Home Sales Falling, Condo & Foreclosure Auctions Rising
After a brief head-fake upward in December, the number of existing homes sold in January fell 5.3 percent in January; the January number was slightly higher than November and 8.6 percent lower than a year earlier. And the cheery news doesn’t stop there: The median home price dropped to $170,300, the lowest level since March…
After a brief head-fake upward in December, the number of existing homes sold in January fell 5.3 percent in January; the January number was slightly higher than November and 8.6 percent lower than a year earlier. And the cheery news doesn’t stop there: The median home price dropped to $170,300, the lowest level since March 2003. Given this backdrop, it’s no surprise that condo developers are turning increasingly to companies that specialize in auctions to move blocks of unsold units, as The Times reports today; as the auction trend hits New York, Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel predicts market-clearing prices 40 to 45 percent below the asking prices of a year ago. Meanwhile, sales volume is rising in some of the hardest-hit markets, a sign, theorizes Floyd Norris, that banks are getting more aggressive is their approach to foreclosure sales.
Home Sales and Prices Continue to Plummet [NY Times]
And Do I Hear $2 Million? No? [NY Times]
Foreclosure Sales Continue [NY Times]
Graphic from The New York Times
Dave –Do your investors in your “hedge fund” know how you spend your day? In all seriousness, I think making witty gibes like your previous one for eight hours on a RE blog ought to be disclosed, don’t you?
As usual, you don’t seem to grasp the actual problem. Of course some smart vultures (and no one is smarter than Paulsen) are going to swoop in and buy distressed securities, and god bless them. This hardly “clears the market,” as the vast majority of such securities are staying off balance sheet, keeping the big banks zombies. I know you’re basically a light-bulb changer, Dave, but at least make some attempt to understand what you read in the FT.
I feel the tension in dibs. How long can the delusion go on!?
benson — to be honest I’m just very bitter about the bush admin and wanted to vent. I didn’t read all of your comments before I posted.
I agree with you on globalization and think protectionism is an awful idea and very cheap politics. Workers should re-train themselves, as I will have to when my low-grade wall street job is gone.
I can actually point to specific regulation/policy, if you want to debate it. I don’t think tax cuts for the rich can “cause” any kind of crisis, but they do create a sub-optimal structure.
here’s an example: class mobility used to make this country great. repealing the estate tax hurts that, because it causes a sort of aristocracy to re-emerge. with that kind of wealth reinforcement, we’ll go back to the days when new money was considered “vulgar”, and top jobs were given to people with the right family names. that’s bad for all of us, because talent can’t move to where it’s most productive.
there. I’m being constructive.
Christopher/Insertsnappy
I couldn’t agree more with your statements about the media.
When the whole “Junk Bon” SavingsNLoan crisis came aboutin the 80’s – the only media outlets able to report were the 6pm news and local/national newspapers – that’s it. We didn’t have news cable shows on 24/7 reporting the horrors of the economy.
I sit in my office and can watch CNBC or CNN all day if I wish and be totally bombarded with this panic or I can sit all day on the INTERNET(something we also didn’t have in the 80’s) and scare myself $hitless if I choose.
I agree if the media would just STOP TALKING ABOUT IT on every level we would probably be much better off and let the markets just do what the normally do and correct themselves.
You’re missing the bigger picture of freeing up the markets, Whuh.
What…you and Whuh look like you’re having a fun reach around today!!!!! Bet neither one of you gets a handful though.
cornerbodega, you’re a complete idiot. Some of the finest brownstone blocks in all of brooklyn are in Bed Stuy. Get you’re sorry ass out there to see. just because you can’t afford anything is no reason to denegrate. Bitterness and sour grapes are really showing, as well as a lack of knowledge about Brooklyn.
I’ll bet you live in the Bronx. Lots of slimy cornerbodegas there!!!
Can you actually add anything to ANY thread here???
I like how Dibs now cheerleads for “Brownstone Brooklyn”. As if his ghetto property is included in what everybody else considers Brownstone brooklyn. Hhahhahahaha
Joe;
I think the only thing I’ve learned from your comments, Bxgrl’s and Whuh’s is that there is no point in debating these issues on this site. It just seems to devolve into derision and caricature, kind of like a cable TV foodfight. I go back to my original comments to Bxgrl, and it applies to your post: is this a campaign speech (or a cableTV foodfight) or a discussion of the real issues?
You speak about the plight of the working class. This is a phenomenon in all the Western economies,with the shift of manufacturing to SE Asia. Has not this same phenomenon ocurred in the UK, where the Labor party has been in control for many years? The same phenomenon is happening in Japan. How is this a “Republican” issue?
When folks want to believe that folks of good will can have an opposing viewpoint, I’ll return. Until then, sayonara!
Given the comments pro/con on the bush tax cuts, and political leanings aside, I am interested to know what people think is a reasonable amount of taxes for a person to pay? 30% of income? 40%? 50%?