun…plenty of ho offers if you go looking for it, though. I’m with an ex-Navy guy who was in the Pacific fleet and is quite used to such things. First exposure to that for me. Walk past a massage parlor as a middle aged white guy and the girls snap to attention and come spilling out the door. Apparently I’m the target demographic.
LOLZ
No. The beef chow ho fun. It’s quite popular with new englanders.
Ho fun — Gotta admit, that was pretty funny.
u seen any walmarts over there?
Actually yes. At least in Shanghai, Walmart is everywhere. My coworker went to one already to get some stuff, but I haven’t bothered yet. He says it contains exactly what you’d expect…Chinese plastic stuff.
We did go to a B&Q on a tool shopping spree, though…kind of like Home Depot but smaller. I heard it’s actually a British chain but this is the first time I’ve seen one. It seemed…totally like an American big box store.
Frog’s legs are a delicacy. Giant spicy scorpions on skewers, not so much. Personally, I have to draw the line at the seafood emporiums where you get to meet your dinner before it’s killed in front of you and brought cooked to your table.
Don’t make the mistake of pointing the caged alligator out to friends while waiting in line….
We fried frog legs when I was in the boy scouts. It is a cajun thing in the south. Southern fried and unidentified is what they say…
Did the same thing in Vermont. Of course, the French Canadians are the Cajun’s cousins since they came from Arcadia.
Correct on all.
Pan fried legs are a warm weather snack.
It is a cajun thing in the south.
ibbots, did you grow up in cajun country?? I spent some time there myself…
There are grocery stores in the Bay Area that sell live frogs in mesh bags. They are kept in large barrels, stacked on top of each other. Alive. This is not a sign of wealth, m’friend.
Didn’t expect so. For us or the frogs. But getting to experience actual factory worker conditions is educational. It’s a bit like the military for them. They have dorms/barracks and the new ones get their initial lectures while standing in formation at the side of the factory floor. And the food is what I just described. And they all appear to be late teens and early 20s…even the old timers. I think their parents are all still back on the farm.
Speaking of which, with Chinese New Year starting next week, they are all making preparations to go home while the factory is shut down. I’ve heard that on average 30% of them don’t come back.
“I’ve heard that on average 30% of them don’t come back.”
So they become subsistence farmers or unwitting organ donors.
They go back to what they came from…
Springfield, VA Housing Inventory Up 74% On Falling Prices
http://www.movoto.com/springfield-va/market-trends/
My 4 IE rental homes increase$16,000 a month. I was at the beach today drinking in a bar a Pina Colada thinking that i was wise for buying the 4 rental homes in Feb,2009.I paid cash. I knew it was a good time to buy.
I guess some of the people on this blog like ‘Housing Anaylist’ lol missed out when housing was at a all time low in FEB 2009.All you Housing Doomsayers get on the gravy train and make some money, by buying a home and watch equity rise 25% each year for the next 5 years.
Hot chicks dig the long ball ,hot chicks also dig the LANDLORD who gives them lower rent rate:} :}:}:}:}:}
like most things you make money only after you sell.
Im not interesting in selling. Im enjoying the 5 hot female tenants living in my 4 rental homes. Im living the good life.:}:}:}
everyone here bought stocks on feb 09.
Props to this troll parody. I was amused by the boorishness of the landlord trading rent for favors and the obvious idiocy of continued 25 percent increases. Trying to pick a fight with HA in an attempt to gain credibility does detract in trying to make it seem real.
More research though, the IEs bottom was not in February 2009. Certainly not the all time one, that is coming still.
Living in a rental will never feel like a real home.
Living in a place you don’t plan on staying for the rest of your life isn’t really a home either.
If that isn’t your situation, and your family status and work situation doesn’t back it up, don’t buy.
If you are an imaginary person, buy at any cost.
Money rented from the bank will never feel like real wealth.
You’re just bitter because you missed the boat on Inland Empire housing.
You know you’ll never be able to afford a home in San Diego County and you can barely afford the ever-increasing rent there, and you lost the opportunity to own a piece of the American Dream in Southern California’s beautiful Inland Empire region.
If you lived here, you’d already be home!
http://1m0esx2939yhjwld8419obqhyb.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/X00096_91-380×264.jpg
Find yourself some beef tendon and dig in. It won’t be hard to find.
The floor won’t be put in by institutional buyers this time. As prices begin to descend further and further this time, their model will be shown to have failed and they can go back to peddling snake oil.
Once their investors see that prices can go down, even with the pumping continuing to go on, it’s game over.
“Once their investors see that prices can go down, even with the pumping continuing to go on, it’s game over.”
It has only been a few short years since real estate investors got the Joshua tree reaming of a lifetime, and now they are setting themselves up for another one. Why can’t they foresee this before losing their shirts?
It brings to mind the thinking of toddlers who freak out when Mommy leaves the room because they think she is gone forever; i.e. infantile.
Why can’t they foresee this before losing their shirts?
Because the allure of making a lot of money without doing any real work (which we all know is for chumps) is irresistible.
Are you talking about food in China, or did you mean to say “tender loin”?
Food in China. I don’t know why my post didn’t nest with Carl’s.
U.S. Army’s elite Special Forces train with local cops in a secretive joint exercise
Joshua Cook
Ben Swann.com
January 21, 2014
Unwarranted NSA surveillance, the passage of NDAA, stop and frisk programs, and the rise of warrior cops, have essentially turned America into a centralized police state.
Blurring the lines between the U.S. military and local sheriff departments sets a dangerous precedent that erodes freedom and civil liberties.
Those lines are being blurred right now in South Carolina.
According to The State, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will participate in secretive joint exercise Monday and Tuesday with unnamed units from Ft. Bragg.
The drills are scheduled to run up to midnight on both days and occur primarily in Lower Richland, around Hopkins and Eastover. Exercises will also take place around the Screaming Eagle Road near Elgin and North Richland County near outbound Monticello Road.
According to The State, a sheriff’s department spokesman refused to provide which units from Ft. Bragg are involved. Ft. Bragg is home to the U.S. Army’s elite groups, including the Special Forces and Delta Force.
The spokesman also said the drills would be noisy at times.
“Citizens may see military and departmental vehicles traveling in and around rural and metropolitan areas and may hear ordnance being set off or fired which will be simulated/ blanks and controlled by trained personnel,” a sheriff’s department press release said.
The secretive exercises are off limits to the media, reports The Activist Post.
The implications are serious.
Locally elected Sheriffs take an oath to uphold, preserve, and defend the Constitution. They are not an extension of the centralized federal government. They have the ultimate say in their county as the top law enforcement officer.
If sheriff deputies engage an enemy in conjunction with the U.S. military who do they take orders from? The ARMY commander? Or their Sheriff?
This violates the separation of local authorities and the federal government. If the separation of powers are eliminated, who will protect the Constitutional rights of citizens?
This article was posted: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 5:51 am
Police becoming more militarized as wars wind down
Story by Jana Eschbach / CBS 12
Jan 8, 2014
FORT PIERCE, Fla.
Used last in Afghanistan, “They brought this back from Afghanistan and now its in Fort Pierce.. for officer rescues, search warrants, things like that that an officer would need protection.” Holmes said.
The military is unloading hundreds of these types of vehicles post Operation Enduring Freedom. More and more police agencies are signing up to use retired military equipment.
http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_12367.shtml - 463k -
“There’s a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people” - Bill Adama
Kind of sad how the writers for a SciFi show get it, but the average Joe on the street does not.
It’s important to exercise one’s joints, and the various bodily conformations that one must strike are sufficiently embarrassing to warrant secrecy.
Cynical New PR Stunt Greases Skids For “Humanitarian” Invasion of Syria
Dubious defector’s claims emerge after think tank called for “realpolitik” ploy
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
January 21, 2014
Following an influential think tank’s call for a humanitarian “realpolitik” stunt to be pulled to weaken President Assad’s position, a report has miraculously emerged just 24 hours before the start of the ‘Geneva II’ conference which alleges systematic torture and abuse by Assad’s regime.
According to the BBC, the report was “commissioned by Qatar,” which has been an enthusiastic backer of the opposition rebels since day one. It alleges that 55,000 digital images of 11,000 detainees show evidence of torture, starvation and execution. The images were reportedly smuggled out of Syria by a defector named Caesar.
“Caesar” was apparently happy to take photos of dead bodies for years before releasing them to be made public just 24 hours before the start of Geneva II. The photos were investigated by a legal team comprising of the prosecutors of ex-Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic and President Charles Taylor of Liberia.
Having failed to topple Assad by force, the west is now firmly intent of dragging Assad before the International Criminal Court, or flooding the country with UN “humanitarian” observers who will later be used as pawns to weaken the ability of the Syrian Army to fight the deluge of Al-Qaeda militants sent to destroy Syria by the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Given the history of the role of defectors in greasing the skids for war, we’d be naive not to be suspicious. Remember Curveball? He was the “defector” whose fabricated claims about weapons of mass destruction led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
The BBC’s Jim Muir even admits that the report is politically motivated, “the commissioning of the report by Qatar, and its release just before the Geneva II talks,” but still gives it credence anyway.
The report also arrives just days after the results of an MIT study were published which attracted virtually no mainstream media attention in the west whatsoever. The study concluded that the chemical weapons attack on Ghouta, which almost served as the pretext for a US military invasion of Syria, could not possibly have been launched from government-controlled areas.
Isn’t interesting how much credibility the mass media is affording to one dubious and agenda-driven defector while completely ignoring the results of a major study conducted by numerous unbiased experts?
The timing and agenda behind the report is transparent and cynical, it is designed to grease the skids for a “humanitarian” invasion of Syria while weakening Assad’s position at the negotiating table.
The report also arrives just days after the Atlantic Council, an influential Washington DC think tank which basically serves as a revolving door to the White House, published an article calling for a “realpolitik” PR stunt in order to re-invigorate support for toppling Assad.
The article, entitled Syrian Peace Talks: What is Achievable Near Term?, written by former State Department advisor Frederic Hof, argues that NATO should demand that Assad allow UN inspectors unfettered access to the country in a repeat of the very conditions that preceded the invasion of Iraq – all in the name of “humanitarianism” of course. Hof’s lament that the US did not launch an aggressive military attack on Syria last year is palpable.
The Atlantic Council’s James Rupert summarizes the piece by writing that it calls on the US to address “the humanitarian catastrophe of millions of Syrians uprooted or brutalized by the civil war….for reasons of realpolitik as well as humanitarianism.”
“Realpolitik” is a pejorative term often implied to mean political maneuverings that are coercive, amoral, or Machiavellian.
Rupert and Hof might just have got their wish granted with the release of today’s dubious and politically timed report, which could help lay the groundwork for another “humanitarian” war in the region to follow the catastrophe that has unfolded in Libya.
Infowars dot com are not “real journalists”
CNN dot com, the town crier for King Obama reports that:
“CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the photographs, documents and testimony referenced in the report, and is relying on the conclusions of the team behind it, which includes international criminal prosecutors, a forensic pathologist, an anthropologist and an expert in digital imaging.”
Remember when Saddam Hussein (same last name as Obama’s middle name) baked the yellow cakes and threatened our friend and ally Israel and flew his airplanes into our World Trade Centers and Pentagons?
The Atlantic Council’s James Rupert summarizes the piece by writing that it calls on the US to address “the humanitarian catastrophe of millions of Syrians uprooted or brutalized by the civil war….for reasons of realpolitik as well as humanitarianism
Realpolitik would realize while Assad is brutal it is very unlikely that any government would arise that would be better than the Assad regime. How quickly we forget that we removed Khadafy after he was cooperating with the U.S. and now we have anarchy in that country. If there was a window to replace Assad with a secular democratic government that window has closed.
‘How quickly we forget that we removed Khadafy after he was cooperating with the U.S. and now we have anarchy in that country’
And Iraq. And Afghanistan. It’s almost like there’s a pattern here.
‘a window to replace Assad with a secular democratic government that window has closed’
Yeah, the Saudi’s, who were the CIA’s point team on this whole thing, are really big on secular democratic government.
And Iraq. And Afghanistan. It’s almost like there’s a pattern here.
Everything neo-cons touch, turns into $hit.
realtors are habitual liars
renters are life’s losers
Haha! People who live below their means, borrow nothing and end up with a big pile of savings are the all time losers!
Haha! People who live below their means, borrow nothing and end up with a big pile of savings are the all time losers!
Actually, that sounds a lot my my life. I live below my means, I don’t borrow any more than I did when I was renting, and at the end I will have a big pile of savings.
Sure, I “borrowed” money for the house, but I gained an asset that is worth more than what I borrowed, and therefore cancels out the negative from the borrowing. Effectively, I still work a month, pay a month work a month pay a month, same as renting.
The biggest benefit for you Oxy is the stability. You know this routine will go on pretty much the same for decades to come. It is best for some people to have things settled, and to be assured that there will be no surprises.
About the math though, the thing you bought with the money that you borrowed, it needs to be worth three times what you borrowed to break even in the end. Just sayin.
it needs to be worth three times what you borrowed to break even
Where did you get that rule of thumb? I’ve never heard it.
It would seem that you have to consider the interest rate, the term of the loan, the degree that you benefitted from deducting that interest on your tax returns over and above what you would have received taking the standard deduction and also factoring in rent saved. It would be a very case dependent analysis.
But her monthly expenses are substantially higher than the cost of the same rented square footage.
Add up that loss every month for 30 years.
“factoring in rent saved.”
And that is the clincher. If I were living at home rent free, I would not have bought.
Duh.
“same rented square footage…”
Yes, but a single person could rent a single bedroom apartment rather than buy a three bedroom house. When you lock in for appreciation, gotta go long. lol.
FBs are life’s wieners.
hope and change
‘president barack obama said racial tensions may partially explain his declining popularity among white voters, according to a story in the new yorker magazine this week.
‘there’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black president,’ obama said
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/obama-says-race-may-blunt-poll-standing-in-interview.html
Racism is going away generation by generation. All those folks who might be against him because his is Black are older than he is. More of them die off every year. And they didn’t vote for him to begin with.
“Racism is going away generation by generation.”
As long as there is affirmative action, racism is a long, long way from going away. Once there’s no more affirmative action, racism is over.
once blacks are convicted of racial hates crimes they will stop….
and then racism will be over…maybe in 2017?
“…once blacks are convicted of racial hates crimes they will stop…”
Is it even legally possible for blacks to be convicted of racial hate crimes?
well thats why MLK day should be eliminated, black people dont want to be judged on the content of their character.
It is difficult for a narcissistic person to consider the possibility that there might be something wrong with themselves.
‘ObamaCare’s defenders say its troubles are over as more people sign up and, by the way, stop griping because the law is here to stay. Much evidence says otherwise, to the extent that the embroidered information the White House is willing to release counts as evidence…About one of six Americans under age 65 lack insurance in the official statistics. So where are they? Either Democrats exaggerated the problem to pass the new entitlement. Or else individuals don’t think ObamaCare plans offer value, and they’re choosing to stay uninsured or buy insurance off the exchanges where the regulations are slightly looser.’
‘Meanwhile, the insurers who conspired with Democrats to pass the law have figured out who’s their daddy. Jay Gellert, the CEO of the Medicaid contractor Health Net, complained the other day that this newspaper “has decided that they have a jihad on the Affordable Care Act.” That’s an unfortunate metaphor, but we’ll plead guilty to having predicted the problems that now beset the law. Mr. Gellert is a wholly owned HHS subsidiary who knows he’ll be punished if he doesn’t salute.’
‘Here’s a question for Mr. Gellert: If everything is going so well, how come the White House is about to ride to the rescue of you and the other insurers that were supposedly the problem ObamaCare was designed to fix?’
Ahem…
‘the insurers who conspired with Democrats to pass the law have figured out who’s their daddy’
Aren’t all politicians narcissists?
Aren’t all politicians narcissists?
Yes, but it varies by degree. Think how George Washington could easily have been King and then could have been president for life but he voluntarily gave up power.
In Colo
Yeah, buy he actually put his neck on the line and fought for independence, unlike the contemporary bunch of crooks we get today.
Man, I love that guy. He’s my hero. I’ve had a nice life because of his sacrifice. And he didn’t fool around, from what I’ve read. Built gallows for deserters and slackers and if you didn’t toe the line, you got a neck wedgie toot sweet. “Pour encourager les autres”, as the French saying goes.
He did enjoy having his portrait painted, though. Never saw an easel he didn’t like.
“He did enjoy having his portrait painted, though. Never saw an easel he didn’t like.”
+1 Also had a taste for dark veal.
Wait, wait, is this guy saying that many of the whites who voted for him all of a sudden up and decided they don’t want to be governed by blacks? Just because they’re black?
You have to ALWAYS like him, otherwise you are a racis.
So, in other words, if you changed your mind about him based on his record, what he’s done or hasn’t done, etc., you’re a racist?
This country has gone completely, totally and utterly insane on the subject. What’s even worse is, as long as race is allowed to be a fallback position to explain failure, it will never, EVER go away as an issue. Ever.
It’s like people who are on disability, doctors know that they’ll never be cured because they’re rewarded for the disability. It’s how they survive and get sympathy, so asking them to give up the disability is like asking them to die, in their mind.
And so it is with race in this country. As long as it is seen as a disability for which one is rewarded and sympathized with, it will never go out of fashion as a reason for failure.
Even white male losers have caught on to this and have adopted the “woe is me, I’m a white guy and I’m a victim” mentality.
Jeebus, grow a pair.
white people, specifically white heterosexual males, are responsible for all evil in the entire history of the world.
king obama will enact reparations laws before his second term ends. in addition to taking all of whitey’s wealth and redistributing it to the historical victims of racism, slavery, sexism, homophobia, colonialism, and any other officially designated victims of the oppressor class, all white males will be enslaved and conscripted to hard labor to build pyramids and monuments to king obama and his crucified son the messiah trayvon.
and by this we will finally achieve social justice.
Amen brother.
“So, in other words, if you changed your mind about him based on his record, what he’s done or hasn’t done, etc., you’re a racist?”
Obama’s first comment was pretty tame, and probably correct:
“‘there’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black president,’ obama said”
The article’s line was: “President Barack Obama said racial tensions may partially explain his declining popularity among white voters”. Doesn’t seem to match what he said. I blame the writer. Especially when you read what Obama added:
“Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black president,”
I don’t care. He’s still giving himself the cover of color.
Case closed.
“I don’t care. He’s still giving himself the cover of color.
Case closed.”
I don’t see it that way after reading the whole quote. He states quite clearly that there are voters who GIVE him the cover of color, that is, give him a break simply because he is black.
If you read the Bloomberg article, you see that the next paragraph is this.
“Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black president,” Obama said in his most direct comments on how race has affected his political standing since he’s been in office.
When I read the article this morning I had a feeling that this part would be left out if the coverage of the story by Fox, Rush, Drudge, Goon, etc.
King Obama PRESIDENT FOR LIFE!
‘how race has affected his political standing since he’s been in office’
Bragging about how good he is at killing people might have had something to do with it too.
That, the ACA, Snowden, Syria, immigration, etc. Not to mention his penchant for twitting the American public in general. Never misses a chance to take a shot.
His election strategy was based in part on firing up the racial divide and using incidents such a Trayvon Martin to increase black turn-out. He had Biden out saying the Republicans wanted to put blacks back in chains and then he complains about the racial divide. The strategy actually worked, with young blacks actually exceeding the turn out rate for young whites, I think that for occurred for the first time on a nation-wide basis. Now, he is complaining about the racial tension he helped to create, that is true chutzpah.
And the MSM dutifully acts like his PR agency, “reporting” on how tough it is to be a black president, what with all those racist racists in Congress not rubber stamping everything he wants.
And it’s true. When Bush was president the Democrat Congress gave him everything he wanted. Same with Clinton. New Gingrich gave him everything he wanted.
It’s only because Barry O is (1/2) black that Congress doesn’t grovel before him.
“Now, he is complaining about the racial tension he helped to create, that is true chutzpah.”
A sociopath has no ability to look at his own actions or inactions and recognize them for what they are.
As to young blacks exceeding the turnout rate of young whites, what choice did young whites have? Of course, they could have turned out and written in a candidate. I did.
Eric Holder was way off the mark with his “nation of cowards”. Nation of whiners is more like it. To whine is to win, I guess. Immigrants, both legal and illegal, pick up on that so quickly and whine equally loud or louder. Squeaky wheel and all that. However, I think they’ve sh*t themselves by going to the homes of political figures and throwing tantrums.
A sociopath has no ability to look at his own actions or inactions and recognize them for what they are.
It is true and no one seems to make the connection between the knock-out game and the political rhetoric he has spouted. The Democratic rhetoric is that the Tea Party is made up of old white people that hate Obama because he is black. The knock-out game is being played by young black thugs attacking old white people. It is funny that the Tea Party gets blamed for any attack on any democrat, supposedly caused by its anti-government rhetoric but no one is willing to suggest that maybe the knock-out game may be partially motivated by young thugs being told that old white people are the enemies of Obama. Of course, his refusal to condemn the attacks would only make the thugs feel that their attacks are justified.
You’re becoming incoherent on this knockout thing, Dan. Is there any evidence at all to support your theory on what motivates the thugs?
This whole thread is wacky. Obama said that some Americans like him because he’s black while others dislike him for the same reason. Given human nature, these are two very reasonable statements to make. In fact, they’re so reasonable that they’re boring.
What’s amazing is the amount of commentary is generated in response to something so uncontroversial.
My guess is that Obama is somebody’s poodle, and I’m betting that those jerking the leash use race as a tool to divide and conquer. And they’re probably what we would consider “white”. Bwa-hahahah!
“What’s amazing is the amount of commentary is generated in response to something so uncontroversial.”
Here’s why:
That (killing people), the ACA, Snowden, Syria, immigration, etc. Not to mention his penchant for twitting the American public in general. Never misses a chance to take a shot.
Given that he was probably pretty traumatized early on in life, until his grandparents stepped in, it’s amazing he got as far as he did.
But, like his predecessor, it can be tough on a country when its leader has that kind of baggage.
But, like his predecessor, it can be tough on a country when its leader has that kind of baggage.
Exactly. We paid for W trying to show up his father and we are paying for Obama’s issues.
Mighty Mike, don’t bother. I tried, Rio tried, measton tried. It doesn’t work. I don’t see any solution.
You’re becoming incoherent on this knockout thing, Dan. Is there any evidence at all to support your theory on what motivates the thugs?
I think it is a very strong circumstantial case and circumstantial evidence is evidence in a court of law and public opinion. BTW, was there any evidence that Sarah Palin by putting a target around democratic candidates encouraging a shooting? Much weaker case but it did not stop MSNBC for days making that conclusion.
BTW, Obama had the perfect opportunity to address the knock-out game since he raised the issue of race, why did he not? Why has he been silent on this sick game when he would be the perfect person to tell the thugs not to engage in the game?
‘Obama said that some Americans like him because he’s black’
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mighty Mike, don’t bother. I tried, Rio tried, measton tried. It doesn’t work. I don’t see any solution.
What is another name for the knock-out game? Polar bear hunting, but you do not see the racial connection? You do not see the solution because your ideology blinds you to the problem. This is a direct result of the rise of racial tensions in this country and no one person is more responsible for that than Obama who has used race as a shield and a sword to avoid taking blame for his failed policies.
“no one person is more responsible for that than Obama who has used race as a shield and a sword to avoid taking blame for his failed policies.”
Have to disagree with you there. The problem is two groups of whites who hate each other with a passion, and as I’ve said before, one group uses minorities as shock troops against the other. It’s worked rather well, don’t you think? Obama is nothing more than their creation.
Another racist against Obama: http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/liberal-icon-urges-obama-impeachment/
The problem is two groups of whites who hate each other with a passion, and as I’ve said before, one group uses minorities as shock troops against the other. It’s worked rather well, don’t you think? Obama is nothing more than their creation.
I am not sure if I fully agree but I do think that both political parties are controlled by billionaires that want one world government. It is not just minorities that are being used but all people not belonging to the .01%. Open borders is sold to Republicans as pro-free market and to the left as being against the racist whites. In the end no matter how they spin the message, they just want to maximize the advantage of their capital and minimize labor’s share of the profits.
This is a direct result of the rise of racial tensions in this country and no one person is more responsible for that than Obama who has used race as a shield and a sword to avoid taking blame for his failed policies.
There’s no evidence for this either. How are “racial tensions” any higher than they were eight years ago? When has Obama used his own race as an excuse?
Anyone who says the knockout game isn’t racially motivated is a fool or a naive fool.
“In the end no matter how they spin the message, they just want to maximize the advantage of their capital and minimize labor’s share of the profits.”
And, they white!
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/davidvsdavid/trayvon-martin-racial-tensions-only-intensified-under-obama-141859174.html
This is the type of garbage that the left has been putting out for years using race as a shield and sword for Obama and now they are trying to deny that racial tensions have increased, amazing:
NNPA, News Report, Hazel Trice Edney, Posted: Jun 09, 2010
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - U. S. Rep. John Lewis was headed for the Capitol to vote on President Obama’s health care bill in March when he was pelted with racial epithets when passing near a group of conservative Tea Party protestors.
Days later, reports of attacks on Democrats around the country included bricks smashing through windows, a potentially lethal gas pipe cutting at a home thought to be owned by Virginia Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello. According to reports, the FBI announced the agency would investigate Tea Partiers and a race hate group as potential suspects.
The madness continued into the spring as former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, and others accuse the Obama administration of trying to kill the elderly with death panels in the health care bill. He is also called a Marxist, a Socialist and a Nazi by Tea partiers and associated radical conservatives.
Meanwhile, also, in March, Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is roundly criticized by the state’s NAACP after he declares a Confederate History Month while neglecting to mention the cruelty and inhumanity of slavery – a deed for which he apologized.
Among more recent racial flare ups, Arizona passes legislation that appears to unleash racial profiling on Latinos or anyone who police might perceive as an illegal immigrant; then the state of Texas passes a law to distribute history books with a conservative bent that presents slave-owning confederates as heroes.
Finally, the Obamas’ oldest daughter, 11-year-old Malia, becomes the target of mocking by a conservative talk show host after the president quotes her as asking if he had “plugged the hole” in the BP oil crisis. The mocker, Fox News’ Glenn Beck, ultimately apologizes.
But are apologies enough to calm the apparent smoldering atmosphere of racism that has intensified since the election of President Barack Obama? Both Black and White authorities on racial hatred say what’s really needed is a voice of reason within the Republican Party.
“The reality is that the people who could really tamp this down are not doing so,” says Mark Potok, spokesman for the Birmingham-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a foremost authority on race hate incidents around the country. “There are large numbers of Republican officials, so-called responsible leaders of the party, who are doing absolutely nothing to tamp down the outright falsehoods, the defamatory propaganda that’s being pumped out into the political mainstream.”
But it is too much to ask for Obama simply to denounce the polar bear attacks?
This is from a Bloomberg article about the wealth divide with 80+ individuals, I guess his low numbers could not have anything to do with this:
In the U.S., 95 percent of post-financial-crash wealth generated (i.e., since 2009) went into the bank accounts of the richest 1 percent.
Most definitely YES.because that would imply personal responsibility and opens the door to deamanding hate crimes be applied evenly……he and holder are scared to go there.
But it is too much to ask for Obama simply to denounce the polar bear attacks?
because it’s different there
‘hong kong, vancouver and honolulu have the least affordable housing markets across nine nations in the demographia international housing affordability survey.
the median home price in hong kong rose to 14.9 times gross annual median household income from 13.5 times last year … homes in vancouver cost 10.3 times income and 9.4 times in honolulu. australia and new zealand were the most unaffordable countries after hong kong, with home prices at 5.5 times gross income.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/hong-kong-vancouver-least-affordable-home-markets-survey-shows.html
In November 2004, my landlord wanted $330,000 for a place that was zillowing below 300K. Good location in the IE, if such exists. I lucked into the rental when a buyer backed out at 300k and he got greedy and wanted more after that. Today it is zillowing for 240K.
At its height in late 06, zillow had it for a tad over 400K.
Owner bought in 1991 for 153K.
Things are far from back on track despite what the cheerleaders want to bray.
u should buy an option to purchase it before its too late.
Good point. An option should be real cheap considering prices resumed sliding.
Real journalists report that 85 people own wealth equivalent to the wealth owned by the bottom 50% of the world’s population.
“Those occupiers need to occupy a shower and go get a job”
And Sheldon Adelson needs a tax cut.
Don’t worry about the bottom 50%, we are going to use global warming to justify sending working class U.S. money to them so the 85 people do not feel guilty.
nice global warming threadjack there buddy.
and you’re wrong, the working class u.s. (and rest of world) money will be transfered to the 85 people until they own as much wealth as the bottom 85 percent of the world’s population.
Not a hijack anyway the .01% can get foreign aid to countries they will use, Bill Gates thinks foreign aid is just so useful:
http://business.iafrica.com/article/894571.html
Oxfam put out the original document. Here’s a Time magazine link to it:
http://business.time.com/2014/01/20/worlds-85-wealthiest-people-as-rich-as-3-5-billion-poorest/
People in power naturally try to draw ever more wealth and power to themselves. Oligarchy and monarchy are a natural state of humanity. Many societies try to fight against it with democratic systems, but there’s always a gravitational pull back to oligarchy and monarchy.
Not really.
Not really.
Not really what, democracies try to fight it or that there is a gravitational pull to oligarchy and monarchy?
There is not always a gravitational pull toward oligarchy and monarchy.
I disagree, in the tens of thousands of years of human history democracy only covers a few centuries. The usual form of government is some type of autocratic system. The founding fathers tried to create something that would last longer that the Greek or Roman democracies but it appears that they have failed.
‘it appears that they have failed’
“in a YouTube video that has gone viral over the last few days, a 12-year-old Egyptian boy describes what is plaguing his country, why the people are in the streets, and what needs to change.’
“We didn’t get rid of a military regime to replace it with a fascist theocracy,” the boy, identified in the video as Ali Ahmed, says.’
“I’m here today to prevent Egypt from becoming a commodity owned by one person,” he says, “and to protest the confiscation of the constitution by one single party.”
‘Asked how he knows all of these things, Ahmed says, “I listen to people a lot and I use my own brain.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/kid-makes-case-for-egyptian-democracy-2013-7#ixzz2r48kwbMp
People in power naturally try to draw ever more wealth and power to themselves. Oligarchy and monarchy are a natural state of humanity. Many societies try to fight against it with democratic systems, but there’s always a gravitational pull back to oligarchy and monarchy.
Another Battlestar Galactica quote:
“This has all happened before and will happen again.”
Arlington VA Housing Prices Down 11% Y-o-Y As Inventory Blooms
http://www.movoto.com/arlington-va/market-trends/
Median price per square foot up 1%. No distressed properties in this market meaning no REO, no foreclosures, no short sales.
Movoto includes REO and defaults. That’s why prices are falling in Arlington, VA.
Look at your link.
The line for “% Distressed” is blank all the way across - none today, none a month ago and none a year ago.
Prices per square foot are flat or slightly up, not falling.
Look at the link.
If % distressed were zero it would say zero.
Prices are resale prices are falling, no rising.
If you look at the chart for “% distressed”, you can see that they don’t have reliable data for that metric. I think different states have different rules about reporting on those numbers, but Movoto counts distressed properties as follows:
In other words, the numbers reported by Movoto are for all listed properties. They can’t tell exactly how many are distressed. The estimate may work better in places where the law requires the realtoR to disclose that information. I really don’t know if any state has a law like that.
Read the summary box. It says % distressed is unchanged. That means they know. They are using a “-” for “0″.
I suppose they told you that right Realtor?
Alexandria VA Housing Prices Dive 16% Year Over Year; Excess Inventory Grows 30%
http://www.movoto.com/alexandria-va/market-trends/
Price per square foot up 7%.
2% of the market distressed a year ago. 1% of the market distressed a month ago. 0% of the market distressed today.
Resale prices are down 16%.
The number of distressed doesn’t say zero. It’s unknown. Why else would prices be falling?
From the text box Alexandria, VA Market Overview:
“Distressed properties such as foreclosures and short sales decreased as a percentage of the total market in January.”
Since the one month ago figure is 1%, the new “number” (”-”) is zero or sufficiently close to zero that they are rounding down.
You have to read the words too. They explain the numbers.
Resale prices are down 16%.
Poor HA; he doesn’t understand the difference between MEDIAN price being down 16%, vs. the resale price of any particular house. Suggesting that one implies the other is a way of lying.
Lies, d@mned lies, and statistics…
Poor realtor…… Still too stupid or dishonest to figure out the difference in forward and backward looking indicators.
Or maybe you two fraudsters have a stake in the direction prices.
Carry on fraudsters.
Oh, he understands. He is the one that is constantly telling us that the cost per square foot is the only one he thinks is important. He is just lying. The median size is down 21% for the time frame he is talking about and the price per square foot is up.
Claiming that the “-” is the % Distressed line is just a flat out lie. The words in the summary boxes indicate very clearly that they are using “-” for zero.
Price are falling in Arlington, Va. Get over it.
The percentage of distressed properties for sale in Arlington has not been 0% every January since 2012. You gotta read their method. It’s not accurate. It’s an estimate that can help you notice a trend.
Our lying realtor friends conveniently ignore that.
The lies and desperation become glaringly obvious as more and more light is cast upon the fraud.
Buying a home is the best investment you can make in your lifetime.
CRATER
I have 3,740 followers on Twitter.
The only people following you are collection agencies.
The HBB is the only home you’ll ever have.
This story does not even talk about anyone being here illegally but the British do cover it:
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/01/21/authorities-find-main-suspect-in-queens-stabbing-in-texas/
Unfortunately, the British Daily Mail link seems to have a virus or some other form of corruption so I will not post it.
Fairfax, VA Housing Prices Crater 15% On Rising Inventory
http://www.movoto.com/fairfax-va/market-trends/
Median house size down 23%. Price per square foot up very slightly.
% Distressed on the market only 2% (down from 4% a year ago, flat from a month ago).
12% higher inventory compared to a year ago, but inventory is down 14% from a month ago, so something must be moving.
At lower prices even though they’re still massively inflated.
One of the things I read here often is how the lack of down payment funds will hamper the housing market. Yesterday I ran into a story about how Idaho is providing “low income” families with down payment assistance. What’s “low income” you ask? Oh, just $110K a year. That’s right, for the purposes of buying a home, $109,999 is now considered low income.
So anyone earning under $110K a year can get up to $8000 towards a down payment, courtesy of the gubmt.
Same program will also give out discounted 30 year fixed mortgages, running about 0.5% to 0.75% lower than market rates. Right now, they’re offering 3.75% with no closing costs. But wait, that’s not all…if you want a little extra cash, they’ll finance a 2nd mortgage, up to $7000, also at a heavily discounted interest rate.
And the super good news….only a FICO of 580 is needed to qualify.
So next time one of you chimes in with….”how can these houses be selling when nobody has any money for a down payment”? Here’s your answer. This is a state program financed with federal money. So the “low income” residents of Idaho making $109K a year are being subsidized by renters in CA. And I’m guessing every state has some version of this program around.
America…what a country!!
They won’t stay “low income” for long after they buy homes, because for every $1 these home buyers pay in mortgage interest and property taxes, they get to deduct $2 from their federal income taxes.
Ben,
I think it was asked nicely before. Even though the hoaxer continues to try to be snide, something unclean seems to be emanating from these posts. I ask that you count this as strike two. If not a ban, at least consider adding moderation and reject the $1 = $2 posts..
Mathguy, do you actually believe that there is a $2 deduction for every one dollar spent? I think you underestimate the intelligence of this blog. We know Amy Hoax is a parody and what she is saying is not much different that was said at the height of the bubble when Realtors were saying that putting in granite countertops would get you a five to one return on your money.
$110K is not considered low-income even in the DC area. Who is making $110K in Idaho?
“Who is making $110K in Idaho?”
Recreational waterpark employees.
Plenty of people with money in Idaho, mostly refugees from California who sold the $2M Pasadena bungalow they bought for $200K in 1977. And like everywhere else there are doctors, dentists, etc that make a lot of money.
But you’re right, as a % of the population, there aren’t many people making $110K a year. Which is my point. The “low income” program is really a “pretty much everybody qualifies for free govt money” program.
The govt can’t come out and say we’ll give anyone who wants it, $8K. It has to have a pretense of helping those less fortunate by calling it “low income”. And you’re paying for it.
Gets even better…yet another program does this:
“Up to $2,000, or 25%, of the total mortgage interest paid in income tax credits each year. The credit is available for the life of the loan.”
Wow. So that’s $60K of free gubmt money over a 30 year loan.
This program however is a little less generous on the income side…only up to $90K, which is about 90% of the population of the state.
As a renter in California, this would make me rather upset. LOL
When it benefits the middle class, it’s “free gumbt money.”
When it benefits the rich, it’s “letting you keep more of your hard-earned money.”
Got it.
Nice try but wrong.
Getting $2K for life is not keeping your money. It’s someone giving you money.
That’s completely different than someone who pays $10K in taxes getting a tax cut of $2K.
You know this. Stop acting like an LIV Obama voter.
Wrong. The tax credit is subtracted from the person’s income tax. It means that middle-class people in Idaho get to keep their hard-earned money instead of paying taxes, as long as they buy a house with a mortgage. The money is for the benefit of banksters. You know this.
the unintended consequences of government intervention to make homes affordable by guaranteeing loans, forcing reduced lender guidelines and buying mortgages from loan originators has resulted in increased prices making homes less affordable.
The government is accomplishing the same trick with “higher education” by guaranteeing loans so everyone can go to school, they are guaranteeing higher tuition cost. The colleges know they can raise their tuition because the students can get the loans to pay for it
“So anyone earning under $110K a year can get up to $8000 towards a down payment, courtesy of the gubmt.”
In Idaho, no less!
http://www.idahohousing.com/Portals/0/Media/idamortgage/HomebuyerTaxCredit%20ProgramFeatures-082713.pdf
Do you have a link for that?
We don’t need no stinkin’ links!
Slithers pimps Idaho dumps.
No need to pimp anything when the govt gives it away for free.
You’re the IdahoPimp.
Are you saying he puts the Ho in Idaho?
The income limits are much lower than what you stated for the tax credit, Slith. Still waiting on the link to the free down payment.
The link probably won’t be allowed to post. But I’ll try.
Buy a home, build equity with every mortgage payment, and after thirty years own a paid off home.
Rent for thirty years, pay your landlord’s mortgage, and be left with nothing but an empty bank account.
Amy,
Also don’t forget…it’s pay off a FIXED mortgage for 30 years or pay an always increasing RENT for 30 years.
Funny who the renters never seem to acknowledge that rents increase, if not every year, at least every 2nd year, while mortgage payments never do.
Oh I know, I know one of the renters here will chime in and claim he’s had no rent increase in the past 17 years. But in realityville, we all know this is not the case and rents increase 5% annually on average.
‘I know one of the renters here will chime in and claim he’s had no rent increase in the past 17 years’
By golly I think he’s got it! Actually, I’ve had 2 rent increases in my life. Both together amounted to less than $2000 over many years. I wish I could say that about the property taxes I’ve paid.
‘we all know…rents increase 5% annually on average’
That’s interesting. The houses I manage have had no rent increases, as I value the tenants and we have a good relationship. They don’t nitpick, they pay on time and I take care of what needs to be done. Maybe you’re just a crappy tenant?
Yeah, rents never increase…except when they do.
WSJ on Jan 6, 2014
“Nationwide, landlords raised rents by an average of 0.8% to $1,083 a month in the quarter, according to a report to be released Tuesday by Reis Inc., REIS -0.48% a real-estate research firm. While that is below the previous quarter’s 1% increase, it is above the 0.6% gain seen in 2012’s final quarter. Rents climbed 3.2% for all of 2013.”
3.2% for 30 years means today’s $1083 will be $2786 in 30 years. In the meantime my mortgage stays exactly the same. And in year 31, my mortgage is $0.
“In the meantime my mortgage stays exactly the same. ”
As I’m sure others will point out, property taxes and insurance should be included in this equation, and they do “always go up”, even in Ca w/prop 13. And of course upkeep on the house must be factored in and is subject to inflation.
Don’t forget the losses to depreciation with are irrecoverable.
The WSJ reports asking rents, not getting rents. The trend these days is to increase the rent, but then offer “concessions”, such as one month free, or a discount when you pay your rent on time. My rent has gone up three times in my entire life. Once was in an apartment where I lived for 7 years, during and after college. It was in San Diego. It went from $500 to $525. The second and third were both by the same landlord, but he will never do that again.
Besides, if you buy rental properties during real-estate busts, then YOU can raise the rents on your tenants, which will cover any inflationary rent increases that you realize on your own house. The trick, Smithers, is to do the following:
1) Only buy underpriced houses, not overpriced ones.
2) Be a landlord.
3) Be a tenant and move whenever you want.
with inflation, maintenance costs on a house always go up. A $5000 roof from 15 years ago is no longer available.. now it’s 15-20k for your new roof.
As a % of my PITI, property tax is 15%. So even if property tax increases at the same rate as rents, it’s much smaller proportionally. Even if the increase is twice that of rents, it’s smaller proportionally.
And for every $1 of property tax increase, I save 30 cents on the dollar via the tax deduction.
No matter how you spin it, renting is a sucker’s bet over the long term. Always has been, always will.
‘renting is a sucker’s bet’
Really? Let’s ask Teresa:
‘Teresa Stevens-Hamilton of Port Reading, Middlesex County, has been in the foreclosure process for more than a year. “It’s been horrific,” she said. “We expected someone to come to our door and kick us out.”
Or Brandon:
‘District 10 Rep. Brandon Hixon’s Caldwell home is scheduled for auction in March because he defaulted on his mortgage loan, according to a legal notice printed Friday in the Press-Tribune. “Like way too many other Idaho families who bought properties in 2007, my home value significantly dropped, seemingly overnight, and my business income has diminished as well,” Hixon said.’
Or Darcy:
‘The wind chill hovered between 35 and 55 degrees below zero on Monday, as Darcy Lee packed a dozen years of life in the same home. Despite her best efforts, the divorced mom from Mason City was told she had lost a three-year-plus battle with Flagstar Bancorp. of Troy, Mich., to save her house from foreclosure.’
‘The 3,000-square-foot ranch, which she bought to raise her three kids and care for her sick mother, was going on the auction block at a Cerro Gordo sheriff’s sale Tuesday morning.’
“It’s the dead of winter. I’m starting a whole new semester in school and trying to convince my autistic son we have to move,” she said. “How are you supposed to find friends and family and movers on the coldest day of the year?”
‘Lee said she tried in vain to work with the bank and its lawyers in Des Moines, Iowa Legal Aid, consumer creditors, HUD, the Iowa attorney general’s office and Iowa Mediation Service to save her home. “The waiting has been the hardest part,” she said. “I feel like my life has been in limbo for three years.”
No.
At current asking prices of resale housing, rental rates are half the cost.
And remember…. Any amount in excess of $40/sq ft for resale housing is a loss that you can never recover.
I’m assuming the aforementioned involved them squatting for year(s), which, had they any financial intellect, they could have made out like bandits.
Yes. Over 30 years, renting is a sucker’s bet. A few instances of people foreclosing doesn’t change this fact.
Nice touch with the autistic son story.
Not at current inflated asking prices of resale housing.
Remember…. current resale prices are a 40% premium to new construction.
“Over 30 years, renting is a sucker’s bet.”
It can’t possibly be as bad as ‘owning’ for 29 years while living paycheck-to-paycheck to pay an unaffordable mortgage, only to get foreclosed in year 30 when you lose your job, your home is underwater, and you have no savings out of which to make those last few mortgage payments. That truly sucks!
“Nice touch with the autistic son story.”
I know a hostage family in this situation. The son is probably 200-lbs and strong as pissed-off bull. I don’t know what they did 150-yrs ago on the farm, but it probably wasn’t pretty.
In Realityville, when you buy an overpriced house at the peak of a housing bubble, you are locking yourself into a montly cost that is likely 3x comparable rents, for the next thirty years. On the other hand, if you waited for prices to correct, you could lock in a monthly payment that would be less than comparable rents.
We know from his stock market investing advice that Smithers doesn’t grasp the concept of “buy low, sell high.”
Can our SUVs save us? I only have a 2009 Civic and 2011 Cruze so I need to man-up to save the U.S.
http://news.yahoo.com/ancient-39-big-freeze-39-rapidly-wiped-european-195105495.html
We live in a country that doesn’t care for their own citizens.
You have today a party at the Wall Street and the depression on the Main Street.
All policies implemented since 2008 are just to benefit the rich, the big banks and the wall street crooks.
Rich have never got it better then today and they don’t want to go back to old America. This new Feudal America is very good for them.
Housing was a basic shelter and necessity but today Wall Street and NAR have turned housing into Las Vegas Casino game, trading vehicle or get rich quick scheme. Unbelivable.
In some areas housing prices have gone up over 300% but wages have stayed flat for 30 years. Instead of paying workers decent and livable wages the Lords or Masters have given them the Credit. So majority of Americans today are plain and simple a modern day debt slaves.
Wall Street firms are Americas new Slumlords.
Victor ‘ In some areas housing prices have gone up over 300% but wages have stayed flat for 30 years. Instead of paying workers decent and livable wages the Lords or Masters have given them the Credit. So majority of Americans today are plain and simple a modern day debt slaves.
”
Get on the gravy train and buy a home and get 25% anual equity increase.Build your wealth thru real estate.Your never going to get rich working 9-5.Real estate investments is how the rich made their wealth.
What I’m hearing in the field, both among some very large scale property managment firms and also in the mom & pop landlord community is that more and more tenants are running between 3 -5 months behind in rent but rather than start eviction proceedings, they are opting for work outs to avoid legal costs, court delays, repair expenses and the possibility that the next tenant will be even worse. Wages are declining, rents and consumer prices are rising. The big picture does not bode well for landlords. Frankly, I would be seriously nervous to be a landlord right now. I can’t help thinking the big picture doesn’t look so rosy for landlords or investors, and that counting on 3% annual rent increases is downright delusional.
“The big picture does not bode well for landlords. Frankly, I would be seriously nervous to be a landlord right now. I can’t help thinking the big picture doesn’t look so rosy for landlords or investors, and that counting on 3% annual rent increases is downright delusional.”
I can’t wait for the mass come-uppance!
http://news.yahoo.com/5-things-know-health-law-job-benefits-155913673.html
Buy a house this year even if you have to over bid 10%-15% to buy a home do it!You will get that back in 5 months of equity increase.Housing will go up 25% annualy for the next 5 years. Don’t miss out on massive wealth opportunity infront of your face.Low inventory in California is the new norm.A higher population boom and immigration will make housing scarce in California.So buy now or be priced out for ever or move to freezing Colorado or meltdown in Arizona .:}:}
+1
“+1″
Now that is funny, nice job Amy.
Do not forget the weather is much better than in the East, who needs water anyway?
Posted on January 21, 2014 by Anthony Watts
Normally quiet and reserved WeatherBell senior forecaster Joe D’Aleo (co-founder of the Weather Channel with John Coleman) almost never writes like this. When he does, it gets my attention. A new forecast shows the cold blast in the eastern half of the USA extending well past Groundhog Day, Feb 2nd, according to their models. WeatherBell has had an excellent track record this winter so far. He says he hasn’t seen anything like it since 1918 when the big flu pandemic hit the USA
Damn that global warming and those evil SUVs that cause it!!
Benjamin Franklin’s methods are more accurate than the AGW’s computer models, it is mind boggling:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9599339/farmers-almanac-predicts-super-bowl-storm
Please do not agree with the Slith. It will only encourage him.
When somebody is right I agree with them and when they are wrong I disagree. Past posts do not matter to me.
BTW, more on Ben Franklin, he also discovered the Gulf Stream which I don’t believe is in this article:
http://nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=4
But slith is not a someone. He’s a troll. He totally gets paid to make these stupid comments. He works for the Republican party or something like that. We should all ridicule him. I tried to get Ben to make him “go away”, but he won’t do it.
“He works for the Republican party or something like that.”
Good theory!
That’s not how internet PR firms and consultants work. The polemic stuff is just cover.
Yes… Slithers is fun to kick around and fascinating insight into the depths power structures will dive to mold and dominate perception and sentiment.