"Magazine-Cover-Indicator" Indicator....

Home Prices Continue to Decline

OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart seems levelheaded and not so political. Fortunately OFHEO kept fannie and freddie from going even farther overboard during 2005-2007.

It's good to see public comment from a higher official, etc of the seriously important *positive* side of the price normalization.

The Housing Bubble Goes Pop

Tom B -- don't search for a reason to buy a house in a declining market. If you don't absolutely need to buy for some unusual reason (you have 7 dogs, etc), then rent for a year, and give yourself plenty of time to search for that next home.

From Housing to Employment: We're in Big Trouble

Price to Income of "4"

is a lot more than 3.5 (said to be a maximum sustainable level often),

or <b> 2.7 </b>, said to be the historical average.

www.usatoday.com/money...

As Home Sales Plunge, Some Say the Crisis Is Almost Over

If you live in Texas, expect house price declines this year.

Robert Shiller on America's 'Speculative Culture'

Wakeup---Yes, we are going to have a lower amount of consuming in the US, forced. The obvious mechanism is the decline in the Dollar and related change in basic necessity consumable prices, not to mention losing the bubble jobs, etc. In an even bigger picture, since we had a pronounced over-consumption, perhaps the lesser consumption level is kinda a needed adjustment, although it will feel awful for many.

The Impending Mortgage Crisis

ArnoldCountry -- that premium to own ratio or difference is far less than a big $2500 vs $1500. It's a lot closer to $1700 vs $1500, especially when no more rapidly rising prices are expecting for more than a decade by most experts.

Existing Home Sales Charts

Tim -- they could stabilize in a range near there eventually I'd guess. But if as you can see from the graph, most would-be buyers jumped in prematurely (in the bubble, afraid of waiting and building up a down payment, etc), then the buyers would be used up temporarily, so that first time buyers are below long term average for a while.

What's Ahead for Real Estate: Doing the Math

Good article. Interesting. I'll watch to see how well the predictions do.

How To Solve the Housing Crisis Tomorrow

When I say 500 hours, I'm not exaggerating or using hyperbole. When you propose a plan this momentous and gigantic, you need a proportional amount of work to it's significance and risk.

How To Solve the Housing Crisis Tomorrow

User 179274: Yes, he only needs to read and think and work out consequences in detail for another, say, 500 hours, like a professional that works hard, until he finally has a handle on the effects of his proposal.

How To Solve the Housing Crisis Tomorrow

"moderation in all things" is wiser than many people realize.

When we go to rescue families that speculated on rising house prices with their own home, we need to rescue some and not all.

Because....home *owners* are not *all* Americans.

There are Americans, families with kids included, that are working to be able to buy their first home.

They will rely on house prices normalizing back to typical levels vs incomes.

The Housing Crisis: Personal Responsibility and Wishful Thinking

Good article.

Mortgage Lenders Can't Escape Morgenson's Wrath

"Its amazing how barely literate people at the NYT become stars "overnight". Who crowned these bozos"

...

uh....the Pulitzer Prize folks did.....

...

Housing, Credit, Economy: At an Inflection Point

ArtS, thanks for helping try to preserve the English language.

It's going to need a lot of help over the next year, as every analyst and their dog tries to bend reality.

Housing, Credit, Economy: At an Inflection Point

uh.....

enter....recession....

recalculate....