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Apocalypse Dow: The Search for Scapegoats

Can we believe the Washington Post article written by the New York attorney general? What would a sitting first term president do to get a second term? Unfortunately for the American people, almost anything or nothing at all. I have often said that if Bush had spoken to the American public in 2003 about the irrational increase in housing prices and how it could backfire on everyone, this inferno may have been extinguished before it got too far out of hand. He doesn't seem to have any trouble addressing the American public now about how concerned he is. And read the comments of our elected leaders sitting on the housing subcommittee that pushed the American Housing Affordability Act of 2002. All of them (reps and dems) bemoaned the toll that the high cost of housing was having on the lower and middle classes during these hearings. If they were concerned about the cost of housing in 2002, how could they have stood by and watched 2002 housing prices soar to stratospheric levels in the years to follow? There is no limit to the hyprocrisy of our elected and financial leaders. The damage is done, but let's be sure to pin the blame on those of us who are at fault. I constantly hear how irresponsible homeowners who borrowed more money than they could repay is the cause for this debacle. That's crap! If the property that these folks were buying wasn't so greatly overvalued, if and when the borrowers defaulted on the loans, the banks would have been able to recoup much of their investment. Young couples who were often purchasing their first home and had no experience in buying a home should not be the scapegoats. The blame lies squarely on the banks and mortgage brokers. Financing housing is their specialty - they should know what a house is really worth, not be conned by phoney appraisals and should have refused to lend more money than the house was really worth. My son will struggle to pay the mortgage (and I believe that he will be OK) for his first house that he bought in 2005. But after three years, he is already in the hole $55K. Add $15K to a realtor to help him sell it and he's out $70K. He is a working stiff who will never be able to get ahead because he paid waaaayyyy too much for his home. Last thing - does anyone see that unethical marketing by our real estate industry was so much a part of the run-up of housing prices? I still see them using gimmicks, tricks and phoney numbers in their adds in the local newspaper. But, they're adapting to the situation. The NAR cares nothing about underwater homeowners other than the fact that their existence is depressing their chances of selling homes and for selling them at much inflated prices as they did for so long. Although my local newspaper's editorial staff has waged a three year battle against predatory pay-day lenders (to no avail) you will never see a newspaper article criticizing or even investigating what realtors do to sell homes. One look at the local newspaper and it's evident that the NAR and local building associations are by far their largest sources of advertising revenue.

Greenspan On Current Meltdown: Interview with an Arsonist

I am glad to see that some are finally speaking the truth. The credit crisis is a result of the mortgage/housing crisis. AND housing is a crisis because people were conned into believing that they had to pay inflated prices for homes. Thanks to the National Association of Realtors. It was all a con game with everyone making money except the poor schmuck buying the house. Everyone should realize that many of the foreclosures that has caused the credit crisis would not be occurring if the homebuyers had not paid so much more for their homes than they were worth. Even with the loans resetting they may still have been able to afford to stay in their homes. The monthly mortgage for a $250K home has to be quite a bit less than the $350K + that sellers were asking and getting. How about a little blame for Main Street, also? Wall Street certainly is to blame, but they didn't get the buyers names on the contracts. The realtors did that. They are the true foot soldiers who stoked the fires of the housing crisis. Made a lot of money selling inflated housing. They employed a lot of deceptive marketing strategy that fueled the fears of prospective homebuyers - often naive first timers, I suspect. Alan Greenspan just did his job. Saved Bush's ass from being a one term president like his dad. No housing bubble from 2003 to 2005 - no second term. "It's the economy, stupid!" Bush could have prevented this whole debacle by just acknowledging early on that rapidly rising home prices aren't the norm and that homebuyers should be careful. He could have warned that what was happening could be dangereous to the country's economic well-being. . But, it was his only way to prevent a recession in his first term. So, to hell with the country! The democrats are no better, either. They had to know where this was going. (Just take a look at the comments of some of them during the committee hearings on the American Housing Affordability Act of 2002. If housing affordability was a crisis in 2002, how could Washington have stood silent while this accurred?) But, the NAR and home builders' PAC have deep pockets, I suspect. A whole lot of people betrayed this once great nation and should be going to jail.

Greenspan: Still Almost Childlike in His Idealism

I have frequently read that many in government and on Wall Street were of the opionion that housing prices could only go up. The persons who say this are either liars or morons. Since they all are somewhat successful individuals, I can't believe that they are morons. So I must assume that they are all liars. But, why lie? Money, of course. Our system of government/business is almost completely devoid of ethics. I, for one, believe that there are many individuals who were involved in our current housing crisis who should go straight to jail. I am pretty sure that many of them are going straight to hell upon their earthly demise. They have inflicted a wound upon America the likes of which have never before been experienced. Is there any doubt to the harm done the American economy by the total lack of ethics during the housing crisis. It may be true that the housing crisis was caused by too many people buying homes that they could not afford, but had they not paid tens and hunfreds of thousands of dollars more for the house (thanks builders/NAR) than they were worth, many of these 'deadbeats' might still be able to afford the mortgage regardless of the monthly adjustments. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that when young couples are spending most of their paychecks for the mortgage, they won't be able to afford new cars. I am amazed that some government/business leaders (car manufacturers, perhaps?) did not sound the alarm early on in the housing crisis. Isn't there something wrong with government leaders who declare rising home prices a sign of prosperity (even as the price of a home soars past the level most young couples can afford) and declare falling home prices a catastrope. Well, falling home prices is a catatrophe to those young people who were scared into buying a home in 2005 by builders and realtors. Many of these people are so underwater in their mortgages that they may not see a profit for many many years. Most of them can't sell their homes without forking over a lot of money that they don't have. They have been doomed to live in their home perhaps forever. Their freedom to change change jobs or move to another area has been taken away. I am not one of these unlucky persons, but my son and his wife are. I hate to hear that it is the buyers' greed that caused this crisis. It was their naivite. As I said before - someone should go to jail. I don't expect business to be on my side all of the time, but I would expect government to be. That no longer is the case.

Realtors, Prepare to Lose Your 6 Percent

I have long warned (since 2003) of the danger of the housing bubble and I am not related to the housing industry in any way. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that houses can not increase (anywhere) at 20/30/50 percent a year when salaries don't increase by the same amount. Those business people who say 'that they thought housing prices would always continue to increase' are either morons or liars. While most salaries have been stagnant the last number of years, realtors salaries have doubled and tripled bases on their 6% commission of home prices which have doubled and tripled. Why hasn't someone challanged the NAR on this before now? I don't believe that the housing bubble would have ever happened if there was an ounce of honesty or integrity in the real estate professsion. They manipulated buyers with their marketing ploys to continually drive housing prices to unsustainable levels - knowing that a lot of young couples (those buying at the peak in 2005 and 2006) were going to lose a lot of money when the crash came. They didn't care then and won't admit or apologize for it now. Shame on them! I live in a nice home (almost paid for) and will never use the services of a real estate agent to sell it. Never! I will reduce the price by the 6% if necessary to make it a good deal to a buyer. I would rather some nice young couple have the money than an arrogent agent.