May 11, 2007

A HOUSINGPANIC MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, the message should be "DON'T BUY"

Frank R said...

Ha ... wishful thinking ... unfortunately every desperate homedebtor I know is unable to sell for less than what they owe ...

... meaning they can't sell at all.

And let's not forget the Rolex and big-screen HDTV and BMW they "bought" on the HELOCs. Gotta pay all that off too to sell the house.

Fat chance.

Anonymous said...

Are you a credit whore?

Still waiting for those t-shirts to go on sale again Keith.

dave said...

bizjournals.com
'We need a little more sanity,' warns BofA CEO
Friday May 11, 4:51 pm ET


Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis said he sees a new finance bubble bursting in the credit markets, which has been marked by low interest rates and lax lending standards.
"We are close to a time when we'll look back and say we did some stupid things,'' Lewis said of the lending business. "We need a little more sanity in a period in which everyone feels invincible and thinks this is different.

"We need a deal to go bad, as long as we're not in it," Lewis told those attending a lunch at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce in Zurich this week.

BofA's (NYSE: BAC - News) Lewis isn't the only one globetrotting these days with a similar message.

Jeremy Grantham, chairman of GMO, a money manager with offices in San Francisco and Boston, said the world is experiencing the first truly global bubble.

Bubbles have emerged in everything from junk bonds and blue-chip stocks to land in Panama, timber and Indian antiquities, Grantham told clients in the firm's quarterly newsletter following a six-week around-the-world trip.

Grantham shared with his clients a simple definition of what creates a bubble.

"Perfect conditions create very strong 'animal spirits' reflected statistically in low risk premium," he said. "Widely available cheap credit offers investors the opportunity to act on their optimism."

Sustaining both strong fundamentals and easy credit feed on each other by allowing people to borrow more and more to enhance returns while having their optimism reinforced by those around them. At least, until the bubble bursts.

"Every bubble has always burst," Grantham cautioned his clients.

Published May 11, 2007 by San Francisco Business Times

Anonymous said...

Sell? Sell what? Real estate, stocks, bonds, puts, calls, cash, gold, eggs, one's firstborn - what, exactly?

FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...

Hi Mammoth, Buzz and anon. (:
All I have to say for now, besides, thanks guys, ::blush::
to HPers is this:

Today @ 4:40 pm on COX RADIO, WFLA 540 AM, Bud Hedinger Live said,

QUOTE "Ron PAUL can not win because he has no media support!!!!end QUOTE.

So, then Ron Paul was dismissed summarily and they went on to discuss The NAU and the other Prez candidates.

What an arragoant outrageous statement for a, to QUOTE Keith now, "RIP AND READ" [and sometimes cutting edge (Coast to Coast AM talk radio for example)] Network!

Disgusting.

The Main Stream Media does not select our President!!!

'doh

FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...

Whoops, accidental thread jack, Keith.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

iw

Anonymous said...

Sell and do not get your money in dollars. Pounds, Euros, Yens, are fine. Sell and get your money in dollars=loose the double whaamy of housing and dollar depreciation

Anonymous said...

Actually, this brings up something I've been thinking about doing for a few weeks. I bought in 1996 and could get several hundred thousand dollars worth of equity out of this home if I sell now. What holds me back is the fear that if I change my assets into all cash, I will lose big time when the dollar tanks. Any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

I have warned, pleaded, and begged those I know who are in a bad, bad way to sell. I am chicken little and I get the same responses... So what if prices come down.. They always go back up....
The thought going through my mind for the last couple of months is this....
What if they would sell? What about the FB that buys it? Is it right to encourage our circle to screw someone elses?
Just pondering...

Anonymous said...

1. its much more fun to yell "FIRE" in crowded theaters, great for laughs, and the excitement happens a lot faster... you should try it - or did you practice this when you were a kid?

2. if your theories are correct, you shouldn't have to say a word... even these daily "YES, it REALLY IS crashing" peptalks would be unnecessary...

Anonymous said...

I have just decided to live long term in this house I bought . I can afford the payment long term so i will just keep paying down the loan .

Paul E. Math said...

I have some friends who live on the outskirts of Boston. She owns the place while he pays half her mortgage in rent. They want to buy a place together closer to downtown, where the action is.

Problem is they have not been able to sell her condo. So now, unbelievably, they are thinking of maintaining dual residences - buying a really small place, like a studio, in Charlestown to use on weekends or nights when they fly in our out of Logan for work (they travel frequently for work).

Boggles the mind. Instead of facing the reality that the condo outside town is not worth what it was 2 years ago, they are going to 'double-down' in the midst of a massive housing bubble. They will never be able to sell either place and they will forever remain cash-flow negative if they try to rent either or both.

Her mother is a mortgage broker and they have all been chugging the kool-aid.

If only they could understand the simple message: sell.

Anonymous said...

GOOD CHANCE...My neighbor just sold his crapbox here in SoCal for under 10k asking. Not bad at all. I am next. Calling an agent now. Still stupid MOFOs out there. Sorry to burst your 'bubble' Frank.