Pent up demand

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106 Comments

    • Tue Jul 22nd 08:24 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      JPM's Dimon: Prime Loan Losses Could Triple [Housing Tracker]
      Wait. I thought it was only subprime? And then it was only subprime and alt-a? So now we're hearing that prime is going to take a beating too? It can't be.
      View article »
    • Fri Jul 18th 13:47 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Have Price Declines Solved Affordability Crisis? [Housing Tracker]
      "Everyone can't live in Manhattan or San Francisco or Aspen."

      Nice strawman. Okay, how about my situation? I make about $200k/yr on average. I have a wife who stays at home with 3 kids. My job is in Manhattan. There is no place that I can afford to buy that is less than ~90 minutes from work (each way). So my choice (if the rats in Congress succeed in propping up housing) is to rent forever, possibly having to move every couple years, or move to the ex-urbs and see my kids only on the weekend (since my average workday is 10-11 hours).

      My $0.02 is that when someone of my education and ability cannot afford to own a home within a reasonable distance from work, there is most definitely an affordability problem. Let alone the people who aren't as fortunate as I am in the job/career department.

      I don't want subsidies; I want the gov't. to stay the hell out of the way and let things find their natural level.
      View article »
    • Fri Jul 18th 13:34 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Fannie & Freddie: Why Government Support is a Good Thing
      Government bailout apologists would do well to avoid talk of punch bowls.

      Your argument reduces to "we need to get the share price up to lure in the marks." Good luck with that.
      View article »
    • Wed Jul 16th 13:38 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      15 Notes on the Current Market Stress
      Nice article. I think broken promises are the issue of our time. So much of the mayhem going on now can be traced back directly or indirectly to the fact that government and some businesses have been writing checks for too long that they will not be able to cash.
      View article »
    • Tue Jul 15th 16:30 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      What We Can Do To Reverse the Oil Crisis
      Phil, make sure you wear a bib when you rant like that. Keeps the spit off your shirtfront.
      View article »
    • Tue Jul 15th 09:10 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Overselling the Case for Indexing
      I think one reason for confusion among small investors is that there are investing strategies that work, but only at small scale. So money managers with positive performance become victims of their own success.

      These studies are not an argument for the end of active management, but I think they probably make a good case that management fees need to fall.
      View article »
    • Wed Jul 9th 16:52 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Disastrous Future of the U.S.
      Your moniker is well-chosen, fabricator. You chastise my "naivete" while refusing to acknowledge that the so-called solutions proffered for climate change will wreck the world economy. Whether the climate is changing or not, or if the cause is manmade or not, we are better off spending our resources on adaptation rather than trying in vain to put the world back to some arbitrarily chosen ideal. Apparently sometime around the mid-19th century the climate was "correct", so any deviation from this state is evidence of man's sin.

      The climate models are not simply imperfect, they are worthless. They can't even do a decent job of backfitting the data they have, much less make valid predictions that can be proved. Before I subscribe to a radical CO2 reduction program (which will drastically reduce the standard of living of every person on Earth), I'd like a bit more proof that it would actually reverse the warming we've seen thus far.

      "Climate change" is a political & religious movement, not science.
      View article »
    • Wed Jul 9th 12:02 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Disastrous Future of the U.S.
      You people want to bet the future of the global economy (and political system) on a computer model, and "deniers" are the crazy ones? Right...
      View article »
    • Wed Jul 9th 10:14 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Disastrous Future of the U.S.
      huangjin is right on the money. Let's control those numbers for the real estate bubble, which was worst in the hurricane/earthquake prone areas.

      Tom B, I hope you like crow. Your ilk are going to be eating a lot of it as global temperatures continue to moderate.
      View article »
    • Tue Jun 17th 10:22 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Real Prices for New Cars Keep Going Down
      I agree with chuckp. The costs of car ownership have been somewhat backloaded. Cars are engineered in ways that make them as cheap as possible to assemble; it seems little regard is given to the cost to repair them.
      View article »
    • Thu Jun 12th 13:14 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Why Subprime Loss Estimates Are Still Too High
      Talk your book, baby! That's the way we play it on the Street!
      View article »
    • Thu Jun 5th 11:35 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Hanging Up the Walkway Myth
      I don't think you can underestimate the "no money down" effect. It's one thing to be underwater when you brought 10-20% to the deal; no owner is going to realize that loss if he can help it. But the 0% down crowd is out a credit score and their closing costs, which are sunk costs anyway. I believe they will be much less reluctant to throw in the towel if their cash position gets uncomfortable.
      View article »
    • Wed Jun 4th 12:58 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Getting Frantic? A New 3 Act Play for Current Economic Times
      Congratulations, pk de cville. You win this week's award for the best mixed metaphor!
      View article »
    • Tue Jun 3rd 10:25 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Realtors, Prepare to Lose Your 6 Percent
      I have never said that MLS should be open to any member of the public. The behavior that is anti-competitive are the minimum service laws, and the collusion to freeze out discount brokers. I agree completely that the trend of buyers' agents is a big part of the problem. If buyers want to have a tour guide then they should pay for that out of their own pocket.

      Missouri broker, I did do the homework, which is how I finally got my house sold. And yet there was my useless agent at the closing table with his hand out.
      View article »
    • Mon Jun 2nd 09:04 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Realtors, Prepare to Lose Your 6 Percent
      I love that a realtor called me stupid for using a realtor's services. Thanks, I will definitely remember that!

      Hey realtors, if you're so ready to admit that there are incompetents in your midst, why isn't your beloved NAR doing anything to shore up "the brand". How am I supposed to know a good realtor from a bad one? I don't buy and sell real estate very frequently. I found one agent that I know not to do business with again. I guess that leaves another couple hundred thousand that I need to keep looking out for.
      View article »
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