June 13, 2014

Watching The Same Movie Again

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Crews broke ground last month on a 47-rowhome luxury development in Chicago. Every apartment — starting at $562,900 — sold before digging began. Adam Kriticos, a mortgage broker, bought the last available home at the development. He had less than four days to make an offer after touring a model home. That didn’t faze him. ‘It’s not like we’re overpaying for where the market is now,’ he said.”

“The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has kicked off a program aimed at increasing the number of first-time homebuyers in Cecil County. ‘What the Maryland Mortgage Program does is overcomes the barriers to purchasing a home,’ said Heidi Ford, a VP with 1st Home Mortgage in White Marsh. ‘They may not have the assets to pay 5-percent down or for closing costs.’”

“Brittney Sweeney has less than a month left to find a new home for her family to rent in Bend, and the pickings are slim. ‘The hard part about it now, there is a shortage of houses, but (also) just the amount of money they’re wanting for these houses,’ Sweeney said. City Manager Eric King said that one question the city might explore is how many bank-owned homes are sitting vacant and whether the city can do anything to encourage institutions to make them available more quickly to renters or buyers.”

“Because of its improving housing market, California is a bright spot in the country’s tepid economic recovery, according to the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast. Economist William Yu predicts California’s real estate market could see increasing investment from China. ‘We can see that the Shanghai condo was sold for $995,000 and the L.A. condo was sold for $830,000 in March 2014,’ he said. In regard to China’s real estate market, Yu acknowledges that it’s puzzling that the average Chinese household can even afford a condo priced at nearly $1 million. For him, this is evidence that a housing bubble in China can’t continue, and that the ’smart money’ is moving to real estate markets in the U.S.”

“Trading volume and sales of Shanghai Commercial estates for the first week of June dropped nearly 80% compared with the same period in 2013. U.S. commercial real estate company CBRE said that nine out of 2013’s top 10 new shopping centers were in China. China’s shopping center construction area was more than half of the world’s construction area. China’s economic commentator Niu Dao: ‘Their planning is completely unreal. There are empty houses everywhere. I travelled five to six provinces in 2013. Protests are everywhere. People were told they would get a certain return on investments, but in fact they did not get any. Small shareholders’ money was all wasted.’”

“In Australia, leaders are struggling to replace revenue and jobs from a resources boom many people thought would last for years to come, based on the expectation that China’s heated growth would absorb ever higher amounts of resources for decades. Two years ago, real-estate agent Bella Exposito said she was selling as many as 25 houses a day as soaring coal prices lured workers and investors to this flyspeck Outback town. As of May this year, she has sold three.”

“Almost as quickly as it began, the boom stopped. Homes valued around a million Australian dollars are now lucky to get a bite at half that price, according to Ms. Exposito. About 300 of the town’s 4,000 privately owned houses are vacant, she says. Ashley Dowd, the manager of the Moranbah Community Workers Club, says it will take years to repay debts after his bar’s recent renovation. He receives job applications from residents laid off by local miners but says he is usually not able to provide much work, having cut his own staff to 15 from 20. ‘It will be batten-down-the-hatches and try and ride through this period the best we can,’ Mr Dowd said.”

“Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Professor Warwick McKibbin has attacked the central bank for pushing official interest rates too low in a failed attempt to engage in the European, Japanese and US currency wars. ­McKibbin said ‘very loose’ monetary policy was more likely to fuel housing and stock bubbles than real and ­sustainable economic growth, reported AFR.”

“In his first Mansion House speech, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that ‘gradual and limited’ interest rate increases will be needed as the economy recovers. ‘It could happen sooner than markets currently expect,’ Mr Carney said. Mr Carney also warned the Bank may take action within weeks to cool the threat of Britain’s overheating housing market. He said the housing market is currently ’showing the potential to overheat,’ with prices rising at a rate of around 10% each year. The Bank is also concerned by the threat posed by indebtedness of over-extended borrowers, he added. The economy is ‘unbalanced internally and externally,’ he said.”

“The International Monetary Fund has found that there were 19 countries recorded with drops in prices, with the biggest decrease seen in India with a -9.1% drop year on year. In the IMF’s other calculations, Australia sits within the top five (with Belgium, Norway, New Zealand and Canada just ahead) in terms of house prices being above rents, as well as scoring in the top three (with Canada and Belgium taking out top spots) as continuing to be ‘out of reach of household incomes’.

“Deputy managing director for the IMF, Min Zhu, noted that house prices are inching up in the IMF blog. ‘But is this a cause for much cheer? Or are we watching the same movie again? Recall how after a decade-long boom, house prices started to fall in 2006, first in the United States and then elsewhere, contributing to the 2008-9 global financial crisis. In fact, our research indicates that boom-bust patterns in house prices preceded more than two-thirds of the recent 50 systemic banking crises,’ Zhu wrote.”

“A recent article from CBS News summed up one of the major problems with the economic recovery: For most people, it doesn’t exist. While we may hear reports of rising home prices, decreasing unemployment and rising wages, a closer examination reveals that most of the benefits of the recovery goes to the highest income earners, leaving most Americans no better off. In housing, for example, the article stated that ’sales of the most expensive homes were up 21.1 percent through April of this year, while they’ve fallen 7.6 percent for the rest of the market. That follows a gain of 35.7 percent in 2013 for the top 1 percent and just 10.1 percent for less-expensive homes.’”

‘No wonder a CBS News/New York Times poll showed that 69 percent of Americans believe the economy is in bad shape, and 66 percent believe it isn’t getting any better. We often say that the recovery is fake, and it is. But more importantly, even the fake recovery doesn’t extend to most of the economy, because it is only focused on pumping up the asset bubbles.”

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported wages rising 1.9 percent in April, but the increases are going disproportionately to higher earners, with average earners more likely to have lower wages than higher wages. This is just another example of how unsustainable the recovery is. Even with all the firepower the federal government is putting into it, it’s doing very little to jumpstart the real economy.”

“Instead, it’s pumping up the asset bubbles. Yes, that helps somewhat — we’d certainly be in worse shape right now without massive borrowing and money printing. But inevitably, we will hit the wall. And for most Americans, the ride won’t even have been much fun in the first place.”




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89 Comments »

Comment by Jingle Male
2014-06-13 04:00:23

I always enjoy starting my Friday with Ben’s desk clearing posts. Invaluable insights on the state of housing around the world. Thank you Ben.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2014-06-13 04:25:10

I like it for the jokes, such as this one:

“Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Professor Warwick McKibbin has attacked the central bank for pushing official interest rates too low in a failed attempt to engage in the European, Japanese and US currency wars.”

“Currency wars”: the terms suggests that countries are trying to protect the value of their currencies - such as the U.S.’s “strong dollar policy” (Bahahahahahahaha) - but this is not the case.

Comment by MightyMike
2014-06-13 16:15:25

“Currency wars”: the terms suggests that countries are trying to protect the value of their currencies

Why do you make that assumption?

Comment by Mr. Banker
2014-06-14 03:50:16

“Why do you make that assumption?”

In the case of the U.S. it’s the “strong dollar policy”.

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Comment by Mr. Banker
2014-06-13 04:03:30

“In Australia, leaders are struggling to replace revenue and jobs from a resources boom many people thought would last for years to come, based on the expectation that China’s heated growth would absorb ever higher amounts of resources for decades.”

Bahahahahahaha … it appears that people are just as smart in Australia as they are in the Untied States.

“… the expectation that China’s heated growth would absorb ever higher amount of resources for decades.”

“… for decades.”

Bahahahahahaha … and just why should China experience heated growth for decades? Maybe because China’s markets in the West are so healthy that the money flow pouring into China from the West would go on for decades? Is this the expectation? Is this what was driving their thinking?

Thinking? Did I say thinking?

Bahahahahahahahaha.

“It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger.”

On Ben Jones’ blog Friday is the day for jokes, and most of Friday’s jokes write themselves.

 
Comment by Gone Fishin'
2014-06-13 04:42:27

Bank of America foreclosed on a lot of homes it was holding in limbo in Flagler county (Florida). My neighbor purchased a property that was in foreclosure for the past 6 years. The duplex is a fraction of the original price but it has had 6 years to develop damage (e.g. leaks in roof, mold).

Comment by rms
2014-06-13 07:53:32

“My neighbor purchased a property that was in foreclosure for the past 6 years.”

Did it house squatters during that time?

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2014-06-13 05:42:07

“Brittney Sweeney has less than a month left to find a new home for her family to rent in Bend, and the pickings are slim. ‘The hard part about it now, there is a shortage of houses, but (also) just the amount of money they’re wanting for these houses,’ Sweeney said. City Manager Eric King said that one question the city might explore is how many bank-owned homes are sitting vacant and whether the city can do anything to encourage institutions to make them available more quickly to renters or buyers.”

Why do so many suspect that ‘institutions’ are behind the housing shortage? Isn’t it plainly obvious that we just simply don’t have enough houses to go around, period?

Comment by rms
2014-06-14 03:03:05

“Why do so many suspect that ‘institutions’ are behind the housing shortage? Isn’t it plainly obvious that we just simply don’t have enough houses to go around, period?”

Bend,OR is a popular equity locust destination, and the retiring boomers and housing investors have purchased the bulk of the low hanging fruit. The local economy can’t compete with “outside cash.” Thus, the rental market has been squeezed.

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2014-06-13 05:54:57

Because of its improving housing market, California is a bright spot in the country’s tepid economic recovery, according to the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast.

Uh-huh…

Business
Home prices up, but sales sputter
BY MARILYN KALFUS / STAFF WRITER
Published: June 11, 2014 Updated: June 12, 2014 2:34 p.m.

The median sale price in Southern California hit $410,000 in May, up 11.4 percent from a year ago. Transactions were 15.1 percent lower in the same period.

Economist William Yu predicts California’s real estate market could see increasing investment from China.

Time will tell whether rats can jump off a sinking ship faster than the ship can sink.

South China Morning Post
ECONOMY
Fitch sees mainland economy paying high price if property bubble bursts
Ratings agency says lack of transparency in reporting non-performing loans and doubts over official figures add to risk of credit crisis
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 11 June, 2014, 1:15am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 June, 2014, 11:47am
Jasper Moiseiwitsch jasper.moiseiwitsch@scmp.com

Analysts were apprehensive about an oversupplied property market in China. Photo: AFP

The bursting of China’s property bubble would wipe 1 per cent off mainland economic growth and cause serious problems for the nation’s banks, the ratings agency Fitch said yesterday.

“[Property] is our biggest macro concern in China. The fact there is such an overhang of supply … if the market were to collapse it would affect the economy and in turn banks,” Jonathan Cornish, Fitch’s head of north Asia banks, said at the agency’s global banking conference in Hong Kong.

He estimated that a property market downturn would take about 1 per cent off mainland gross domestic product growth rates.

“Clearly if the property market were to slow down very sharply … [that] would have significant implications in terms of potential credit cost,” he said.

Analysts were apprehensive about an oversupplied property market in China.

A report from Nomura in March said there was 370 square feet of residential floor space created for each new urban resident in China last year.

At current rates of expansion, this will increase to 670 sq ft by 2017, giving each new urbanite the equivalent of a mid-sized Hong Kong flat.

“The ballooning supply in the pipeline will likely become increasingly difficult for incremental demand to absorb,” said Nomura in its report.

Recent data from Deutsche Bank shows Chinese housing starts dropping by a quarter, year on year, with developers’ sales down 9 per cent year to date amid wide price declines.

Cornish said problems in the property sector pointed to another serious concern with mainland banks: lack of transparency.

While China’s official data showed banks to be robustly capitalised, the Fitch official was sceptical. He pointed to banks’ continued use of off-balance-sheet wealth management products and their tendency to continuously roll over non-performing loans without classifying them as such.

“The number two question I get on Chinese banks is, what do I think is the NPL ratio? We’ve really given up trying,” Cornish said.

“Essentially when you’ve got a financial system where a good third of credit is outside the banks’ balance sheets, where you have misclassification of exposures, when you have banks rolling over loans when they should be recording them as NPLs, [this] really has made the NPL ratio so much less meaningful than what you might have in other jurisdictions,” he said.

There is also the general unreliability of official data on the Chinese banking system. He said a more meaningful, if indirect, measure could be found in equity markets, where shareholders have sold down the Big Four Chinese banks from a price-to-book valuation of about two in 2010, to less than one today.

This ratio is significant because the Chinese banks are restricted from issuing new equity when trading below book value.

The contrast with the four biggest Australian banks is notable. The Australian banks have high exposure to property and the Australian economy is highly interconnected with China’s. However, the big four Australian banks’ price-to-book ratio since 2010 has barely budged.

Cornish said the difference was transparency, with equity investors believing the Australian banks’ financial ratios.

“Equity investors I speak to believe there is downside risk to [Chinese banks'] earnings, and there is belief that NPLs should be higher than what is being reported,” he said.

“There is a school of thought that NPLs will rise significantly. Many are of the view that reported numbers are not right, and I would put Fitch in that camp.”

Comments
sipsip1238 Jun 11th 2014
12:36pm
When has the numbers ever been real in the first place?

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2014-06-13 05:57:48

“But more importantly, even the fake recovery doesn’t extend to most of the economy, because it is only focused on pumping up the asset bubbles.”

Is this a written policy?

Comment by scdave
2014-06-13 07:01:31

poll showed that 69 percent of Americans believe the economy is in bad shape, and 66 percent believe it isn’t getting any better ??

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported wages rising 1.9 percent in April, but the increases are going disproportionately to higher earners, with average earners more likely to have lower wages than higher wages ??

If either or both of those statements are true, don’t expect interest rates to rise anytime soon…

 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2014-06-13 06:06:48

“rowhome luxury”

If that contradiction doesn’t scream mania….

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2014-06-13 06:09:10

How about brand new, closely-spaced tract homes “from the low $1 millions” (see ‘em every day on my drive in to work…)

 
Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 06:21:28

And don’t forget that “every apartment — starting at $562,900 — sold before digging began.” No more build-it-and-they-will-come spex here! Where are the people getting the money for this? While there’s been talk of Mo Credik, lending is still relatively tight. It’s not as bad as 2010-2012, but it’s not foggamirror either.

And yeah, the DC outer burbs are stuffed full of Luxury Town Homes, especially up the I-270 corridor.

Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 07:04:46

I read about that happening in Miami around 2004-05, with an article quoting a local professional who had flipped a yet-to-be-built condominium unit for an obscene profit. I remember reading the article and saying, loudly, “how can this be possible when nobody’s even brought a #&^)%* shovel to the site.” We’re ascribing value to things that exist only in our imaginations.

Here’s a topic for this weekend: what will the next bailout look like?

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 07:28:06

There won’t be one.

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Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 07:48:36

I think an attempt will be made, because the financial services industry has de facto control of Western governments. Look at the circumstances that preceded the passage of TARP in 2008. All it will take is a week of significant drops in stock indices for panic to ensue.

I’m not saying the attempt will work.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2014-06-13 09:26:13

People are tired of Congress and the White House working only for the banks. We are heading into the second inning. It won’t play like the first. FDR-lite hasn’t got the crowd cheering for him anymore.

 
 
 
Comment by jane
2014-06-13 14:30:17

it’s all dirty cash, looking for a laundry. When money means nothing, because it’s sourced from bribes, kickbacks, drug running and pimping, people with dirty hands - that is, those who gen 60% of the transactions in Metro DC - don’t care how much they overpay. Most of them buy multiple units, for cash. The realtwhores, title companies, scamattorneys and tittle companies all benefit. The desired outcome: transform dirty cash into legitimate assets. All of the entities who have an opportunity to skim off the tit, do it.

Thus, your cohort in BigGov is contaminating the relationship of salaries to assets. It doesn’t matter whether it’s “according to the rulemaking” or not. They benefit, there is no oversight from regulation-captured bureaucrats, so they do it.

Does that answer your question?

 
 
 
Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 06:16:14

I had to look up Cecil County in MD. It’s the northeast corner, the northern tip of Chesapeake Bay closer to Wilmington DE, largely rural. Modest livable SHF in the $150K range. That’s a PITI of about $1000/month, which is on par with rents.

It looks like “affordability” no longer means a low price. It’s going to mean giving money to J6P to buy at current prices. And I think we’re going to see a lot more of it.

Yes, I realize that this flies in the face of moral hazard and Econ 101. But from a practical standpoint, it’s much cheaper to give easy credit and $10K outright to 20 new buyers to buy at current values, than it is to lower the values of the 200 surrounding homeowners just so that those 20 buyers can buy with tight requirements. Sure, the neighbors who did things right might be a little mad at the moral hazard, but they won’t angry for long when they realize that $10K in moral hazard money likely bought them a mowed lawn next door and a price plateau instead of a drop.

On a national scale, this is probably the logic behind Mo Credik. In this situation, almost everybody wins. It give buyers the chance at a paid-off house, which is good in the long run. It retains the wealth effect for people who already bought. It give houses a chance to be lived in rather than rotting away. It allows banks to keep other assets on the books. And the bank gets to collect interest from somebody (or sell the loan for fees), rather than selling outright to a private fund and getting no interest or fees at all.

The only losers are people who were depending on Econ 101 to give them a low-priced house. Never mind that the after effects of the huge price drops in 2008-2009 are still fresh in the minds of the financial community, or that Econ 101 is the brand of beer can being kicked down the road. Never mind that those waiting people are too few to be statistically relevant in any poll, any election, or any campaign contirubtion kitty. Therefore, no sane government or bank is going to risk million of votes or kill an entire revenue market just to please 50 housing bears on a blog.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 06:43:43

Still struggling with that depreciation math eh junkie?

Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 07:00:15

I admit, I am struggling a bit with deterioration math. 40-year-old wallpaper paste is making a real dent in my HD budget, not to mention my Tylenol budget.

Comment by scdave
2014-06-13 07:07:04

40-year-old wallpaper paste ??

The nightmare rehab….I won’t even mess with it anymore…If faced with it, I just sheetrock over with 1/4 inch rock…

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Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 07:48:11

Rehab? It’s just a wall. Get a $8 bottle of paste remover concentrate and wash the wall a couple times. Messy but it works. This is just interim facelifting anyway. If I ever win the Lotto I intend to rip this to the studs. It’s funny, I’m supposed to paint the walls any color I want, and I’m choosing white. After years of white walls, anything else feels too dark.

 
Comment by scdave
2014-06-13 08:14:38

Get a $8 bottle of paste remover concentrate ??

Has never worked for me…Paste is embedded in the texture…Only way paste come off is if the texture comes off along with some sheetrock…Easier to go back over with 1/4 sheetrock…

 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2014-06-13 08:52:31

40-year-old wallpaper paste …Easier to go back over with 1/4 sheetrock…

Or you can paint it with Kilz and put a light texture over it. Or vice versa.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 09:02:31

Liberace?

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2014-06-13 09:29:37

Rent a steamer for the weekend.

 
Comment by Northeastener
2014-06-13 10:08:10

I do the same thing with horse hair plaster in my 115 yo multi… sheet rock right over it. Some mudding, new baseboard trim and a coat of paint and you’re good to go.

 
Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 12:41:18

I had so much wallpaper in the house that I just bought a steamer for the other rooms. Even the steamer didn’t work on this crap. It’s a bathroom, so new drywall would have been tough. Don’t worry, the glue is all gone now. On to spackle!

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 07:10:03

You’ll get honest eventually Mz Craterton.

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Comment by FED Up
2014-06-13 19:40:29

“Yes, I realize that this flies in the face of moral hazard and Econ 101. But from a practical standpoint, it’s much cheaper to give easy credit and $10K outright to 20 new buyers to buy at current values, than it is to lower the values of the 200 surrounding homeowners just so that those 20 buyers can buy with tight requirements. Sure, the neighbors who did things right might be a little mad at the moral hazard, but they won’t angry for long when they realize that $10K in moral hazard money likely bought them a mowed lawn next door and a price plateau instead of a drop.”

Are you a bankster or a Fedster?

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 20:46:51

‘no sane government or bank is going to risk million of votes or kill an entire revenue market just to please 50 housing bears on a blog’

Yes, the government and the central bank will never let prices fall. This was often posted here by trolls in 2005-06. I wonder what happened to them? How much of their junk did I haul to the dump?

 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2014-06-13 06:28:58

Wonder if property prices have come down in Iraq…

The writer never foresaw the “booming” analogy

—————–

Iraq: Economy Recovering, Iraqi Property Market Booming
Economy Watch | January 22, 2010 | Keith Timimi

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has loaned Iraq $746.3 million to aid in the rebuilding of the war-torn nation. It has approved its first review of the country’s economic progress, as stipulated by the loan. The IMF said that Iraq’s economic success largely depends on its ability to maintain security, its reform policies, and how it looks after its oil revenue.

Iraqis are ready to do their part to get the economy going. “Iraqis are very sociable people” said Yahya Al-Arbani, an Iraqi businessman. “We love to go to the shops and restaurants, and we love to meet with our friends and relatives and show off our latest purchases. We love our big TVs, satellite dishes, computers and mobile phones. Our wives love dresses and jewelry. We have been so frustrated for so many years because we have been stuck in our houses fearing for our lives, but now we are happy to go out, shop and eat.”

The Iraqi property market may be one of the first sectors to reflect this recovering economy. Just a year ago, nobody wanted to buy property, even though the prices were low. Now, prices have doubled, and anything on the market is sold almost immediately, according to Baghdad real estate agents.

Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 07:25:08

I seem to remember Ben blogging about this.

Was the IMF hoping that Iraqis would behave according to the asset price “wealth effect” too? I wonder where the $746 million went. I’m guessing that sum won’t be repaid.

 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2014-06-13 08:54:08

Our (Iraqi) wives love dresses and jewelry. under their new Burkas? :(

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:40:14

‘South China Morning Post has reported that billions of Chinese capital has been illegally flowing into Macau. Macau is described as one of the world’s largest gambling markets. This has taken place through violation of restrictions on currency exports, with Chinese customers using the bank card UnionPay. Economists analyze that this capital outflow has occurred as China’s housing bubble bursts, and the economy downturns.’

‘Professor Xie Zuoshi, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, states that this illegal outflow of currency is not simply for gambling. It is also for money laundering and capital flight, and is associated with the deteriorating economy.’

‘Professor Xie Zuoshi: “When the economy is good, of course, money will flow into China. But, money flows out when the economy is bad. With the restrictions on capital, inflow and outflow of the capital are controlled. To evade these restrictions, a casino or false export would become the transfer channel. This reflects the aversion and arbitrage under the current risk of the financial bubble burst and crisis.”

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:42:52

‘More than 20 percent of homes owned by urban households in China remained empty in 2013, a report showed yesterday.’

‘The overall vacancy rate for residential properties in urban areas across the country gained 1.8 percentage points from 2011 to 22.4 percent last year, translating into around 48.98 million homes being vacant during the period, said the joint report by the China Household Finance Survey and the Research Center of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:44:53

‘Both the government and the public are glad to see a drop in home prices and bid amounts for New Territories plots, KWah International chairman Lui Che-woo said. Price levels are expected to stay weak, Lui said after the mid-tier developer’s annual general meeting, referring to new projects priced around 10-20 percent below market levels.’

‘The latest auction two weeks ago saw a plot in Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po, sell for a record low of HK$3,300 per buildable square foot.’

‘Lui said the price declines are normal after the surge of the past few years, adding they should stay low so that people can buy their own homes. Meanwhile, Grand Austin priced the first batch of 139 units at an average of HK$21,192 per sellable square foot, after a maximum discount of 19.5 percent.’

Comment by Jingle Male
2014-06-13 13:17:43

What? Land for HK$3,300/SF? That is $425/SF US dollar. They must mean per square meter, which still translates to $39/SF of buildable area.

HA won’t be happy about this, since it only leaves $26/SF to build the house and achieve his immortal $55/SF cost, all in!

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Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:47:57

‘SINGAPORE — While more developers have taken to cutting prices to improve sales amid a property slowdown, potential home buyers anticipating a broad-based price war may be disappointed as the private residential market has yet to reach a tipping point that could trigger such a situation.’

‘Meanwhile, buyers of projects that have since been relaunched at lower prices need not be too concerned that banks will come chasing them for a top up on their housing loans.

“I think it’s still too early for the banks to request for top ups as the price falls are still moderate and the ability of borrowers to service their housing loans remain strong,” said head of mortgage advisory at REMS Advisor Chew Ching Lien. “While the existing owners may be sitting on paper losses, the property market moves in a cycle and valuation may come up again when these projects are completed.”

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:51:11

‘ALBANY — Nearly 30,000 city homeowners — most of them in minority communities — are in danger of losing their properties to foreclosure, an alarming new report by Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein says. Even while most of the country is recovering from the 2007-2008 housing crisis and has watched foreclosure rates go down, New York City homeowners are suffering, according to the report.’

“Not only are foreclosure notices up 15% from the previous year, but foreclosure activity in the region experienced an annual increase in 21 of the past 23 months,” the report says.’

“We’re dealing with as big a problem as we were in the early days of the meltdown,” said Justin Haines, director of the foreclosure prevention unit for Bronx Legal Services.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:53:22

‘A handful of local mayors gathered at Albany City Hall this morning to back a bill that would crack down on banks and mortgage lenders to make sure so-called zombie properties — buildings languishing in the foreclosure process — are properly maintained.’

‘Weinstein said one estimate by foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac put the number of so-called zombie properties in the state at 15,000 but that she and Schneiderman believe it is much larger. In some cases, Weinestein said, the banks’ own predatory practices are fueling the crisis.’

“Lenders across New York state have contributed to this problem,” she said. “They push borrowers out of their property giving the impression that the homeowner has to leave early in the foreclosure process and permit delinquent mortgaged residential properties that are vacant and abandoned to fall into disrepair.”

 
Comment by scdave
2014-06-13 07:22:36

Nearly 30,000 city homeowners — most of them in minority communities — are in danger of losing their properties to foreclosure ?

When I read that Ben, it prompted me to do a little data digging on Albany…Gee’s, if true, it appears most of the friggen town must be underwater….

Population in 2012: 97,904

White alone - 51,624 (52.9%)
Black alone - 29,257 (30.0%)
Hispanic - 7,464 (7.6%)
Asian alone - 5,849 (6.0%)
Two or more races - 3,033 (3.1%)
American Indian alone - 324 (0.3%)
Other race alone - 113 (0.1%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Albany-New-York.html#ixzz34WqxLdkd

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 07:29:53

Much like anywhere in California.

Remember…… Grossly inflated housing prices don’t discriminate geographically or otherwise.

 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2014-06-13 09:54:40

maybe they should make payments?

booty will bail them at taxpayer expense

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:56:14

‘What does it take to sell a condo these days? Try a sexy view, a leggy blonde — and killer abs. That’s the buzzed-about strategy one local real estate agent is using to market a unit at the Edgewater, an upscale building in Uptown across from Lake Calhoun.’

‘The view, the blonde and the guy with the chiseled torso all have starring roles in “Date Night,” a three-minute video that ogles the condo’s sleek interior — and the guy’s sleek exterior as he showers and primps for his date with the blonde, then brings her back to his place for bubbly, some subtle disrobing and a retreat to his swanky bedroom, followed by a morning-after shot on the balcony.’

Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 07:17:16

“Date Night” has been around since November, at http://www.edgewater503.com, but it caught fire last week with a flurry of tweets, online news stories and scathing comments. Some disparaged the moneyed, muscled dude in the video as a “jerk,” an “uber bro” and even a “Dollar Store Ryan Gosling,” the likes of which are ruining Uptown as we once knew it.

“It’s so over-the-top,” said St. Cloud writer Steve “Stu” Neuman in reference to the video (he coined the Gosling putdown in a snarky story that appeared on Minnpost). “Just looking at it from the outside, you almost wonder if it’s a parody, making fun of that lifestyle — shaking the martini, driving the Maserati. Do they really mean this?”
______________________________/

I almost laughed out loud watching that. The condo itself is so cold and sterile that it could serve as a contraceptive.

http://www.edgewater503.com/

Comment by scdave
2014-06-13 07:31:21

Gosh…I wanted to vomit watching that…

 
Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 08:15:29

The caption reads “Follow a couple on their journey through an urban lifestyle.”

Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2014-06-13 09:01:46

(“Date Night”) “Follow a couple on their journey through an urban lifestyle.”

Dating Game: “Is your husband more Urban or Rural”?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jIkMut9co

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Comment by scdave
2014-06-13 14:22:57

That was hilarious Rio…

 
 
 
Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 16:42:50

Girl is ugly… bad blonde job.
Tats are a horrendous turnoff.
Drinks and then drives.
Put on some socks dude. And spray some Killz in there too.
He’s got a ring on the wrong finger for this.
And it’s effin Minnesota. They can get away with this urban clubhopping for what? Four Fridays each year?

Comment by rms
2014-06-14 03:15:32

+1 LOL! Great summary.

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Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 07:53:29

Realtors back to hooking a la 2007.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:58:33

‘A change in military transfer rules has put a glitch in an already sluggish Halifax residential real estate market. In a good market, the traditional inventory of homes for sale in the Halifax area is about 3,900, but, partly because of the backlog in the military transfer system, the inventory of residential real estate is about 5,528, says Demings.’

‘In his monthly newsletter, he says there has been an increase in home-buying activity since the start of spring, but the number of transactions has not matched last year’s totals. By the end of April, there were 1,684 home sold, which is 12 per cent less than the number of sales recorded in the same 2013 period.’

“Yes, this is definitely a buyer’s market,” Demings told me in a phone interview Tuesday. In some cases, he says, there have been sellers who have had to drop their price by 10 per cent or more, and once they get an offer, the offer is five per cent below the already lowered asking price.’

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 06:59:58

‘The number of houses and condominiums that sold in San Diego County last month declined steeply as the median sales price of a single-family home rose to $500,000, according to new figures from the San Diego Association of Realtors.’

‘Data on home sales showed that 1,703 houses sold in May, a 14-percent drop from April and 30 percent below the mark from May of last year.’

Comment by oxide
2014-06-13 08:49:06

Obviously they need to stage those condos with Dollar Store Ryan Goslings.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:02:31

‘The number of homes on the market in the Baltimore region rose to the highest level in more than two years in May, while there was little change in the number of sales or the median price compared to last year. There were more than 13,000 active listings in May in Baltimore and its five surrounding counties, up 18.6 percent compared to 2013 and 8.7 percent compared to April.’

‘New listings rose to 5,586, up 17 percent year-over-year.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:08:45

‘Marnie Sheets’ house sits atop a hill in Staunton, still the only residence in the vast and empty Carrsbrook neighborhood. Sheets and her family built their home six years ago, anticipating a brand-new subdivision on the outskirts of Baldwin Acres, but more homes never came.’

‘The Sheets aren’t the only homeowners in Staunton, Waynesboro or Augusta County who found themselves coming out of the Great Recession with emptier neighborhoods than they imagined. As the real estate market begins to creep back ever so slowly, some of these lonely places seem destined to fill out.’

‘But the pace can seem glacial when you’ve lived for years with empty lots.’

‘Stagnant developments are also found in Waynesboro and Augusta County. In Waynesboro, there are four major developments that either have few houses in them or where construction started but has ceased — Claybrook, Pratts Run, Silver Creek and Edgeworth.’

‘Edgeworth has no homes and is just an open plot of land, said Waynesboro City Planner Michael Barnes. The development, which is off Lyndhurst Road, lost steam about 2009 during the economic downturn.’

“That’s the deadest of the dead,” he said, although he doesn’t prefer the term “dead.” “The others are in hibernation.”

‘Sonja Dillard lives in Charleston Park in Waynesboro, and had her family’s home built in 2006. Hauser Homes was in charge of her neighborhood up until Claybrook was built and then went bankrupt. Dillard said a few things with their house were messed up — like the foyer was measured wrong, losing 2 feet of space, among other tiny mishaps.’

“Like holes in the wall where they installed stuff and didn’t drywall it back,” she said. After Hauser was out, she said, they had trouble getting their questions answered or things fixed. She and her family were left in the dark. Many of the neighbors voice the same concerns. Hauser wouldn’t return numerous calls for comment.’

‘Barnes feels like things will pick up in the coming year. It all depends on what people are looking for in a home — either new construction or previously owned homes. “It won’t be the crazy pace that we saw in the early 2000s,” he said. “That was just stupidly unsustainable, and a lot of people recognize that now.”

 
 
Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 07:19:03

“Deputy managing director for the IMF, Min Zhu, noted that house prices are inching up in the IMF blog. ‘But is this a cause for much cheer? Or are we watching the same movie again?”
___________________________/

The IMF has a blog?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:20:35

‘The north county subdivision River Rim Ranch will see new life this summer. In the five years since Glacier Bancorp re-appropriated Division II of the community in lieu of foreclosure in 2009, there has been little movement. However, the development agreement was amended and approved by the Board of County Commissioners so the bank is no longer obligated to build the golf course.’

“To summarize the bank’s position,” said Doug Gemmel of Alta Realty, “they’re not a developer.”

‘The bank will reclaim the 280 acres of semi-constructed golf course that has become overgrown with what Gemmel calls the “oh-so-brutal Canadian Thistle.”

‘Further, as the bank acquired the property from the original developers, it is not beholden to the landowners, as technically the agreement was between the developers and the HOAs. Even if the owners purchased the plots in anticipation of a golf course, Glacier BanCorp did not break any laws in amending their responsibility to construct the amenity.’

“The golf course was never guaranteed in the first place,” said Don Chery, chief administrative officer of Glacier BanCorp. “Everyone agreed, including existing [Division II land] owners, that Teton County does not need another golf course and could not support another golf course.”

‘Currently, Glacier has the entire project listed for sale… However, he said, nothing is “struck in stone” as the bank is approaching a settlement in a lawsuit with Division I homeowners [over non-deliverance on a roughly $10,000 lifelong membership into amenities in the community.]‘

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:23:45

‘Developer Denny Ryerson, 69, was forced to foreclose on his waterfront Idaho home after defaulting on bank loans Car dealer Dana Martin now owns the 11,000-square-foot property.’

‘Two high-rollers are feuding over who should keep hundreds of luxury fixtures and appliances removed from a $7 million waterfront home before a foreclosure sale. The items include a $45,000 French-made gas cooking range, a $40,000 spiral staircase, a $60,000 boat slip, and an $8,000 pedestal sink.’

‘Arizona developer Denny Ryerson, 69, built the house as a dream retirement home for him and his wife Joni. But the Gonzaga University regent defaulted on bank loans during the recession. Martin acquired the bank note in 2013 from Idaho Independent Bank.’

‘Martin’s attorney, Bruce Anderson, in court documents writes: ‘The premises could only be described as ’stripped’. He adds that all the ‘windows were covered with sheets or other coverings to keep observers from seeing what happened to the interior of the home.’

‘Martin argues that the fixtures and many items are considered ‘appurtenance’ and belong in the home because they were used as collateral when Ryerson applied for secondary bank loans.’

‘Ryerson in recent years tried to sell the home, in 2012 listing it for $10.5 million, or $12.5 million including the art and furnishings. In the past two years, he twice refused offers from Martin as being too low.’

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:26:30

‘According to a survey published at the Global Housing Watch website, prices of Greek houses in the fourth quarter of 2013, have dropped by 7%, which is the second highest rate after India. The survey was based on IMF and OECD data.’

‘India comes first in the drop of house prices with 9.1%, followed by Greece with 7.02%, Italy with 6.54%, Cyprus with 6.48% and Croatia with 6.35%. The survey indicates that in Greece the house price-to-rent cost ratio differs by about 16.3% from the historical mean average.’

‘Among the 51 countries included in the Global Housing Watch list, the biggest increase in house prices was recorded in the Philippines (10.56%), Hong Kong (10.25%), New Zealand and China (9.1%) as well as in Colombia (8.1%).’

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:31:13

‘Six months ago, China’s housing market was so red-hot that Feng Xiaowei, a sales manager at a real estate agency in the eastern city of Hangzhou, rarely took a day off.’

‘Then lending and sales curbs imposed by the government to cool soaring housing costs started to bite and business evaporated. Now Feng and the seven salespeople he supervises spend the day playing cards. “There are no buyers,” said Feng, 24. “We take three days off a week. We go out for barbecue and play poker.’

‘In Hangzhou and another city, Nanjing, buyers who want a refund of the difference between what they paid and the current price stormed showrooms and smashed models of apartment complexes, according to Xinhua and other media. In Guangdong province, near Hong Kong, unhappy owners in one complex blocked entrances so customers couldn’t see units being offered at lower prices.’

‘Feng, the sales manager, said he used to sell at least two properties a month, in addition to those sold by his staff, but there have been no sales in the past month. “There is just too much housing in Hangzhou,” he said. “That’s why the price is going down.”

‘With few other investment options in China’s state-dominated economy, families with money bought multiple properties. Spending was boosted further by the flood of stimulus money Beijing sent coursing through the economy after the 2008 global crisis.’

‘Prices have risen so high that an 85 square meter (920 square foot) apartment in an average Beijing neighborhood can cost 4.5 million yuan ($725,000) — the equivalent of more than 180 years of income for the average Chinese person.’

‘Su Xiaoling, a sales manager in Shanghai, bought an apartment in February for 1.8 million yuan ($300,000) as an investment. “There might be some correction in the short term, but it does not mean I lose money as long as I do not sell it,” said Su, 33. “I can wait.”

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:47:03

‘Homebuilding in metro Phoenix ticked up slightly in April, but it’s not likely a sign of a long-anticipated market rebound because new-home sales fell. Last month, 1,087 permits to build new houses were issued in the Valley, compared with 996 in March, according to analyst firm RL Brown Reports. New-home sales dipped to 730 in April from 856 in March.’

‘The stalled recovery of Phoenix’s homebuilding market is also evident in recent job numbers. Construction unexpectedly lost a net 1,100 jobs last month, the first time it has shed workers in April since 2009.’

‘Arizona housing analysts RL Brown and Greg Burger say its difficult to figure out where the new-home market is headed. “One builder or subcontractor that you talk with tells you his market activity is good,” the publishers of the Phoenix Housing Market Letter wrote in their latest report, “and the next one tells you his market opportunity has yet to recover to any extent.”

Comment by FavelaTouro
2014-06-13 17:38:28

We’re mid June and they are reporting April numbers?

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 18:00:11

Some of these articles are a little old in the comments. I find something and don’t get to use it for one reason or another. If it’s interesting I’ll post it on a desk clearing day.

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:50:17

‘Jesus and Lucy Olais thought they and their six children had survived the recession without losing their home — a seven-bedroom house they had purchased in her father’s name in 2006. Jesus, a commercial painter, was making good money then, but the housing market crashed; his hourly rate and hours were cut in 2008. He was laid off in 2009 and rehired in 2013. Bank of America restructured their mortgage, and the family caught up on its mortgage payments.’

‘After years of struggle, it looked like everything was going to be OK, Jesus said. But the family had not been paying its $42-a-month homeowners association fees and owed more than $11,000 when late fees, collection fees and attorney’s fees were added. The HOA had a lien on their house.’

‘Legal notices had gone to Lucy’s father, the owner of record, but he didn’t speak English. He asked that his daughter receive the notices, but she didn’t understand the legal language. The HOA wanted to make direct withdrawals from her father’s account, but Lucy did not trust it. The account went unpaid for years.’

‘The family eventually received notice that the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office would sell the property on Oct. 30, 2013, if the lien was not paid in full. Mission Valley HOA Community Manager Daniel Comer said he could not comment on any particular foreclosure, but HOA foreclosures are more common than they used to be.’

“Homeowners associations are forced into a corner when somebody doesn’t pay their assessments in a long time,” he said. “They have no other resolve than to process the paperwork.”

‘Meanwhile, the family is scrambling to find a place with room for six children, ranging in age from 2 to 20. Lucy Olais said she cannot sleep. She cannot eat. She has no idea where they will go. “I tell the girls: ‘Girls, we’re going to have to start packing,’ and they start crying. ‘No, Mom, we don’t want to leave.’”

Comment by Kidbuck
2014-06-13 09:08:10

They know enough effing English when it’s time for the govt cheese.

 
Comment by Puggs
2014-06-13 12:03:11

HOA dues are a killa. Stay away! Dues and taxes mean you never can truly pay off yer house.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:52:45

‘A Torrington widow and her children said they are about to be kicked out of their home. Beth Profeta said she has money to make partial payments, but needs her loan modified and keeps running into road blocks.’

‘The front yard of Profeta’s residence on Harwinton Street has turned to one big public plea. In bright pink, she’s looking for any way to save her home. “All of my bills are current except for my mortgage,” Profeta said.’

‘The monthly mortgage is $1,600. When her husband was diagnosed with appendix cancer in 2009, they could tell they needed to modify the loan. Profeta said she was looking to adjust the mortgage by $600. “I can do under $1,000,” Profeta said. “I can’t do $1600, and pay the bills and feed my family.”

‘But Profeta said Wells Fargo refused to modify. “They say I don’t have enough income coming in, which I do,” Profeta said. “I know I can make it work.”

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:55:00

‘With home prices in North Texas up roughly 10 percent more than a year ago and properties still moving quickly, the stiff competition can limit options for many first time homebuyers. “A lot of the houses are sold as soon as they hit the market,” said Jordan Whyard. “You don’t even have an opportunity to bid on the house, and if you do, the majority of the houses are going above asking price.”

‘Whyard said his family has put the house hunt into high gear, while scaling down expectations. “Right now, it’s really about settling for what you can get. Now, I’m actually purchasing the first house to get to my second.”

Comment by Ibbots
2014-06-13 11:15:49

Realtors fret over growing number of off-market home sales

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/06/realtors-fret-over-growing-number-of-off-market-home-sales.html/

The comments to this article are pretty good.

Comment by taxpayers
2014-06-13 13:47:40

you have to be a lamo not to sell your own house

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:57:33

‘Colorado Springs was the only metropolitan area in the state where foreclosure activity increased during the first quarter of this year, according to a report. There’s no obvious problem in El Paso County that explains the rise in filings, said Ryan McMaken, a Housing Division economist.’

‘The employment picture is brighter in the Springs, although not as strong as in northern Colorado, he said. And the housing market has improved, making it easier for homeowners to sell their properties or refinance mortgages, which help them avoid foreclosure.’

‘But even as job growth has improved in the Springs, it’s possible the area isn’t adding enough good-paying jobs, which has contributed to the rise in foreclosures, said Jack Beuse, board chairman of the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors and a broker associate with the Paradigm Group.’

‘Still, the rise in filings is more of a “blip in the numbers and not something I’d call a trend in the Springs,” McMaken said. “Given that it’s really just one quarters’s data and really just something that’s popped up here in the first part of 2014, I don’t think we should become overly concerned at this point,” he said.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 07:59:22

‘Colorado Springs-area home construction slipped again in May, but one local economist says he’s not worried that the recent homebuilding slowdown signals a downward spiral for the industry. Last month, 253 single-family home building permits were issued to builders in El Paso County, a 13.4 percent decline from May 2013, according to a report this week by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.’

‘Building permit totals have fallen in all but one month so far this year, on a year-over-year basis.’

‘But this year’s numbers are somewhat deceiving, said economist Fred Crowley of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. They’re being compared against the first half of last year, when historically low mortgage rates - and the fear that they would rise - drew more buyers into the market, he said. “We just accelerated the purchase date, I think, for some people, who otherwise would be in the market today,” Crowley said.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 08:02:19

‘Denver’s red-hot housing market is beginning to cool, with home appreciation slowing relative to this time last year, according to RealtyTrac. But home values in Jefferson and Weld counties reached new highs, making them two of seven counties in the U.S. that logged peak median prices in April.’

‘Annual home appreciation in Denver dropped to 6 percent in April, the lowest rate since April 2012 and down from 16 percent in April 2013.’

‘The markets in Phoenix and Tucson, as well as the Florida cities of Tampa and Jacksonville, also are slowing. Appreciation in Phoenix dropped to 9 percent in April from 30 percent in the year-ago month, the report said.’

‘The median home price in Jefferson County is now $257,400, up from the prerecession peak of $246,000. In Weld County, the median home price was $205,000 in April, compared with the prerecession high of $191,500.’

‘In Denver, the median was $265,000, up from $259,000 in April 2013, and a 96 percent increase over the low of $135,000 hit in February 2009, according to RealtyTrac.’

 
Comment by Puggs
2014-06-13 12:04:46

What happened to all that positive news a few years back where they were consolidating military bases there? That was supposed to be a boon for the Springs.

 
 
Comment by goon squad
2014-06-13 08:09:07

I know more than a few people who make the clown-car commute from Colorado Springs to Denver every day, because there are no jobs down there…

 
Comment by taxpayers
2014-06-13 09:55:52

too many gov workers folks

a Housing Division economist.’

state?

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2014-06-13 08:05:32

‘Mattamy Homes’ newly staked claim on the remaining 9,650 acres of Thomas Ranch will surely shape much of south Sarasota County’s future for generations to come. The question is: Is south Sarasota County ready for thousands of homes and tens of thousands of new residents on what is now a vast expanse of cattle pasture and wetlands between Venice, Englewood and North Port?’

‘And, with other residential developments in the North Port-Venice area already underway or in the approval pipeline, land planners, politicians and financiers have to ponder the most looming question of all: How much new housing can the market absorb?’

‘Staub again wonders whether too much development could be on the books in that area, especially with more subdivisions planned in Venice. “We’ve got a lot of activity going on,” Staub said. She hopes “the market will dictate the pace of the growth. I hope we never get into the bubble we were in.”

Comment by snake charmer
2014-06-13 11:08:41

Back in 2006, you could drive south on I-75 and see gigantic parcels of cleared land in Sarasota, Lee and Collier Counties — I wrote that they likely were visible from space. Wetlands are important to our ecology, and ranching has history here, like citrus cultivation. Why don’t we just destroy all that and create a new future based on cheap crappy unoccupied housing? It’s “working” for China!

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 08:38:14

Jonesy is posting poetic descriptions of housing craters forming across the country……. Schweet!

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 09:13:36

Do housing hookers aka Realtors actually work?

 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2014-06-13 09:14:13

Q1 2014: Global house price boom continues
Jun 11, 2014

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/investment-analysis/Q1-2014-Global-house-price-boom-continues

….House prices rose in 31 of the 45 housing markets which have so far published housing statistics, according to a survey of official house price statistics for Q1 2014 by the Global Property Guide, using inflation-adjusted figures.

…..Conclusion: The global house price boom continues to accelerate, with most countries back to their pre-crisis levels. House prices are rising in many more countries than not, and the momentum trend is strongly upwards. In fact, many housing markets are now considered overvalued. Several countries are now imposing housing market cooling measures to avoid a repeat of the past.

Brazil’s housing market is slowing
Brazil’s housing market is now slowing gradually, with meagre economic growth and civil unrest. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, house prices rose by 6.71% year-on-year in Q1 2014, the slowest growth in the past six years.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-06-13 09:23:15

Remember Lola….. I can ask $50k for my 15 year old chevy truck but where are the buyers at that price?

That’s right…. They don’t exist. THINK Lola.

 
 
Comment by Puggs
2014-06-13 12:06:42

No is NOT the time to be spending money like a drunken sailor. Remember, always pay off debt during good times.

 
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