HOUSING STATS: Can anyone get it right?

I tell you as a blogger and concerned homeowner,  following the housing market reports is like trying to use a yo-yo or slinky with no prior experience.  All you see is a mass of tumbled stings, intertwining to make  a confusing mass of money woes.   All I know is that as a homeowner prices fall.  In foreclosure there are messes of legal mumbo jumbo, and in economics - well,  we seem to be in depression or at the minimum a lengthy recession with only glimpses of light here and there. 

Here are some of the headlines from today and past few days,  let's see what you think.   

Homebuilder Confidence Holds at Lowest Level in a Year as Tax Credit Ends  Confidence among U.S. homebuilders in September unexpectedly held at the lowest level in more than a year, showing the housing market remains depressed following the expiration of a government tax credit.

Lennar Reports Third-Quarter Profit as Margins Widen Lennar Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, reported a better-than-estimated third-quarter profit as margins on house sales improved and orders fell less than some analysts projected.

Economic Reports This Week The House Financial Services Committee will conduct a hearing on the state of the international financial system as it relates to the Dodd-Frank Act (Wednesday). The Senate Banking Committee will conduct a hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s response to R. Allen Stanford’s suspected Ponzi scheme (Wednesday). A House Financial Services subcommittee will conduct a hearing on the limitations of the Securities Investor Protection Act (Thursday).

The Senate Banking Committee will conduct a hearing on the future of the Federal Housing Administration (Thursday).

Recovery Spreads FitfullyThe Federal Reserve said Wednesday that its survey of economic conditions in the central bank's 12 districts, which covers mid-July through August, found "widespread signs of a deceleration compared to preceding periods."

But the picture is uneven: The Fed report, called the "beige book," noted that factories, farms 

This Week's Reports Could Keep the Rally in Check - DailyFinance: "Tuesday alone brings new reports on housing starts and permits and the latest policy statement from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Investors will also be contending with new- and existing-home sales figures, durable goods orders, leading indicators and weekly jobless claims this week.'" My sense is [housing] is going to be weak, and it's going to cause the market to sell off,' Kenny Polcari, managing director at inter-dealer broker ICAP Corporates. 'As we saw last week, housing is tough, and it continues to be tough.'"

Read also these blogposts I posted this weekend and today:


Dollar Falls / Euro 
US stock futures higher


Underwater mortgages strain health


ARab Housing Crisis


 All Eyes on Housing

Donald Trump Talks New Recession-Friendly Season Of "The Apprentice" | GantDaily.com

I love the apprentice and almost missed this gem. Trump is no stranger to adversity.

Donald Trump Talks New Recession-Friendly Season Of "The Apprentice" | GantDaily.com:

"New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Times are very different than when “The Apprentice” first aired in 2004. Nearly everyone was hit hard by the economy. Even host Donald Trump, who experienced sluggish sales for his Trump Tower in Chicago and failed to pay a $40 million loan, and whose Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.
Cut to 2010 and “The Apprentice” is suddenly a very different show. All of the contestants have been adversely affected by the economy. Among them, recent college graduates having zero luck in the job market, 40-year-old former breadwinners who recently lost their jobs, and even a truck driver with a Masters in Engineering.
“We have people who went to the best schools and who don’t have a job and people who once had really good jobs,” Trump told AHN. “In one case, someone who has five kids and now has zero income coming in. It’s both sad and educational. Some were really high flyers and now they’re down and ou">>COMPLETE ARTICLE AVAILABLE BY CLICKING TITLE LINK ABOVE

HERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO–MAKE ELIZ. WARREN HEAD OF CPA � Livinglies's Weblog

HERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO–MAKE ELIZ. WARREN HEAD OF CPA � Livinglies's Weblog:

"ELIZABETH WARREN IS NOT JUST A VIABLE CANDIDATE FOR THE JOB OF HEAD OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCY, SHE IS THE ONLY ONE ON EARTH WITH SUFFICIENT UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT REALLY OCCURRED TO BE EFFECTIVE IN THAT JOB."

HERE IS THE PROBLEM: The Banks will do ANYTHING to keep her from getting that job. If the President nominates her, it will provoke a big fight in the Senate. If you like the idea of bailing out the banks again, if you like the idea of plunging the country into a recession, if you like the idea of ruining the lives of 20 million homeowners, and if you like the idea of stealing money from investors all around the world, then by all means join hands with the banks and do nothing."

READ entire article by clicking on title link above. 

Foreclosure, Short Sales, Strategic Walkaway: It all hurts everyone!

Please retweet this blogpost if you find it helpful in learning about government mortgage homeownership and bank loan modifications

Today, Neil Garfield had GREAT post that is confirming what I have been pondered for months. Housing modification loans MUST start reflecting drops to fair market value(FMV).

In my never to be humble opinion, ALL Loans should be immediately adjusted to reflect FMV without making any mortgagee jump though loopholes to make right the payment structure. Call me radical but I go further than most - I don't think one single person in America should have take hours to fill out new paperwork, submit - get rejected, play games and wait a year for a modification. Just fix the paperwork at the bank and assign new value, payment etc. Let homeowner sign it if they like or go to the table to negotiate. Lower everyone's payments fast for every single homeowner in America! A girl can dream!

As Neil indicated it is not a gift to address the fair market value in modification process. Strategic walkaways are not only a trend but many bankers I've talked to seem to see nothing wrong with it. The current situation is going to cause ALL HOME VALUES to drop, in my opinion. And increase walkaways and short sales and possibly more foreclosures as homeowners previously treading water are now drowned with the banks holding their heads underwater.

It concerns me that socially we "accept" strategic walkaways, shortsales , forced bankruptcies and yet do nothing to really address the homeowners that want to salvage their homes. Isn't it ironic that the banks are shortselling to about 1/4 of the value of the home when a homeowner is willing to pay off the home eventually?

Read Neil's blog (and excerpt follows) and get the impact of how LOWERING Principle amounts could help ALL of America. If you are in trouble or foresee trouble with your financial situation, then make sure to check out NACA or check out the mortgage-challenge group for help in fighting foreclosure.

Housing Market Slows as Buyers Get Picky

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Neil Garfield

Editor’s Note: Housing prices will continue to decline until median income starts to flatten out. All signs indicate that we are in for another 10%-20% drop as conventionally measured. Remember that housing prices do NOT take into consideration selling expenses and concessions at closing. All things considered, housing prices should be at least 8% under what is reported.

With that 8% reduction, more homes are underwater than what has been reported. In fact, more homes are underwater than what their owners think they are.

Given another 10%+ reduction, the number of homes underwater will increase substantially as many are considered “near” break-even but are actually substantially underwater. This in turn will increase resistance to selling as wellas current resistance to buying, knowing that th >>>>>KEEP READING

Okay you don't believe me then you GOOGLE obama and raise taxes. In 2007 there is news article on raising social security caps (tax hike) and a couple of more links.

Charlie Gibson didnt' even agree with raising capital gains. Barack thinks thats FAIR. PEOPLE if you have any need to sell a house or take retirement etc. you will be taxed on capital gains. It will KILL investments which affects the economy. It could cause a recession to go into depression. BUT its "FAIR".

Don't forget when those tax reductions from Bush expire then that is a TAX HIKE. Don't look at what you got look at tax tables from years so that you have accurate view.

I go back to my original early posts. People need to be less selfish and think of the BIG PICTURE!

Here are couple of links to various tax increase in the news
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-11-11-obama-social-security_N.htm

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2008/01/09/under-pressure-cnn-obama-admits-wanting-raise-taxes