http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs housing, mortgages... Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:52:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I just returned from the parade on July 4 in Arroyo Seco.  I took a lot of video, and found that I had to edit it down a lot to get a reasonable size of almost nine minutes.  This is my first Seco parade, so excuse me if I missed ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Arroyo-Seco-July-4th-Parade-2008/ The Economist has an interesting discussion on changes in real house prices vs. changes in real consumer spending, see: Collateral damage Note: the following graph is from the Economist article and is for the UK. For many years it was taken for granted that there was a strong relationship between ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/House-Prices-vs-Consumer-Spending/ Happy Independence Day. Reader Tsky pointed out this Reuters story in the comment section, and it's worth a post: "A lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin couple against their mortgage lender could have major implications for banks should a U.S. appeals court agree that borrowers can cancel their loans en ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Mortage-lawsuit-holds-'potential-nightmare'-for-banks/ Star-Spangled Banner -- Francis Scott Key I hope you are enjoying your 4th of July holiday. Like many others, I am not traveling this year, and ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Heroes-of-the-Potomac/ From the Oregonian:The economy is likely to keep stumbling at least through the rest of the year, analysts agreed Thursday, after a disappointing government report showed that payroll jobs fell by 62,000 in June, the sixth straight month of job losses."More job losses are coming through the remainder of the ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/No-Sight-Of-Second-Half-Recovery/ It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “The construction industry has been hit particularly hard. Sites that were once vibrant areas of future planning are now just desolate fields with a lot of people out of work. And the construction industry is one that Barbara Hartman, of the Career ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Suddenly-There-s-A-Lot-Of-Leftovers/ Happy Independence Day, everybody. Here’s an open thread.  Feel free to discuss whatever you want. ...Original Source: http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Independence-Day-Open-Thread/ I’m off in Huntington Beach with my family for the long weekend.  I hope you all get to take a breather from the seemingly endless beat of dour news to enjoy this great country we live in and celebrate our friends and loved ones.  See you Monday. S...Original Source: http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Happy-4th/ From the Financial Times: TPG walks away from UK bank rescue (hat tip Terry) Bradford & Bingley shares tumbled on Friday after its largest shareholders were forced to step in and rescue the ailing mortgage lender after TPG Capital, the private equity group, pulled out of a £400m capital ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/TPG-walks-away/ The Sacramento Bee reports from California. “It’s the question faced by thousands making peak 2005 loan payments on a home with 2008 values: Should I stay or should I go? In Antelope, Randy Fatius has had it. He says he’s walking away from the 1,200-square-foot house he bought in October ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Walking-Away-Is-Embarrassing-But-Staying-Is-Stupid/ From the Financial Times: UBS confirms facing further write-downs UBS on Friday confirmed it faced further heavy write-downs on exposures to troubled US credits, meaning earnings for the second quarter would be “at or slightly below” break even. Europe’s biggest casualty of the US subprime crisis did not quantify its ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/UBS-Warns/ (and for those of you keeping score at home, add in inflation and that 33% turns into 50% pretty quick) ...Original Source: housingpanic.blogspot.com http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Blimey-UK-home-prices-to-fall-by-33/ Money magazine forecasts home prices over the next year.The housing implosion is nowhere near over. In 75 of the 100 top U.S. cities, prices are expected to fall in the next 12 months according to Fiserv Lending Solutions....Many markets won't hit bottom till late 2009 or even 2010....Original Source: bubblemeter.blogspot.com http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Money-Magazine-Home-Price-Forecasts/ Please post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here....Original Source: thehousingbubbleblog.com http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Bits-Bucket-For-July-4-2008/ This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week but never posted them up, let’s have them. Also a ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/4th-of-July-Weekend-Open-Discussion/ It’s been 232 years, and in spite of the excesses of government and citizens in recent years, the United States is still standing.  That’s something worth celebrating. We’re forgetting the "gloom and doom" around here today.  John is keeping busy with the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo [I hope you're having ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/04/Happy-Fourth-Of-July/ Sometimes when you find the right house, you just got to get it...414 Camino Hermoso, San Marcos, CA 92078--4 beds, 3.0 baths, 2,358 sq ft ...Original Source: bubbletracking.blogspot.com http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/03/How-to-Lose-Your-20-Down-Payment-in-2-Months/ With each passing month, the inflation numbers are getting worse. As the numbers deteriorate, the options available to central banks are becoming narrower; either raise rates and take the inevitable hit on growth and financial stability, or let the problem slide and watch inflation slip further. With double-digit ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/03/The-rate-hikes-begin/ The market for oil is undergoing a fundamental change. Previously, the OECD was the primary consumer; today, demand is shifting towards emerging market economies.Compared to a year ago, OECD countries demanded about a million barrels of less today. However, non-OECD countries more than made up the shortfall, demanding an additional ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/03/Who-is-buying-the-oil/ For more than two years, the skeleton of the Elevation Chandler project has stood near the Chandler Fashion Mall, a monument of sorts to the late, great real estate market in Phoenix.  Now it looks like Chandler could have another "ghost development" just down the road: [Thanks M!] Construction equipment is ... http://www.webalalza.com/housingblogs/2008/07/03/Chandler-AZ-Has-Another-Ghost-Development/