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29 Jun 2010 11:33

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Biz: Let’s introduce you guys to a misleading housing number

  • 3.8% increase in home prices year-over-year in April source
  • » Why it’s misleading: Basically, this number is up 3.8 percent from one of the lowest levels on record. It’s still 30 percent off its peak level. Also, we have to imagine the May numbers will suck even worse, what with that 33 percent drop in new home sales and all.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jun 2010 10:31

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Biz: HOLY CRAP IN BOLD LETTERS: Home sales absolutely PLUMMET

  • 33% drop in sales in May, which is unprecedented source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2010 10:42

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Biz: Housing market, meet crapper: The market takes a huge hit

  • 17.2% dip in new home builds between April and May
  • 10% dip in future home construction contracts source
  • » What the heck happened? Simply put, home sales were artificially inflated by an $8,000 homebuyer tax credit. As soon as the tax credit went away, the bottom completely fell out. In some areas of the country, home sales are down 20 percent from May 2009, when the worst of the financial crisis had ended.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2010 09:46

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Biz: Fannie & Freddie’s stocks so crappy right now, they’re getting delisted

  • what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two massive government-backed mortgage companies, are trading so lo that they’re about to be delisted.
  • when Expect both stocks to get removed from the New York Stock Exchange by July 8. They’ll trade in the the over-the-counter market instead. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 May 2010 11:21

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Biz: Home sales: A big leap to take advantage of a big credit

  • 7.6% boost in previously-owned home sales in April source
  • » Why the leap? Simply put, there was a homebuyer tax credit that was about to expire at the end of April, and it led to a leap in sales to their highest levels since November. Now if only those sales were happening without, you know, big tax credits.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2010 10:39

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Biz: Bounceback: New homes getting built at decent clip, but will it last?

  • 5.8% the month-to-month increase; housing starts are at their highest level since late 2008
  • 40.9% the year-over-year increase; that’s the highest increase since March 1994
  • -11.5% the decrease in new building permits, which suggests housing starts will go down source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 11:01

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U.S.: North Dakota has lots of jobs. But why is homelessness up?

  • 19% increase in homelessness from 2008 to 2009 source
  • » But why? The reason might surprise you – as will the deceptiveness of the number above. In 2008, 832 people were homeless. In 2009, 987 were. That’s a far cry from your average major city. The state has 4 percent unemployment, so there are plenty of jobs. But there aren’t enough homes for people to live in, causing some to make do, for example, in cars parked in Wal-Mart parking lots. There are waiting lists for homes in the state. How crazy is that?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 Feb 2010 09:37

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Biz: Hey! Some minorly bad news. Home prices went down in December

  • 0.2% decrease in home prices in 20 metro areas source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Feb 2010 10:10

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Biz, U.S.: Many homeowners choosing to give up on their worthless mortgages

  • Since the beginning of December, I’ve advised 60 people to walk away. Everyone has lost hope. They don’t qualify for modifications, and being on the hamster wheel of paying for a property that is not worth it gets so old.
  • Scottsdale, Ariz.-based mortgage broker Steve Walsh • Regarding the depressing, sad state for many homeowners – many who giving up on their homes due to mortgages that cost more than the homes are actually worth. 4.5 million homeowners have homes that are worth just 25% or less than the cost they paid. Many are choosing to foreclose rather than stay stuck in a property they don’t want. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2009 10:18

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Biz: Mortgage rates super-low, but good luck taking advantage

  • 4.7% the low point of mortgage rates, hit in the 1940s thanks to post-WWII government intervention
  • 5+% the place it’s been most of the time since the 1950s – at one point, it was near 17%, which is insane
  • 4.8% the current rate, caused by massive government intervention; too bad banks don’t want to refinance source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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