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The future of the young American homebuyer. Average foreclosure timeline j
2012-01-06 04:32:00
Young American s have a challenging road ahead especially when it comes to buying in large metro areas.  Since the Great Depression jarred the psyche of our economic fundamentals, each subsequent decade brought on a belief, a vision that the next decade would have it better.  For most this meant a better road to economic prosperity ...
More About: Future , Foreclosure , The Future , Young

Real distressed properties of Corona del Mar ? Most expensive zip code in O
2012-01-04 08:19:00
There is an interesting trend in prime California markets regarding distressed properties.  These markets have the slimmest amount of viewable distressed inventory yet when we examine the shadow inventory we realize that there are many people simply not making any payments on their properties or banks are simply moving at a snail?s pace to list ...
More About: Code , Most Expensive , Real

5 charts exploring the financial quicksand that real estate is stuck in for
2012-01-02 02:36:00
As we look into 2012 we have much to be hopeful for but real estate is not a sector to pry into if you are expecting a rosy and sunny projection.  Real estate boomed because of easy access to what appeared to be an unlimited supply of debt.  Archimedes understood the power of leverage and ...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Financial , Charts

The stubborn resistance of shadow inventory ? six states make up over half
2011-12-29 08:52:00
There is an interesting trend that continues to be a hallmark of the shadow inventory.  It has barely moved since January of 2009.  While overall visible MLS housing inventory peaked in 2007 it has been continuously falling since that time.  Yet the shadow inventory remains inflated in spite of 3,000,000+ distressed properties being sold since ...
More About: Make Up , Inventory , Shadow , Make , Resistance

Is the condo market a leading indicator of lower home prices in cities? Cu
2011-12-26 09:22:00
Trying to read the housing market tea leaves is a challenging exercise but one indicator that seems to indicate changes in future prices is the condo and townhome market.  It was interesting to see the action in the condo market here in Southern California where builders converted many large buildings into a readily available supply ...
More About: Market , Home , Cities , Condo , Lower

Financially dreaming in California ? 50 percent of California households wi
2011-01-16 17:56:00
Debt is not a source of income.  I have on occasion watched a few budget makeover shows where a family that spends more than they earn suddenly gets an epiphany that debt is not part of your household income.  Many American families have been conditioned via Pavlovian methods to assume that home equity and credit ...
More About: California , Dreaming

Culver City home enters the $300,000 price arena. Foreclosure tipping poin
2011-01-12 20:28:00
I tend to believe that financial markets just like fads or trends have tipping points.  There is always a mixture of factors that come together to push something into a new trend.  It looks like certain mid-tier California markets like Culver City are starting to see some of this behavior.  Culver City now has a ...
More About: Home , Foreclosure , Price

The financial abyss otherwise known as the California budget ? 6 charts sho
2011-01-11 09:06:00
There was little financial sunshine in the proposed California budget released on Monday.  As we have stated before the only way that California was going to start fixing its budget was with cuts and higher taxes.  Short of a massive boom throughout the state there has been no magical business sector like technology or real ...
More About: Financial , Charts , Budget

Beverly Hills foreclosure listed at $16.95 million now on the market for $8
2011-01-08 08:09:00
Financially California is staring into a dark and deep economic abyss.  Even if we start adding jobs at a fast pace it is likely to do very little for the housing market simply because the jobs being added do not have the income potential of the real estate heavy jobs during the housing bubble.  Inflated ...
More About: Market , Foreclosure , Beverly Hills

A world guided by low interest rates ? Why a lower priced home with a highe
2011-01-05 08:26:00
Give me a high interest rate and a low priced home over a record low interest rate and a home with an inflated price.  It is hard to say how many understand this concept and why this is so important.  When I bring this up to potential buyers they just do not understand why this ...
More About: World , Interest Rates , Home , Interest , Lower

Who will buy the homes of tomorrow? 2010 highest average monthly foreclosu
2010-10-28 19:03:00
Foreclosure is the ultimate sign of housing distress and is probably the best indicator of a healthy or distressed real estate market.  2010 has averaged a monthly rate of 330,000 foreclosure filings and this is higher than the 329,000 average of 2009 which was already a tough year.   The housing market is facing drawn out ...
More About: Homes , Tomorrow

Real Homes of Genius ? Seal Beach home from a price listing of $2,900,000 t
2010-10-26 19:08:00
It isn?t everyday that you get to see a home in Southern California that shows the manic pricing behavior of the peak years of the bubble followed by the desperate bid to chase the market lower in such extreme fashion.  There were many sellers that held out for peak prices but were always one step ...
More About: Beach , Home , Seal , Homes , Price

13 of the most overpriced Los Angeles County zip codes. Housing correction
2010-10-25 03:27:00
The foreclosure crisis if you want to frame it differently in your mind is really a crisis of overpriced housing.  The only reason we have such a large number of foreclosures flooding bank balance sheets is because the market cannot support the inflated prices that banks would like to get on foreclosed properties.  It is ...
More About: Los Angeles , Housing , County

American housing too expensive and the multi-income trap will not save the
2010-10-22 00:56:00
The banks have an effective way of laundering money.  First, they proclaim that they are turning a ?profit? with TARP funds but fail to mention the trillions of dollars of leverage they garner through the Federal Reserve.  The cost is indirect through inflation and the debasing of the U.S. dollar.  Next, Fannie Mae and Freddie ...
More About: Multi , American , Income , Housing , Save

Real Homes of Genius ? Banks listing foreclosures at 30 percent off peak pr
2010-10-19 21:16:00
Huntington Beach is a fun city to be in.  But like most Southern California cities, is still largely overvalued.  The root of this housing crisis is based on massively overpriced real estate being leveraged with toxic mortgages.  It seems like the toxic mortgages have wilted away because of Wall Street?s lack of appetite and their ...
More About: Foreclosures , Banks , Homes , Real , Listing

Federal Reserve Fighting Inflation in the 1970s and Restraining the Housing
2009-12-20 09:20:00
People have a hard time predicting the future especially when it comes to economic behavior.  Many people saw the housing boom and bust but few had the wherewithal to take action at optimal points.  Once the herd catches wind, it is usually too late.  How many people rushed in at the tail end of the ...
More About: Inflation , Housing , Federal Reserve , Fighting

Southern California and the MLS Myth: Why the MLS does not Provide an Accu
2009-12-18 00:55:00
Many of you that search or browse housing listings know what the MLS is.  This is the Multiple Listing Service provided to realtors and those affiliated with real estate branches.  In the past, the MLS might have been an excellent snapshot of market inventory.  Many sites like Redfin and ZipRealty provide consumers excellent data for ...
More About: California , Southern , Southern California

California Housing Prices Then and Now: Foreclosures, Fast Money, and Defl
2009-12-15 23:56:00
People have a hard time understanding that many counties in California are still overpriced.  Massively overpriced.  Now this is hard to reconcile for many because we hear about the 50 percent price drop for the entire state so many simply assume that this applies to each area.  In many ways that is deceptive.  This is ...
More About: Money , Foreclosures , Housing , Fast

2010 Economic Forecast for California: What 10 Reasons Will Keep a lid on
2009-12-12 09:01:00
Every December I like to do a synopsis of the California economy and the impact on housing.  2009 has been a tough year for housing.  If we had to sum up what occurred in California it is that housing sales jumped because of massive cuts in prices.  Without the giant crutch of FHA insured loans ...
More About: Reasons , Economic

Real Homes of Genius: Pasadena Home Back to 1996 Price Levels? The Pasade
2009-12-09 08:57:00
There was an interesting study out of Arizona showing that many underwater homeowners don?t walk away from their mortgage because of moral reasons.  Well they have yet to get a taste of the Alt-A and option ARM problems that will hit California in the next few years.  Another study showed that many in California and ...
More About: Home , Back , Homes , Price , Pasadena

Alt-A Loans and Option ARMs meet Strategic Defaults: The Perfect Recipe fo
2009-09-23 07:04:00
The last week for whatever reason saw the resurgence in mainstream articles covering the option ARM fiasco.  Even those who are purported to be financial experts still miss the bigger picture.  That is, they fail to understand that the category of Alt-A loans covers the vast majority of option ARMs and Alt-A is basically a ...
More About: Recipe , Loans , Meet , Arms , Perfect

California?s Financial Depression: Unemployment and Underemployment rate a
2009-09-19 20:52:00
California has now reached Great Depression unemployment levels.  Many are now calling the end of the recession but there is no sign that California is inching closer to prosperity.  Last month the unemployment rate shot up to a post-World War II high of 12.2 percent.  This is only the official headline number.  The unemployment ...
More About: California , Financial , Unemployment , Rate

5 Reasons for Caution in the Stock Market and Housing Casino. Public Priva
2009-09-17 07:21:00
It is official that the stock market has gone into full casino mode.  Since the March low the S&P 500 has rallied to the tune of 60 percent.  The only other time you will see such a fierce rally was during the Great Depression.  Yet what people fail to see in the current system is ...
More About: Stock Market , Market , Public , Casino , Stock

Real Homes of Genius: Pasadena Home and Bring Your Own Bulldozer. Flippin
2009-09-15 09:05:00
If you thought flipping homes was over, think again.  If you thought HGTV inspired granite countertops were a thing of dreams, it is time to open your eyes once again.  The California housing bubble mentality is back and it is bringing back the gold rush housing mentality.  It is tunnel focused and it fails to ...
More About: Home , Homes , Pasadena , Real , Genius

Shadow Inventory Revisited: Silent Alt-A Mortgages, Southern California RE
2009-09-12 19:10:00
I think you saw this coming.  In the most e-mailed story on Friday, many of you sent in a link from the L.A. Times showing a confirmation of shadow inventory.  One home does not make a trend.  But connect that home to Bernard Madoff and you got yourself a fantastic story of absolute cronyism and ...
More About: California , Inventory , Shadow , Silent , Mortgages

$1.1 Trillion in Toxic Loans: $908 Billion in Interest Only and $198 Billi
2009-09-10 06:30:00
Two years of a deep and prolonged recession and we still can?t seem to get a hold of the toxic assets plaguing the books of banks.  Much of this comes from the scamming and blood sucking from banks on the taxpayer.  How can $13 trillion in backstops and commitments not resolve the problem?  First, the ...
More About: Loans , Interest

10 Percent Unemployment in California: Which Counties are Hurting the Most
2008-06-07 21:21:00
The real health of a nation is derived from a citizenry that is employed adequately. The debate over what “adequate” constitutes can be debated but it is sufficient to say that the way current national data is gathered for employment is simply inadequate. People are undercounted. Even with the report that was ...Related Posts:?California Budget Details: How the Recession Will Affect Revenues for the State.?Housing in Graphics and California $16 Billion in the Hole: The Genesis of the California Housing Market.?The Short End of the Stick: Examining Short Sales in Southern California?The Abyss is Deep: The Housing Abyss is Deep: 4 Major Reasons Why Housing in Southern California is Nowhere Near a Bottom.?Southern California Housing Still Not Finding a Bottom: Worst Decline Ever, no Exaggeration. Examining the Numbers in Great Detail.
More About: Unemployment

Real Homes of Genius: Today we Salute you Beverly Hills. When the 90210 S
2008-06-06 18:54:00
Today we get the stunning announcement that unemployment “surged” from 5 percent to 5.5 percent in one month. Of course, given the way the government calculates its shoddy employment numbers this is only shocking to folks that believe in the absurd government Kool-Aid. The reality of the current market arena is we are ...Related Posts:?3 Captivating Housing Stories: Trouble in the 90210: When Beverly Hills Isn’t Prime. Vote yes for Multiple Foreclosures. The Coming Bank Failues.?Real Homes of Genius: Today we Salute you Pacoima. Zillow says $457,000 but Listed at $225,000??Real Homes of Genius: Today we Salute you Stanton.?This Housing Mess is Getting Ugly and Your Face Shows it. Unintended Consequences of Lost Home Equity.?Real Homes of Genius: Today we Salute you Baldwin Park. When you Only Need to Show Concrete to Sell at $400,000+.
More About: Today

3 Captivating Housing Stories: Trouble in the 90210: When Beverly Hills I
2008-06-05 20:40:00
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That mantra is now being witnessed first hand by many prime areas of Los Angeles County. Luxury properties have a very specific and niche based market. They cater to a very unique audience that usually resides outside the confines of the average ...Related Posts:?Real Homes of Genius: Today we Salute you Beverly Hills . When the 90210 Simply Isn’t Enough.?10 Percent Unemployment in California: Which Counties are Hurting the Most and What it Means for Housing .?Foreclosures jump statewide by 40% in California in just one quarter! Welcome to California?s Gold!?How Many People Overpaid for Their Home in Los Angeles County? Trying to get a Raw Number of Households Underwater.?This Housing Mess is Getting Ugly and Your Face Shows it. Unintended Consequences of Lost Home Equity.
More About: Stories

Credit Crisis Part Deux: The Noise in the Housing Attic.
2008-06-03 18:37:00
I think the best way to discuss the “reemergence” of the credit crisis is to remember a childhood story. Remember that time your family was throwing a party and you were concerned about crazy grandma going off on her usual rants? You thought carefully about what you were going to do since you ...Related Posts:?Two Faces of Housing Panic: Schadenfreude and the Lender of Last Resort.?The Sham of our Current Unemployment Rate Numbers: Lessons from the Great Depression: Part X. Data Mining.?Manias, Panics, and Crashes: 2007 First Quarter All-Stars ? Foreclosures, Subprime, and Politics. Five Characteristics of a Housing Bubble.?A Bubble That Broke the World: Lessons from the Great Depression Part IX. When Credit is Debt.?Just Because you Crawl Today, Doesn’t Mean you Won’t Walk Away Tomorrow from a Home: The Next Chapter in the Foreclosure Crisis .
More About: Noise