Fortune Magazine is ratcheting up the real estate bubble rhetoric with several stories on the topic:

We’re not forecasting a nationwide housing collapse. For one thing, the vast expanse of America between the coasts was never touched by real estate mania and is in no danger of a meltdown. And even some overheated markets – including Manhattan, Los Angeles and California’s Orange County – are still simmering. But things are suddenly looking very chilly indeed in four coastal cities – Boston, Washington, Miami and San Diego – as well as three Western boomtowns: Phoenix, Las Vegas and Sacramento. So far this year, monthly sales have fallen 11 percent to 25 percent in Miami, Boston, northern Virginia and San Diego, according to local housing experts.

This is an interesting back drop for the anecdotal evidence we’ve been hearing that things in Brooklyn have been picking up a bit in recent weeks. Maybe it’s just a seasonal pick-up.
Welcome to the Dead Zone [Fortune]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

  1. 12:14, how common was it for people to own $500k of YHOO. Actually most people who bought YHOO did so in margin accounts. People bought excessive amounts of stocks, using the excess equity in their margin accounts. What could be better than buying something without having to put any extra $$ in. Oh those were the days. Then prices started falling, the excess equity quickly evaporated. Equity surpluses turned to equity deficits. The biggest reason for the rapid meltdown was margin calls and the relentless forced margin liquidations.

    Fortunately for homeowners, they wont get margin calls if prices start falling. How much prices fall will depend on how committed people are to their underwater mortgages and their willingness to stick it out for the long haul.

  2. Amen to Mr. Smug!

    Over the past 10 yrs, I have leveraged an initial $23K down payment into over $1MM in equity. If I lost 50% of my home’s current value, I’d still be laughing all the way to bank. And in 20 years after another couple of cycles, my heirs will seriously be laughing their way to bank.

  3. So true, so true 1:02pm. Sometimes I think we ought to sterilize the poor, but then I remember: If they stop having kids, then who’s gonna wait on OUR kids when they get older!! So, I guess we can’t sterilize them, but maybe we should kill them when they go over the age of, oh 40 or so.

  4. Well said, Mr. Smug. The depth of the jealousy that people show towards their successful peers never ceases to amaze me. Their motto seems to be “If I can’t get it, then the next best thing is to wish the worst on someone who has”.

1 3 4 5 6 7