The question for the newly above water borrower: to sell or not to sell

 NEWS
Mar 162013
 
The question for the newly above water borrower: to sell or not to sell

The increase of home values have pushed some 1.4 million underwater borrowers into positive equity territory. The Federal Reserve have engineered ultra low mortgage rates and banks have suppressed the shadow inventory into “cloud inventory‘” Meaning many homeowners will receive loan modification after loan modification leading to a false sense of confidence, but in the long term most will end up losing their homes. However, for these newly above water borrowers threats still remain to push them underwater again. Whether its market risk, balloon payment shock, mortgage rate increases, tax law changes or even demographic changes in their neighborhood it’s [Read More...]

Real estate’s high end is finally getting whacked

 NEWS, ORANGE
Aug 072012
 
Real estate's high end is finally getting whacked

I believe the low end of the housing market is finding a bottom. Due to the timely processing of subprime foreclosures, prices crashed hard at the low end, and shadow inventory is much less abundant. Low interest rates and lower prices pushed affordability to record highs, and investor interest has helped absorb the visible MLS inventory. As a result, properties priced below the median in most markets is probably not going to go down much from here. The high end is another story. Banks have not foreclosed on it’s high-end customers preferring to allow them to squat in luxury. Lenders [Read More...]

With prices at 10-year lows and falling, renting is back in style

 FOUNTAIN VALLEY
Feb 242012
 
With prices at 10-year lows and falling, renting is back in style

When the housing market nears the bottom, despair dominates. Prices have fallen for five straight years and hover at 10-year lows, and real estate is out of favor as an investment class. Evidence of the market’s despair crops up in articles extolling the virtues of renting. Articles about renting were common from 1994 to 1996, and at the time, renting was a good idea; prices had been falling, and there was little reason to believe they would be going up soon, just like today. However, in the big picture, people who bought in 1994 to 1996 were rewarded. They suffered [Read More...]

Did loan owners stop having sex due to the housing bust?

 LAGUNA BEACH, NEWS
Feb 072012
 
Did loan owners stop having sex due to the housing bust?

A new study shows a strong correlation between house prices and birth rates. When the housing bubble inflated, so did… well, birth rates. When housing went flaccid, so did… birth rates. When housing began to inch up in 2009, so did… birth rates. The correlation is so strong, studies postulate a cause and effect. So I ask you, did loan owners stop having sex due to the housing bust? Housing Bust, Baby Bust Fertility falling: And baby makes three. The collapse in the housing market is bad for fertility, which could imperil long-term economic growth. By Jim Tankersley Updated: February [Read More...]

Potential buyers wisely choose to rent during a bust

 NEWS, SAN CLEMENTE
Jan 052012
 
Potential buyers wisely choose to rent during a bust

When house prices were going up, everyone wanted to own to capture appreciation. When house prices started going down, those who recognized the trend wisely chose to rent instead. As the bust drags on even the most kool aid intoxicated are beginning to see the wisdom in renting. Better to throw your money away on rent than to throw it away on interest to support a depreciating asset. 6 Reasons Why Buying A Home Is Like Throwing Away Money Girls Just Wanna Have Funds | Jan. 1, 2012, 10:04 AM Most people see buying a home as a part of [Read More...]

Kool aid is poison to sellers, nectar for buyers

 GARDEN GROVE, NEWS
Jan 042012
 
Kool aid is poison to sellers, nectar for buyers

Hope springs eternal. People are prone to believe what they want to believe, and with a little bullshit from the the National Association of realtors buyer sentiment toward housing has barely declined at all since the housing bubble catastrophically burst six years ago. Take a careful look at the chart below, and marvel over the foolish optimism of potential homebuyers. Most homebuyers over the last 10 years are currently either underwater or the value of their home is worth less than they paid for it. Homebuyer sentiment during the housing bubble was high, but that isn’t surprising given the strength [Read More...]

Subprime markets in despair stage of housing bubble

 IRVINE, NEWS
Dec 062011
 
Subprime markets in despair stage of housing bubble

So many buyers were so certain prices would rise 10% or more per year forever. Those same kool aid intoxicated fools are now underwater, trapped behind their over-improved walls, eating off their priceless granite tops, wondering how did it come to this? The hope of a recovery is dissipating with the double dip in home prices, and pessimism about the future is pervading the land. Those are exactly the sentiments one finds at the bottom of the real estate cycle. Housing is in last phase of ‘bubble,’ expert says Dec. 2, 2011 05:25 PM Nishu Sood, director of Wall Street’s [Read More...]