Here's the new "catch a falling knife" spin from one realtor in California: "Congratulations--you timed the market! This is what you waited for!"

Now we have "WEEKEND BLOW OUT SALE!!" on houses.

On houses.

What next, houses down at the dollar store? Houses at the flea market? Houses from a shady-looking guy out of the trunk of his car?

An HP'er reported on these fire-sale Ruxton Pacific Townhomes in Redondo Beach in the local conditions thread, but they and their new realtor huxter deserve their own posting I'd say.

Here's some of the great copy from this failed development's new pimp, Ed Kaminsky. Sounds like someone selling used cars to me..

BUILDER BLOW OUT SALE THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND! SECURE YOURS TODAY OR KICK YOURSELF TOMORROW!

Congratulations--you timed the market! This is what you waited for!

Memorial Day BLOW OUT SALE going on now through Sunday.

WAS $849,000 now starting at JUST $599,000!!! . . . . . .

The builder says:"Sell them ALL this weekend!". . . . Secure yours today or kick yourself tomorrow! Doors open at 11:00 a.m., Thurs., Fri. Sat. & Sun.! . . . . . . .

577 days on the market, $500,000 in price cuts, and still no buyer... Welcome to the Epic SoCal Housing Crash

Happy 3rd SoCalBubble

And damn, this is one f*cked homedebtor... I'll offer $200k. Someone wake me up when they get there.

2023 South Capella CT
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Listing Price History

Date Price
Jan 28, 2007 $1,099,000
Feb 07, 2007 $1,049,000
Feb 11, 2007 $999,000
Feb 13, 2007 $965,000
Feb 23, 2007 $935,000
May 16, 2007 $925,000
Jul 12, 2007 $899,000
Aug 15, 2007 $889,000
Aug 28, 2007 $875,000
Sep 11, 2007 $860,000
Oct 16, 2007 $799,000
Nov 15, 2007 $789,000
Jan 16, 2008 $719,000
Jan 29, 2008 $649,900
Today: $599,000

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

What was the worst investment you ever made?

What was the best?

It's on sale, so it MUST be a good deal. Right? Right?

Let's say you have an investment, and the price is $1000. Then, two years later, the very same investment is at $2000. So you say to yourself - hey, it was $1000 just a bit ago - I'm not gonna pay $2000 today!

And then the investment falls in price to $1800, still 80% more than it did just 100 weeks ago.

So, is it a good deal? Should you run out and buy it, right?

?
?
?

Note, this is a trick question. You don't have enough information to make an informed answer. But if you're the "we don't get paid unless you buy" NAR or NAHB, your answer is YES! YES! YES! A price drop means it's a great time to buy, regardless of the fundamentals.

But we know how that can turn out.

Here's some hilariously BAD advice from the homebuilders from October 2006. I feel sorry for anyone who tried to catch the falling knife back then. Or tries to today. We've got a long way to go.

As a first-time buyer, should I wait until prices go lower to buy a home?

If you continue to wait, you may never be able to afford to get into the housing market. Even as home prices are currently moderating or in some areas falling, rents continue to climb.

Remember, the sooner you make the jump from renter to home owner, the quicker you begin to create and build up wealth for your family.

With mortgage rates falling, and home prices drastically reduced from the peak, are you getting tempted to "buy" during this firesale?

Are you looking?

Do you think you may "buy" this year?

Are you tempted to do some low-ball bidding, or go after a foreclosure?

Or if you're holding off until we've hit bottom - what year do you think that'll be?

Where you live, how much cheaper is it to rent than to "own" the same place?

Bottom line, when it comes to housing - whatcha thinkin?

(And tell us if you're a renter, "owner" or investor, and what town you're in)

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

Anyone getting the itch to play LOWBALL!?

(is there a cream or ointment to apply to make that feeling go away?)

HousingPANIC Thought of the Day

Just because it's on sale doesn't mean it's a good deal.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

Serious Question:

When was it a worse time to buy a house?

1) December 1, 2004 (when inventory was building, prices were still going up and only a few people had figured out the whole scheme was gonna cave in)

2) December 1, 2007 (when inventory was at record highs, prices were plummeting, everyone including OJ jurors knew housing was crashing, and it was just soooooo tempting to reach out and grab that knife)

Supply and Demand, Meet Price - Hovnanian firesale moves homes with 30% off, $100,000+ discounts

Gee, imagine that. You slash prices, and you move dead inventory.

Retail 101 folks. This ain't brain surgery.

Meanwhile, Hovnanian just reset the comps for years to come... And they'll never sell another house at the inflated price - can you imagine the Hovnanian sales rep trying to explain to a buyer that the $150,000 off deal was only last weekend, and that they'd have to pay the higher price? Not a chance.

And the funniest thing about this story is that Hovnanian was (illegally) calling on his other builder buddies to RAISE prices just a few weeks ago. Suckers!

Hovnanian Spurs Home Sales With Price Cuts of Up to 30%

72-hour promotion by Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. designed to jump-start sagging home sales exceeded the company's expectations, resulting in more than 2,100 gross sales, the homebuilder said.

The figure included more than 1,700 contracts and more than 400 sales deposits. In its fiscal third quarter ended July 31, Hovnanian recorded 2,539 signed contracts, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures.

How stupid are Treasury Secretary Walter Paulson's comments on housing looking now?

This quote will be one for the ages. Kinda like "we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators" and "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"

Here's Paulson in all of his laughable, bizarre, corrupt, misguided, lying glory:

WASHINGTON - The major slump in the housing market is nearing an end and should not have a significant impact on the overall economy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday.

"We have had a major housing correction in this country," Paulson said in an interview with a small group of reporters at the Treasury Department. "I do believe we are at or near the bottom."

"It doesn't pose a risk to the economy overall," he said.

Don't think a historic real estate crash is underway? Tell that to Hovnanian who just lost 75% on land in 24 months

Folks, when you pay $85,000 and sell for $20,000 two years later, that's an epic, historic, mind-blowing meltdown.

And makes you wonder, after falling 75%, can it fall even farther? Big message is don't buy real estate for 10% off or 40% off. We're going to see firesale pricing that'll make your head spin. 75% off. Wow.

Geesh. This is amazing.

The following is a transcript from today's HOV conference call:

Stephen S. Kim - Citigroup Smith Barney

That’s what I thought. Could you give us a sense, or maybe what magnitude it was lower than what you had initially paid?

Ara K. Hovnanian

Well, we did not buy all of that land in one transaction. These are, if you remember, scattered lots in that area so they were literally bought in small increments on a regular basis.

To give you an idea on how significantly that market corrected, at the peak lot transactions happened in one of the areas at about $80,000 a piece.

The market continued to come all the way down. We wrote it down, and not all of ours, by the way, was purchased at $85,000 but that was where it was at the peak.

We wrote down the values to the low 20s, and I think the contract amount off the top of my head came in just slightly below that level.

Stephen S. Kim - Citigroup Smith Barney

Thank you. That’s what I was looking for. Thanks a lot.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

Home prices are falling, and they're going to keep falling for years.

So why would anyone buy a home today? Do they not know what's happening? Is the power of 'home ownership' marketing so powerful that people act against their own best interests? Or do they just enjoy losing money?