July 05, 2007

Funny how the charts are all starting to look the same. Down and to the right.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!























42 comments:

Anonymous said...

The charts dont lie. And one thing you can bet on is that President Bush will be remembered as the worst president in history; historians will probably attribute Bush's demise to the Iraq war. But I believe, collectively, as a people, the housing crash will have more of an immediate impact on many more people in America (i.e. their pocket books) and therefore the housing crash will be the major factor for Bush's tarnished legacy.

Anonymous said...

So can someone tell me why rents here in Portland are projected to rise 8.5 percent this year and an additional 6 percent next year, and why the lead story in the local Apartment Manager publication is "Investors Strike Gold!"

Frank R said...

Nice! I love it. Can't wait to get a steal on a house in the very near future.

Anonymous said...

Buh...buh...but Kudlow and Cavuto say that the economy is sooo great, unemployment and inflation are low. And...and...and CNBC keeps showing that the Dow is skyrocketing! hhuahuahauhaua sheeple will always be sheeple. And the idiots elected that tool twice.

Anonymous said...

Consumers are struggling
Analysis: Signs of household stress are all around
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:08 PM ET Jul 4, 2007


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Just when it appeared the U.S. economy would pick up steam after a year-long soft patch, the U.S. consumer is running out of gas.
The signs of stress are all around.
Prices are rising, but incomes and wealth aren't. With most households already overburdened with debt, consumers are being squeezed. There's only one thing to do, even though it goes against every fiber of their being: Cut back on expenses.
Realtors are feeling it, retailers are feeling it, and so are automakers and bankers.
Consider this news from Tuesday:
Sales at retail chain stores continued to weaken in the last week of June. The International Council of Shopping Centers index barely grew week-over-week, while the Redbook index fell to a cyclical low, with same-store sales up just 1.2% compared with a year earlier.
Vehicle sales declined for the sixth straight month in June. In the past six years, sales have been weaker on only two occasions. At the same time, the automakers have stepped up their production, setting up the industry for another round of layoffs and production cutbacks.
Home sales fell again in May. The National Association of Realtors said the number of contracts signed on previously owned homes fell 3.5% to the lowest level since the recession.
More consumers fell behind on their debt payments in the first quarter. The percentage of loans that were 30-days past due rose to the highest level since the recession of 2001.
The news in prior weeks hadn't been much better:
Home prices fell 2.7% in the past year, the biggest decline in 16 years. A 2.7% drop may not seem like much, but considering how hard it is to get homeowners to accept less than they paid for their house, it's startling.
Homebuilders got even more depressed about their industry. The housing market index fell to a 16-year low.
Delinquencies on home mortgages are rising, especially for subprime loans. Unfortunately, delinquencies and foreclosures are also rising for borrowers with good credit who took out adjustable-rate loans. That's unheard of when the unemployment rate is under 5%.
The stock market, after a nice run up from March to May, has been flat over the past seven weeks.
Consumer prices rose 0.5% in May, the fastest monthly increase in 17 months.
Real take-home income (that is, adjusted for inflation) has fallen two months in a row, after a big boost in the first quarter that mostly went to the ultra-rich who received mammoth bonuses and stock options. For the rest of us, the picture is a well-known story around kitchen tables: The median hourly wage, adjusted for inflation, has fallen four months in a row through May and was up just 1.1% in the past year.
The personal savings rate was negative for the 26th consecutive month in May.

http://tinyurl.com/2odune

Anonymous said...

But the stock market is up! Please watch my show, and I will lead you all to the promised land. If we ignore the data - then it doesn't matter. So listen to me, and click your shoes together three times.... everything is good...everything is good.

Anonymous said...

stock market **is** up

unemployment **is** low

Everything in this economy is firing on all cylinders except housing. In an economy as diversified as the US, there are always going to be a few sectors that are hurting. Doesn't mean the end of the world.

Right now is not a good time to buy a home. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool. However just because housing is hurting does not mean the economy is tanking or that we're about to redo the 1930s.

I don't know where you people live but personally I see absolutely no sign of any consumers struggling. Malls are packed. Restaurants are packed. I honestly cannot recall the last time I went out to eat and did not have to wait for a table, and I eat out pretty much every night.

I own 3 classic Porsche 911s. It is next to impossible for me to see my mechanic these days since so many people have bought classics recently and he's swamped. Which is great for me since the values of mine has skyrocketed but annoying that I need service done and have to wait weeks at a time. And don't give me some bullshit about debt. People who buy these cars buy them with cash, no bank will loan you money for a 30 year old car.

Anonymous said...

Vehicle sales declined for the sixth straight month in June

----------------------------------

Yeah for pieces of shit sold by GM, Chrysler and Ford.

However, sales were up 10.2% for Toyota, 11.5% at Honda, 22.7% for Nissan and 10.9% for Hyundai.

Don't confuse the woes of American car makers with the economy. GM, Ford and Chrysler make garbage. Nobody in their right mind will buy that junk regardless of economic conditions.

Anyone who attributes GM/Ford/Chrysler poor sales to economic condiutions is a fool or is a GM/Ford/Chrysler exec looking to lay blame somehwere other than the fact they build garbage.

Anonymous said...

Just wait until Wall St. takes a tumble. Then the light will go on and everyone will wonder where was george? Why did he do nothing while this whole mess developed?

Anonymous said...

Funny how you left off the charts showing the DEMOCRAT congress with a worse approval rating than Bush. No bias here.

Marky Mark

Anonymous said...

Anon said: "Unfortunately, delinquencies and foreclosures are also rising for borrowers with good credit who took out adjustable-rate loans. That's unheard of when the unemployment rate is under 5%".


Laura Vella said: Another way of saying that house prices are out of wack with borrowing fundamentals.

Everyone that my husband and I know who bought houses in the last 4 years are realiable people with good credit, but none of them could get a straight-fixed 30 year loan because prices are more than 8 times their salaries.

I can see the inventory building here in Alameda,CA by the day. It looks like a homedebtor is just freshing up their exterior paint, them it quickly goes on the market for sale...the season change from summer to fall will take on an entirely new meaning in three months from now.

Anonymous said...

Where's the approval rating of the Democrat congress?. God, you're pathetic.

Anonymous said...

You people on this blog are sick! You enjoy watching the sufferings of other people who were just trying to get their hands on the American dream and wound up holding the bag on loans they couldn't afford.

What do you gain from being so mean-spirited!?

People are losing their homes. Some are getting divorced and going bankrupt, and all you can do is sit back and type out stupid gleeful comments about how you somehow knew it all would happen. The housing market has ups and downs. Big deal! It's not the end of the world. Somehow I doubt you people know anything!

The right thing to do is not to ridicule, but reach out and help others. But all you do here is attack real estate agents, bankers and home owners and call them names. It's childish and wrong.

Haven't you ever made a mistake in your lives? I hope you don't or their might be an army of bloggers out there to ridicule you too!

Anonymous said...

"I don't know where you people live but personally I see absolutely no sign of any consumers struggling. Malls are packed. Restaurants are packed. I honestly cannot recall the last time I went out to eat and did not have to wait for a table, and I eat out pretty much every night."

Dude, people that are fairly well of and/or comfortable, as you seem to be, tend to socially isolate themselves from the masses, that is the regular folk, your "joe six-pack" if you will.

Accordingly, I would surmise that the reason you cannot find a table at the restaurants that you frequent and/or get work done on your Porsche in a timely manner is because you an your ilk have isolate yourselves from the masses and you do not see their pain, firsthand.

Seriously, when was the last time you went to Fridays, Applebee's, Olive Garden, etc. When was the last time you went to Burger King and sat inside to eat your Whopper with cheese?

Anonymous said...

Not defending congress since they suck, but congressional approval ratings are always low (think about it, did congressional approval to to 90% after 9/11). Presidential ratings, however are usually not.

Anonymous said...

If they were in Hebrew, they would go down and to the left!

Anonymous said...

I really do not see why the Japanese cars are beating the American cars. The American cars seem to have turned the corner and appear to be on par with the Japanese both stylistically and qualitatively- but i do not know as i do not own either.

Anonymous said...

minimum wage said...
So can someone tell me why rents here in Portland are projected to rise 8.5 percent this year and an additional 6 percent next year, and why the lead story in the local Apartment Manager publication is "Investors Strike Gold!"

July 05, 2007 7:12 AM

===================================================

DUH!

Greg Oden has come to town!

By the way, who authored the 'projections'? An industry trade group? AND projections can always be adjusted downwards... ask David Learah about his multiple calls for turns in the housing market. Oh? Yeah, he just walked away...

Anonymous said...

bush poll #s at record lows!

Anonymous said...

Restaurants are packed. I honestly cannot recall the last time I went out to eat and did not have to wait for a table, and I eat out pretty much every night.

Dude, you are on crack. The rest of your post I can swallow. But I am SOOOO tired about hearing how restaraunts are packed from every other poster. I live in one of the most affluent area of DC burbs and restaraunts are never packed save the very rare weekend evening. If they were always packed, more restaraunts would open and soak up the excess demand. (I go to normal restaraunts and not 5 star establishments so I can't speak to the uber wealthy, but again, who cares, if only the super elite are in the black, the economy is still headed for crisis.)

Oh, and I went to the mall last Thursday (again an affluent area) and the place was as empty as Alaska.

Anonymous said...

"The right thing to do is not to ridicule, but reach out and help others."

Oh Pleaz!!

It's those exact people, who're asking for help today who earlier, told everyone to either buy a home or forever, be a second class renter citizen. Sorry, it's called karma.

"Haven't you ever made a mistake in your lives?"

That's why there's juvenile detention vs adult prison. It's ok for let's say the under-25 (or even under-30) to be foolish with their money but afterwards, everyone's an adult and has to deal with the fallout (hint: No retirement, no security, always running from the creditors a/o the IRS).

Many, at HP, were ridiculed for having sound money ideas for the past decade of both internet and RE greed. Now, the roosters have come home to roost and we're kicking back and enjoying the reverse ostracism that we'd endured.

Anonymous said...

Dude, people that are fairly well of and/or comfortable, as you seem to be, tend to socially isolate themselves from the masses, that is the regular folk, your "joe six-pack" if you will.

Accordingly, I would surmise that the reason you cannot find a table at the restaurants that you frequent and/or get work done on your Porsche in a timely manner is because you an your ilk have isolate yourselves from the masses and you do not see their pain, firsthand.

Seriously, when was the last time you went to Fridays, Applebee's, Olive Garden, etc. When was the last time you went to Burger King and sat inside to eat your Whopper with cheese?

July 05, 2007 4:18 PM


===================================

Dude I posted the original message to which you responded. I go to chain restaurnats all the time. Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Chili's, you name it is packed every night. Weekend, weekday, early, late, doesn't msatter.

Give me a break with this "my ilk" nonesense. Isolated myself from the masses, pain and suffering of the masses....man you are insane and completely out of touch with reality.

Stop reading every left wing blog out there and get your ass over to a Chili's on a Friday night. You'll see all the pain as people spend $12 on so-so fajitas and $7 on watered down margaritas.

You seriously have no clue what you're talking about.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, when was the last time you went to Fridays, Applebee's, Olive Garden, etc. When was the last time you went to Burger King and sat inside to eat your Whopper with cheese?

----------------

So your saying because this person drives a porsche and dines at other restaurants besides the shit holes you just mentioned makes him an isolated person? Give me a fucking break.

Maybe said person works 70 hours a fucking week and would prefer to dine alone or make an unscheduled car appointment who are you to judge this person lifestyle.

That is that problem with society you have the work hard Ilk and you have the give it to me because i am entitled to it ILK...so my question to you which one are you.

I am the 70 plus hour a work week Ilk and the only person I feel bad for is me...but then again I own my shit.

Anonymous said...

Dude I posted the original message to which you responded. I go to chain restaurnats all the time. Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Chili's, you name it is packed every night. Weekend, weekday, early, late, doesn't msatter.

Give me a break with this "my ilk" nonesense. Isolated myself from the masses, pain and suffering of the masses....man you are insane and completely out of touch with reality.

Stop reading every left wing blog out there and get your ass over to a Chili's on a Friday night. You'll see all the pain as people spend $12 on so-so fajitas and $7 on watered down margaritas.

You seriously have no clue what you're talking about.

July 05, 2007 6:36 PM



>>Its called the CREDIT CARD jackass!!! Watch how people pay these days, cash is not in their hands. In fact I have seen people use several cards until they get one with enough credit. Also stores are DEAD!!! The reason your Porsche mech may be busy, is I venture to say the ones who own these toys can't fix them themselves and he is probably the only decent porsche mech in town. I would take it that porsche owners are not the norm in mainstream amerika.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh yes that is the standby isn't it...it's all on credit cards. First you accuse me of being a rich snob, now I can't afford a $20 meal at Chili's without using a credit card.

Doofus, everyone pays with credit cards for convenience. Ever hear of checkcards by the way? I carry less than $20 on me and pay with plastic for everything. It's not because I don't have the funds available it's because I live in the 21st century and don't carry paper money with me. And with every purchase I get something back either a cashback or airline miles. Why on earth would I want to pay with cash and lose out on that? As long as I pay all balances in full I get a free loan from the cc company and the cashback. You'd have to be a complete fucking moron to pay with cash and give that up.

You are the typical loser out there. You have nothing and are jealous of anyone else who has something. You are a miserable human being who can't stand to see anyone else have any joy in their life.

Maybe if you spend a little more time worrying about yourself and a little less time worrying about my Porsche mechanic you too might be able to enjoy life a little more.

Anonymous said...

for the wealthy DC susburb guy who sees empty restaurants everywhere here are some chains' Q2 revenue compared to Q2 2006

PF Chang's up 18%
Cheesecake Factory up 14%
Buffalo Wild Wings Q2 up 9%
Olive Garden up 3%
Red Lobster down 1%

I don't know what's happening in your suburb, everywhere else in the country people are still going to restaurants

Mammoth said...

Anon July 05, 2007 4:27 PM said...
“I really do not see why the Japanese cars are beating the American cars. The American cars seem to have turned the corner and appear to be on par with the Japanese both stylistically and qualitatively- but i do not know as i do not own either.”
--------------------------
When you buy a Honda or a Toyota, you KNOW that you are getting a reliable vehicle. When you buy an American car, you MAY be getting a decent vehicle.

Get it now?
-Mammoth

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
for the wealthy DC suburb guy who sees empty restaurants everywhere here are some chains' Q2 revenue compared to Q2 2006

PF Chang's up 18%
Cheesecake Factory up 14%
Buffalo Wild Wings Q2 up 9%
Olive Garden up 3%
Red Lobster down 1%

I don't know what's happening in your suburb, everywhere else in the country people are still going to restaurants


So profits are up, this is caused by robust franchise expansion which increases supply to meet demand - thereby reducing wait times!

I never said people don't go to restaurants...What I said was in reply to this Mr Porche 911 who stated

I honestly cannot recall the last time I went out to eat and did not have to wait for a table, and I eat out pretty much every night.

And what I said was...

Dude, you are on crack. The rest of your post I can swallow. But I am SOOOO tired about hearing how restaraunts are packed from every other poster. I live in one of the most affluent area of DC burbs and restaraunts are never packed save the very rare weekend evening. If they were always packed, more restaraunts would open and soak up the excess demand.

Ok, so who waits in line at Chilis or the Olive Garden when another chain restaurant is right across the street? The guy said he eats out almost every night, right? So, what are you smoking that you believe this crap? I know the restaurant industry and 99% of the time, they operate at less than full capacity. Hell, some places don't even stay open after the lunch rush.

Anyhow, this thread is too much for such an insignificant topic. If noone ever again cites 'ALWAYS waiting for tables' as an oracle of US economic strength, my work is done. I can go the next world knowing I fufilled my purpose on this earth.

Anonymous said...

lead story in the local Apartment Manager publication is "Investors Strike Gold!"

July 05, 2007 7:12 AM


Apartment manager publication predicts great future for apartments. Are you just stupid?
I have no opinion on it being factual, I have an opinion on your gullability. Go ask your Barber if you need a haircut, or ask a realtor if now is the time to buy. I bet you bought pogs and beenie babies as an investment....

Here's a bit of trivia I need some help with; Moron Inbecile, and idiot are truly medical terms. I just don't remember which order they go in....

Anonymous said...

PF Chang's up 18%
Cheesecake Factory up 14%
Buffalo Wild Wings Q2 up 9%
Olive Garden up 3%
Red Lobster down 1%

These numbers mean nothing. Show me the same store sales numbers. These chains are still opening restaurants, and not only in the U.S. so of course revenues are increasing. The exchange rate change over the past year can account for most of the revenue gains from other countries where they also operate.

Mammoth said...

Anon July 05, 2007 4:13 PM said...
“You people on this blog are sick! You enjoy watching the sufferings of other people who were just trying to get their hands on the American dream and wound up holding the bag on loans they couldn't afford.”

”People are losing their homes.”
------------------
- These people are NOT losing ‘THEIR’ homes! If you borrow money and buy something with it, then whatever you bought belongs to whoever loaned you the money; it does NOT belong to you.
------------------
“Some are getting divorced and going bankrupt, and all you can do is sit back and type out stupid gleeful comments about how you somehow knew it all would happen.”
------------------
- If a couple’s marriage falls apart while they are being foreclosed on, it is likely that there were already huge cracks in their relationship in the first place. To blame your divorce on a foreclosure is just another example of the pathetic ‘it’s not my fault’ mentality of our society.
------------------
“The right thing to do is not to ridicule, but reach out and help others.”
------------------
- So, those of us HP’ers who were smart enough to see the housing bubble for what it truly was, and who wisely did not buy a house with a voodoo loan within the past 2 years, should now open our wallets up to bail out those people who were foolish enough to do so? Guess what - It ain’t going to happen!
------------------
“Haven't you ever made a mistake in your lives?”
------------------
- You obviously did, with your idiotic post. Keep reading HousingPanic and maybe, just maybe you will eventually become enlightened.

Mammoth

Anonymous said...

I found the definitions. Appears our leader may be an imbecile by definition. Not that it's a bad thing....

Idiot
The idiot is one whose mental capacity is below the third-year level; they are clumsy, awkward, untidy and require constant supervision in the performance of the simplest requirement of living. Most idiots learn a few simple words but rarely learn to talk intelligently.

Imbecile
The imbecile may attain a mental level of six or seven years. Imbeciles can generally talk with a very crude vocabulary, can be taught simple manual tasks.

Moron
The moron ranges in mental accomplishment between the eighty-year level and the lower adult normal which is ordinarily reached at about the fifteenth year. Constituting more than 80 percent of all forms of mental defect, the morons are one of the serious problems of modern times. Having no gross physical defects, they present themselves as a shiftless, unstable group which gravitates to the lowest level of manual labor and social activity. Out of this class are the recruited, the petty criminal, the prostitute, and the ne’er-do-well.”

In 1940 the idiot, the imbecile and the moron were terms that were classifications, and were not meant to stigmatize the individual.

Anonymous said...

"The right thing to do is not to ridicule, but reach out and help others."

Yeah right, that was exactly what these guys did when they paid ANY price asked and by doing that, bid the prices up to a point, where I could (and would) not be able (and willing) to compete.

In other words, by doing so they 'helped' me to have to postpone my planned purchase of a regular house. Well, I do 'reach out' by not buying a house until the prices are reasonable again.

Another first-time non-buyer

Anonymous said...

These numbers mean nothing. Show me the same store sales numbers.

===========

Those ARE same store sales wise guy.

Anonymous said...

meant to add and those are US locations only. Why is it so hard for you to accept this simple fact? Chain restaurants at all levels are doing well. This is a sign that the economy is doing well. It's not rocket science to figure this shit out.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Why is it so hard for you to accept this simple fact? Chain restaurants at all levels are doing well. This is a sign that the economy is doing well. It's not rocket science to figure this shit out.


Fine. OK. I give.

But please people, just stop talking about how you are ALWAYS waiting in line to get a burger. This is not a Seinfield episode and this is not Bangledesh. Friday night, sure, often enough, depending on the location, place and time. But most nights, most places, you walk in and sit. Doesn't matter if it's Detroit or Northern Virginia. Unless you are eating at Spagos every night, don't insult our intelligence with inane hyperbole.

[NOW I FEEL BETTER]

God I love this blog!

Bill said...

Excuse me for throwing in my 2 cents...but even in the 1920/30'S people still ate out so please STFU.

Anonymous said...

Haven't you ever made a mistake in your lives? I hope you don't or their might be an army of bloggers out there to ridicule you too!

July 05, 2007 4:13 PM

No, I have never made a mistake that ruined someone else's life.

You see, here, the vitriol is directed at the perpetrators.

The so called "victims" are referred to mainly as sheeple. Defined as someone, such as yourself, who FEELS that they can magically afford, and actually need, a $500k 6 bedroom house on a 50k/yr. salary with no $ down, because a 22 year old Real Estate "Professional" told them that house prices never go down.
How do you propose we help? Do we help the perps commit more fraud? Do we help the sheep w/ their monthly payments? Do I get a room? Use of the pool? Or should we just FEEL for them?

Anonymous said...

How many of those glowing economic numbers are adjusted for inflation? The dickheads in our city council like to brag about sales tax collections increasing 7% over last year, as if it's the result of their foresight and planning.

With price inflation running at 10%, the damned collections had better be increasing or we're doubly screwed!

Anonymous said...

While you asses act like jerks it makes me look like the nice guy. I hate that feeling so play nice you freaking idjits fore i decide to give u wedgie.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I can't resist....

I went to the movies last night (Thursday). Room 1408.

There were 5 other people in the theatre.

Yes, we are resembling Soviet Russia here,...lines everywhere I look.

Anonymous said...

In Colorado Springs the malls are dead don't know how they pay the electric bills much less the employees and leases. Dead people bring a shovel and bury me dead. The resteraunts here all pretty much $uck so they were always empty except for a few. One thing that is really scary is Walmart is getting dead. I can get a decent parking place for a change. Also have a cherry 2004 GTO for sale reasonable actually cheap that has had 8 deals fall through in the last 3 months for lack of financing.

sequoia512