S&P Case-Shiller: ‘Home Prices Rose 1.3% in April’ It’s well-known that various housing market cheerleaders (the National Association of Realtors; your friendly local Realtor?) have a tendency to put a positive spin on housing sales statistics. But, prominent housing bears tend to do the opposite (would that qualify as “backspin??”). Exhibit A: Barry Ritholtz’s take...Read More
Supportive — and Unsupportive — Comp’s In appraiser (and Realtor) lingo, a “supportive” Comp (“Comparable Sold Property”) is one that substantiates the value of the subject property, i.e., the one that the Buyer is seeking to obtain a mortgage on. Ergo, an “unsupportive” Comp is one that . . . torpedoes the value of the...Read More
Homes That Can’t Be Bought or Sold “Sunk Cost“: A cost that has already been incurred and thus cannot be recovered. A sunk cost differs from other, future costs that a business may face, such as inventory costs or R&D expenses, because it has already happened. Sunk costs are independent of any event that may...Read More
Victims Turning Away From — Not Towards — Politics One of the puzzles — at least to me — is why millions of people who’ve been the most harmed by the housing bust haven’t created more of a groundswell for political reform. Or just plain accountability. Yes, I’m aware of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street...Read More
Buyer’s Temperament — and Timetable Are you a good candidate to buy a foreclosure? To find out, ask yourself these five questions: One. Will you be willing to sign the bank’s “As Is” Addendum and various waivers? That comes with the territory. Which means . . . you’d better have your arms around the property’s condition. Depending on how...Read More
New News? Or Recycled Rumors? Foreclosures across the country and the Twin Cities are likely to increase in the coming months, dashing hopes that the new year will deliver a rebound in housing prices, despite record-low mortgage rates and dwindling inventory. –Jim Buchta, “Home Values Could Take New Hit From Foreclosures“; Star Tribune (Jan. 2,...Read More
