Housing Blogs

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From the Oregonian:A newly surfaced memo from banking giant JPMorgan Chase provides a rare glimpse into the mentality that fueled the mortgage crisis.The memo’s title says it all: “Zippy Cheats & Tricks.”It is a primer on how to get risky mortgage loans approved by Zippy, Chase’s in-house automated loan underwriting system. The secret to approval? Inflate the borrowers’ income or otherwise falsify their loan application.T…
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CNN Money reports from California. “The subprime mortgage meltdown has shaken the entire U.S. economy. But nowhere might the impact be as stark as Irvine, California. A year ago at this time, Irvine was home to 18 subprime lenders, including many of the leaders in the field, such as New Century Financial and Option One. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, 4,100 good-paying white collar jobs were gone.”
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Need I say more?

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The housing crisis took center stage in the presidential race this week. For good reason: Recent data show that nearly a million American households are at risk of foreclosure, 71% more than a year ago. Nearly 6% of all borrowers are past due on their mortgages.
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After the Census Bureau releases the preliminary New Home sales estimate, they revise the estimate three times (over the next three months) as more data becomes available.Historically the revisions can be in either direction - higher or lower - but beginning in 2005 I noticed that most of the revisions were down. All of the revisions (between preliminary and final) were down in 2006 and for most of 2007. It appeared that the Census Bureau had a systemic error in estimating preliminary sales during periods of rapidly declining sales….
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BoatsCarsHookersCocaineGranite CountertopsAnd one hell of a spending binge these past few years. Free money! Free money! Oh, crap, you mean it has to be paid back? But that’s not fair - my home value has plummeted. OK, screw it, you can have the damn house. Here. Take the keys….
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31 minutes. Lots of detail. A terrible idea or two, and many great ones. And in the end, if he wins in November, I think we can all be glad that we’ll no longer have an idiot as president. I hope even the Fox-News-Obama-Haters listen to the speech. America is a great country, Obama is not the devil your channel is leading you to believe, and there is cause for hope.Obama’s plan to change the economy…
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Over at the P-I earlier this week, Bill Virgin chimed in on the housing mess again with yet another well-reasoned column: Homes are good investments, not slot machines or ATMs.
In the great American sport of finger pointing and blame shifting, a new villain has emerged to explain the mortgage-finance crisis.
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The subprime mortgage meltdown has shaken the entire U.S. economy. But nowhere might the impact be as stark as Irvine, California, a planned community nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego.
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Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, “Lennar Corp., one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, said Thursday it swung to a loss in the first quarter as it absorbed charges to write down asset values and costs, while new home sales and prices sank. Sales fell 62 percent to $1.06 billion from $2.79 billion in the year-ago period. The average selling price fell 8 percent.”
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Transcript of prepared remarks delivered Thursday by Sen. Barack Obama on housing and the economy, as posted on www.barackobama.com:

"I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg for his extraordinary leadership. At a time when Washington is divided in old ideological battles, he shows us what can be achieved when we bring people together to seek pragmatic solutions. Not only has he been a remarkable leader for New York –- he has established himself as a major voice in our national debate on issues like renewing our economy, educating our children, and seeking energy independence. Mr. Mayor, I share your determination to bring this country together to finally make progress for the American people."
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Transcript of prepared remarks delivered Thursday by Sen. Barack Obama on housing and the economy, as posted on www.barackobama.com:

"I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg for his
extraordinary leadership. At a time when Washington is divided in old
ideological battles, he shows us what can be achieved when we bring
people together to seek pragmatic solutions. Not only has he been a
remarkable leader for New York –he has established himself as a major
voice in our national debate on issues like renewing our economy,
educating our children, and seeking energy independence. Mr. Mayor, I
share your determination to bring this country together to finally make
progress for the American people.
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Sen. Barack Obama joins the housing speech parade today with what appears to be a difference-splitter: more government action and intervention than J…
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The FSA are coming in with their hands up.The Northern Rock crash was their fault, and in a moment of honesty that is rare in government, the FSA have told the rest of the world where they went wrong.The failings were grievous:For 12 months Northern Rock was monitored by insurance supervisors who had little expertize in banking.During the 2 years before the crash, three department heads had responsibility for NRK. Only one other bank had a similar experience of such a high turnover of supervisory staff….
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A reader of the site directed me to this one.The 2008 Street of Dreams is only 5 months away and builders are gearing up for another successful run.The only problem is that the 2007 Street of Dreams wasn’t a success. Five of the six homes built for the annual showcase are still sitting on the market with little interest. The one that actually sold went for less than the asking price.Cottage in the Trees…
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Here is your chance to ask questions. Please post questions that you may have regarding the housing market. I will answer the top 8 questions in a post over the weekend….
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Excerpts from Atlanta Fed President Dennis P. Lockhart: Current Economic Situation, Outlook, and Recent Actions … the economy is in a slowdown that resembles past periods that were the leading edge of a recession….Looking ahead, my forecast has been affected both by an economic slowdown that has been sharper than I had expected and the recurring spells of financial market turmoil. A few months ago our forecast at the Atlanta Fed saw growth slow in the first half of 2008, then pick up in the second half of the year. But it now appears to me that the contraction in housing and the dampening effects of financial turmoil on household and business spending could persist through the remainder of this year. T…
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It’s finally time to give my Three Cents Worth as a post on Curbed. This week I presented market volume and show that prices moved up across the board.

Click to view: Three Cents Worth: Double Down Entry, Up Luxury…
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