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Close Topic OptionsThe Housing Bubble - Page 3 of 5
Housing Slump WASHINGTON (AP) - The prolonged - Page 3 - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 18th Jan, 2008 - 3:17am
Posts: 36 - Views: 13044
The Housing Bubble - Page 3
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| Mortgage Job Losses Surpass 40,000 Wednesday August 22, 9:18 pm ET By Ieva M. Augstums, AP Business Writer As Mortgage Industry Retrenches, Industry Job Cuts Surpass 40,000 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- At the North Carolina offices of mortgage lender HomeBanc Corp., Archie Clark is the only employee left. But in a few days, he'll be gone, too. When Clark finishes helping movers from the company's Atlanta headquarters collect computers and other property, he'll join the more than 25,000 workers nationwide who have lost jobs in the financial services industry since the beginning of the month -- with more than half coming since last Friday. With few exceptions, the cuts are the direct result of woes in the nation's housing market. More layoffs are announced daily. On Wednesday, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. closed its "subprime" mortgage business, laying off 1,200 workers at 23 offices; Scottsdale, Ariz.-based 1st National Bank Holding Co. closed its wholesale mortgage unit and cut 541 jobs, and Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. added 1,600 positions to the heap. The night before, banking giant HSBC said it would close a main financing office and cut 600 jobs. Since the start of the year, more than 40,000 workers have lost their jobs at mortgage lending institutions, according to recent company layoff announcements and data complied by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Meanwhile, construction companies have announced nearly 20,000 job cuts this year, while the National Association of Realtors expects membership rolls to decline this year for the first time in a decade. |
Spiraling out of control! So many of these companies were formed to just "get in on the action," and now they made their truckloads of money and they are bailing out, leaving the regular Joe Workingman out of a job. Really sad situation, right along with the mortgage holders who should never have signed up for these predatory loans in the first place.
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Bubble Housing The
https://www.nytimes.com/
The headline says it all:
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| As Woes Grow, Mortgage Ads Keep Up Pitch Wall Street may have soured on the mortgage business. But on television, radio and the Internet, the industry is as ebullient as ever. For example, Quicken Loans, no longer affiliated with the makers of Quicken software but the nation's 25th-biggest lender, continues to run its signature spot on radio stations. "This is a rate alert," the advertisement starts off, sounding much like a newscast. "Slower economic growth has caused the Fed to keep interest rates flat, and the market has responded with some of the lowest mortgage rates in years." |
This is "predatory lending," in my opinion, particularly when the bottom is falling out of the housing market. The fact that 136 mortgage lending companies have gone out of business in less than a year should be headline news, but it's buried in obscure internet sites - one in particular is being sued for keeping track! (https://ml-implode.com/)
When will people wake up?
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
The Housing Bubble History & Civil Business Politics
The rising cost of homes really affected me a few years ago.
Home prices went from $150,000 average to about $230,000 average (in S. Arizona) in a few years.
My family got a Manufactured Home because of this jump as we were in the market for a home during that time and couldn't afford the outrages cost of owning a home.
In my opinion, it is about time the price of homes went down. I know it will hurt people trying to sell, but I bet when prices go down it will be a buyer's market again. 
Edited: dbackers on 29th Aug, 2007 - 12:37am
International Level: Politician / Political Participation: 109 10.9%
Post Date: 28th Sep, 2007 - 11:44am / Post ID: #
NOTE: News [?]
Page 3 Bubble Housing The
NEW-HOME SALES DROP
New-homes sales tumbled in August to the lowest level in seven years, a stark sign that the credit crunch is aggravating an already painful housing slump.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1,1249,...13843,00.html
Bubble Housing The
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| Forget about a noticeable pickup in the housing sector next year. Recent figures point to a huge overhang of unsold inventory... for existing homes, nearly 10 months" worth of sales at the current pace. There hasn't been so much slack since just before the early-1990s slump. Home sales are measly and will be even worse six months from now. We still expect housing activity to bottom out around mid-2008, but the move to renewed growth will be so slow as to be nearly invisible. Look for housing starts to slump to 1.25 million, down 100,000 from this year and the slowest pace of home building since 1992. Sales of existing homes will slip by 400,000 or so to 5.3 million, while sales of new homes will likely fall to about 825,000, down 55,000. House prices...down 5% more after slipping 4% this year. A much bigger decline...up to 20%...in areas where pricey homes dominate and buyers need loans greater than $417,000. Rates on these jumbo loans have climbed three-quarters of a point, on average, since early Aug., whereas rates on smaller loans have fallen a tad. Areas affected include much of Calif., Fla. and the suburbs outside Washington, D.C. |
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| California moved into the top spot with the most foreclosure actions, at 51,259. Florida was second with 33,354. Nationwide, the foreclosure rate was one out of every 557 households. The numbers bode ill for the struggling real estate market. As more properties go into foreclosure, they create a glut of inventory on real estate markets nationwide. These involuntary sales compete with homeowners who are actively trying to sell their homes, making it harder to do so. |
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007...sure_stats.html
One home in every 557? That's just crazy.
The good news is, I just realized how cheap some of the bank-owned houses are in my area. I think I might just pick up a bargain!
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
The Housing Bubble
Now that the economy is suffering *globally* from the burst housing bubble, the government will step in to try and stop the bloodshed.
From Reuters:
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Mortgage aid plan sparks hope and resentment By Andrea Hopkins Fri Nov 30, 6:34 PM ET CINCINNATI (Reuters) - A plan to freeze mortgage rates for troubled homeowners may help ease the U.S. housing crisis, but for wiser borrowers and those who have already lost their homes to foreclosure, such a plan seems unfair. "It's people's own fault that they didn't pay attention to what was going on," said Cincinnati high school teacher Peter Parker, 32, who cautiously borrowed more than $400,000 in the last two years to buy two investment properties. "It's not the government's job to bail them out." The Treasury Department is finalizing a plan with mortgage industry leaders that will hold interest payments steady for many subprime borrowers facing higher interest rates and possible foreclosure. While the details are not yet known, the prospect of a plan to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners from a deepening mortgage crisis has quickly won both fans and critics, including those who say a bailout sets a bad example for irresponsible banks and borrowers. "The government is punishing people who were more responsible in the way they took out mortgages," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital in Connecticut. "Of course they're going to be pissed." Schiff also wonders how the government will pay for the bailout -- and said the looming November 2008 presidential election was likely behind its timing. "They're trying to keep the you-know-what from hitting the fan until after the election," he said. "The rhetoric is 'We've got to help homeowners,' but the reality is it's designed to help the fat cats, Wall Street. It's bailing out the lenders." |
https://news.yahoo.com/
I agree that the timing is fit to the presidential election, and it all seems on the surface to be for "saving" the homeowners. But who really benefits? The banks and other companies who own the paper! The homeowners will remain locked into a house that is now valued 60-65% less on current market prices. Why is that such a great benefit to the homeowner? Okay, so they don't face immediate foreclosure, but they'll have no equity in the house for many, many years. They can't sell it, either, because their loan is essentially "un-assumable" to the new buyer because the value of the house is so far below what their loan is. What a nightmare this has all become!
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
Post Date: 27th Dec, 2007 - 8:22pm / Post ID: #
NOTE: News [?]
The Housing Bubble - Page 3
Housing woes reshape USA
The housing slump and mortgage crisis are reshaping population flows across the nation - even in the booming states of the Southwest, according to an analysis of Census estimates released Thursday. Nevada regained its crown as the fastest-growing state in 2007, but its growth rate dropped to its lowest level this decade. Other states, including Arizona and Florida, are experiencing slowdowns.
Ref. https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census...p=DailyBriefing
TOPIC: The Housing Bubble