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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

14 Apr 2010 09:51

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Biz: Even for those on Obama’s foreclosure plan, it’s not really helping

  • 75% of people in Obama’s foreclosure-prevention plan owe more than their homes are worth
  • 50% of people owe more than
    25 percent in negative equity on
    their homes; crazy source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Apr 2010 19:00

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Biz: Florida’s housing boom, brought to you by crappy Chinese drywall

  • 3,000+ complaints have been filed
    about poor quality, hydrogen
    sulfide-loaded drywall from China;
    the drywall corroded wires and
    made people sick
  • 80% of those complaints are from
    Florida (which once had a housing
    boom) and Louisiana (which rebuilt
    a lot of homes after Hurricane
    Katrina) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 10:47

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Biz: Must’ve been the snow: New home sales unexpectedly fall

  • 2.2% dip in new home sales in February source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Dec 2009 13:33

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U.S.: With no housing boom, people are leaving Florida and other states

  • What we have is a decade of a roller coaster in terms of migration. If you look at the middle part of this decade, Florida led the country in net domestic migration. Now it’s in the negative part of the ledger.
  • Brookings Institution demographer William H. Frey • Discussing how states experiencing huge growth during the housing boom – specifically Florida, but a few others too – have had people leaving en masse after the financial crisis dried up housing. Despite this, there is some silver lining to be found – the numbers mean that these states will be eligible for more political representation after the 2010 census. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Oct 2009 14:03

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U.S.: Nobody wants to move to Detroit. An auction won’t change that.

9,000 properties in the Detroit area were auctioned off recently. The starting bid was $500. Less than a fifth of them sold. Wow. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Aug 2009 11:09

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Biz: Existing homes sold astonishingly well last month, guys.

  • 7.2% increase in existing home sales in July; nice leap source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Aug 2009 10:06

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Biz: Home building numbers dip in July, but not without silver lining

  • -1% the decline in housing starts in July, which was much lower than expected
  • +1.7% the increase in starts of single family homes, the hardest-hit part of the market source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jul 2009 11:21

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Biz, U.S.: Home prices are on the rise for the first time since 2006

  • 0.5% increase in home prices from last month source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2009 10:42

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Biz: Sketchy subprime mortgagers try to screw already-screwed people

  • pre-burst Companies offer subprime mortgages that allow tons of people to get homes that they can’t afford. The companies make out like bandits, but when the housing bubble bursts, those homeowners are screwed. This is pretty evil.
  • post-burst Not afraid to kick already-lowered people or stick the knife further into their backs, the people behind the subprime mortgage companies start new loan-fixing companies, then fail to follow through on promised loan fixes. This is beyond evil. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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