( Read more... )

Me as a Simpson:

( Read more... )

I've blogged recently about the dubious measures developers were apparently taking to prop up sales prices, guessing they were overpriced by as much as a third. Well in at least one development in Florida that seems to be overly conservative, as prices may have been inflated by 100% or more:
Marketing reps with the developer, Levitt and Sons, ( Read more... )

Chart of foreclosures in San Diego for the past 25 years. Just broke throught the all time high--wonder where it goes from here?



( Read more... )

From Las Vegas comes a clear indication of how refinance activity can later mess up the sale housing market (see my earlier post for discussion of why I think refinance activity should have been considered a negative indicator in appraisals over the past few years).
Andrew Pugh of SellFastLV.com said anecdotal evidence from his business suggests ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

For all the bad press that sub-prime and stated income (aka Alt A) loans with exotic features like "80/20 combos", "negative amortization", and "payment option" are getting the real culprit in the current housing crises is, in my opinion, inflated appraisals: Appraising the value of a house has never been an exact science. But the $4-billion-a-year ( Read more... )

I've long been bemused by housing prices and the mortgage industry. I make a pretty good living but would have trouble affording, say, a $513,000 house without taking on an unacceptable amount of debt. But that's the average price of a home in the Seattle neighborhoods north of the Ship Canal that I'd most like to live in. So I've often wondered ( Read more... )

With real estate under pressure, the dollar in free fall, and mattresses full of these beasties where's a safe place to park your zillions? GOLD of course! Last night while surfing my favorite Sub-prime Schadenfreude website an ad for Bullion Vault caught my eye. They're offering one free gram of pure gold if you open an account with them (gold ( Read more... )