Elevator Pitches for Realtors “A Recession is when your neighbor loses their job. A Depression is when you lose yours.” –Anonymous Yeah, Yeah, when acquaintances ask, “How’s the market?,” they usually mean the overall market — not, how I’m doing personally. Still, it’s hard not to let your personal circumstances color your take on things...Read More
Millennial Subcategory: “Baby Boomerangers” One of the factors holding back the housing market is the (relative) dearth of first-time Buyers. Typically, such Buyers account for 40% of all residential real estate sales; the last few years, however, the percentage is closer to 33% (one-third). What accounts for the slippage? Three Theories Given that the average...Read More
Punishing the Whistle Blowers “I saw the crisis coming; why didn’t The Federal Reserve?” –Dr. Michael Burry, 2012 UCLA Economics Dept. Commencement Address If you read Michael Lewis’ “The Big Short,” you doubtless remember Michael Burry: the brilliant, one-eyed medical doctor/investment savant with borderline Asperger’s who predicted — and cashed in on — the looming financial...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
Wall Street: Tens of Billions Everyone Else: Trillions . . . in Debt If you are just joining The Crash of ’08 “in progress” (as it were), here’s where things stand: Wide swaths of the country are broke. Their houses are underwater, their jobs (if they have them) are under pressure, and their savings (if they have them)...Read More
Low Interest Rates — Then & Now Three (four?) years into the housing market downturn, what conclusion is it possible to draw? In retrospect, it seems obvious (at least to me) that it was a liquidity-driven phenomenon. Add a tsunami of cash, subtract any vestige of underwriting standards, and real estate will go up. Subtract...Read More
