Category: US Housing
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Friday, October 15, 2010
U.S. Mortgage Fraud, Greenspan Was Right, So Was Jesus / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Andrew_Butter
In his “book” The Age of Turbulence which was written before the full horror of the financial catastrophe was even imagined, Alan Greenspan devoted just four pages to the subject of financial regulation.
His big point was that many regulations, often hastily conceived, need to be trimmed back and simplified over time. And that complexity in regulation that grows out of multiple agencies, and multiple initiatives is not a good idea.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Getting Real about U.S. Real Estate / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: David_Galland
David Galland, Managing Director, Casey Research writes: In 1990, following the real estate debacle of the 1980s, Andy Miller co-founded SevoMiller, Inc. The company provided workout services for major financial institutions throughout the country and also began buying and developing apartments, retail and office properties. From its founding to the present, the company’s acquisitions totaled over 30,000 apartment units, several million square feet of retail space, and numerous office projects throughout the country, including the states of Colorado, Arizona, California, Nevada, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Banks Laundering Counterfeit Mortgages, The Largest Financial Fraud in World History! / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Washingtons_Blog
A "false front" building from the Old West. Towns built false fronts to make the town look more substantial and prosperous than it really was.
The tidal wave of evidence showing that the giant banks have engaged in fraudulent foreclosure practices is so large that the attorneys general of up to 40 states are launching investigations.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 11, 2010
Bank Shot, Nobody Can Buy or Sell Property / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Submissions
James Howard Kunstler writes: The banking authorities were shocked - shocked - to discover last week that an awful lot of mortgage paper in this country is not quite in order... appears to contain, er, irregularities... seems less than kosher... frankly, exudes an odor like unto dead carp or, shall we say, a heap of dead carp the size of the building at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Any day now we will hear that... mistakes... were... made.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 11, 2010
U.S. Housing Market Buyers Sideline Foreclosed Properties Due to Unclear Titles / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mike_Shedlock
Would you buy a foreclosed home now, knowing full well the title may be clouded by mortgage fraud? I wouldn't. Anyone who would without title insurance is asking for a huge legal mess.
Moreover, because of fraudulent procedures, bank of America and other companies have halted all foreclosures. See 40 State Attorneys General to Investigate Mortgage Fraud; Bank of America Halts Evictions Nationwide; Senator Reid Calls for More Suspensions, A nationwide halt in foreclosures for details.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Foreclose This: There’s More Than Robo Signatures To Blame For The Ongoing Foreclosure Scandal / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Danny_Schechter
The other day, during an interview on Al Jazeera, I was asked if I was frustrated because my warnings and worries about the financial meltdown and foreclosure crisis, first aired in 2006, have been ignored so long.
Duh!
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, October 09, 2010
U.S. Banks Fake Documents to Rush Home Foreclosures / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Global_Research
Tom Eley writes: Major US banks systematically faked documents in order to speed up foreclosures for hundreds of thousands of homeowners, a mounting body of evidence shows. It appears likely that federal and state laws were broken in the process.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Fraud in U.S. Home Mortgages: "ForeclosureGate" and Obama’s “Pocket Veto” / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Ellen_Brown
Amid a snowballing foreclosure fraud crisis, President Obama today blocked legislation that critics say could have made it more difficult for homeowners to challenge foreclosure proceedings against them.
The bill, titled The Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2009, passed the Senate with unanimous consent and with no scrutiny by the DC media. In a maneuver known as a "pocket veto," President Obama indirectly vetoed the legislation by declining to sign the bill passed by Congress while legislators are on recess.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 07, 2010
U.S. Consumer Debt Deleveraging Equals Commercial Real Estate Market Collapse / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: James_Quinn
There is a Part 2 to the story of Consumer Deleveraging that will play out over the next decade. Consumers will deleverage because they must. They have no choice. Boomers have come to the shocking realization that you can't get wealthy or retire by borrowing and spending. As consumers buy $500 billion less stuff per year, retailers across the land will suffer. To give some perspective on our consumer society, here are a few facts:
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Foreclosures Continue to Hit U.S. Housing Recovery / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes: Banks seized more homes in August than in any month since the housing bubble burst in 2007, even as the number of homes entering the foreclosure process dropped for the seventh month in a row, according to data compiled by RealtyTrac Inc.
In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3% from July and an increase of 25% from August 2009, RealtyTrac said. August was the ninth month in a row that the rate of homes seized by banks increased on an annual basis. The previous high was in May.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wealthy Chinese Are Desperate to Buy Your Vacation Home / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: DailyWealth
Tom Dyson writes: My friend is visiting from Shanghai. Last night, he told us some incredible stories about the crazy rise in real estate prices in China...
Take his parents, for example. They live in Qingdao, a fast-growing city on the east coast between Shanghai and Beijing. His parents bought a house on the beach seven years ago. It's gone up six times in value since they bought it and is now worth over $1 million.
Friday, September 24, 2010
U.S. Housing Market BIG Picture, Shiller's Forecasts and Media Propaganda / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mike_Stathis
Each month, the media lines up to read the results of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. It’s published the last Tuesday of the month and reports on data 60 days in arrears. This group of indices is generated and published by Standard & Poor's and Fiserv Inc. Keep in mind that these indices are maintained by the Index Committee members drawn from Standard & Poor's, Fiserv CSW, and so-called “leading industry experts.”
Thursday, September 23, 2010
U.S. August Home Sales Were Actually Terrible! / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Sy_Harding
Sometimes I long for the days when newspapers and magazines were the main sources of economic information for investors. They took the time to analyze data before their headlines and reports influenced investor thinking.
With television and the Internet, the goal is not accuracy but speed.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The ‘Catastrophic Change’ in the U.S. Real Estate Market / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Barry_M_Ferguson
We learned today (9/22/10) from our illustrious US government that new housing starts jumped 10.5% in August. Don’t get exited. Almost all of the gain was from apartment construction. This month-over-month burst in activity is still 9% below last year’s level. Nevertheless, the recession has been declared dead, the stock market has appreciated every day since the conclusion of Bernanke’s August Jackson Hole, Wyoming meeting, and the government needs affirmation of both events. But like most people with a functioning brain cell, I have eyes and ears. Here are my observations on real estate from my little vantage point.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
U.S. Housing Market and its Future / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: David_Urban
So much has been written about the housing market and its overall effects on the economy so I will not spend much time here.
Without dating myself the S&L crisis was partially solved through the removal of bad loans from the balance sheet of banks, the repackaging of said bad loans, and selling them off in tranches to investors.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Surge in Housing Supply Will Drive Down U.S. House Prices / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mike_Whitney
Home ownership has become an albatross. Prices are falling, demand is weak, foreclosures have skyrocketed, and inventory is backed up to the moon. If there's an upside, it's hard to see.
Everyone who bought a house in the last 6 or 7 years knows that he was fleeced by bankers who were pushing "fishwrap" mortgage paper to line their own pockets. Prices did not reflect the underlying supply/demand fundamentals as much as they exposed the massive mortgage laundering operation that was taking place in the shadow banking system. Hedge fund sharpies and other speculators walked away with billions while credulous homeowners were lashed to an anvil and tossed in the East River.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
U.S. House Prices Drop in 36 States, Market to Stagnate for a Decade / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mike_Shedlock
The small upward correction in home prices from multiple tax credit offerings died in July. Worse yet, inventory of homes for sale as well as shadow inventory both soared. 8 million foreclosure-bound homes have yet to hit the market according to Morgan Stanley.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Zero Down Mortgages Restarted by the Biggest Subprime Lender in Town - Fannie / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Trader_Mark
Good news folks... the "no skin in the game" mortgage is back. You know the game right? It's a one sided bet where the buyer can only win. If the house goes up, you pocket that and hopefully get that granite countertop you so deserve with the home equity. If it doesn't go up.... you walk - but only after living in the home rent free for at least 18-22 months as you strategically default your way to a mountain of savings while waiting for the sheriff to show up. If you are smart you can save at least $30K during this time. There are no losers here (except the U.S. taxpayer). [Jan 5, 2010: WSJ - The Treasury Department's Christmas Eve Masscare of the US Taxpayer] [Feb 1, 2010: 2 Graphs Showing Part of the Reason for the Christmas Eve Taxpayer Massacre] [May 12, 2010: [Video] Are Losses at Fannie and Freddie Now "National Policy"?]
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Should You Buy a House Now? / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: David_Galland
David Galland, Managing Editor, The Casey Report writes: Recently, we have had a number of queries about real estate. And no wonder. For starters, real estate prices have come down. Plus, in an environment with next to zero interest rates, the idea of possibly picking up some income-producing property on the cheap holds a certain appeal to some. Then there’s the fact that real estate is very much a “tangible” – and so should hold up reasonably well, should the fiat currency system come undone, as we expect it will before this crisis is over.
Monday, September 06, 2010
The U.S. Unreal Real Estate Market / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mark_B_Rasmussen
The peak was 60 - 61 months ago. The historical peak to trough real estate prices is 46+ months. 01/10 was the low for the 4.5 yr. decline that began in the summer of 2005.