KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com
TOP STORIES:
2010 Was The Weakest Year For House Sales Since 1997 - (www.huffingtonpost.com) The number of people who bought previously owned homes last year fell to the lowest level in 13 years. But home sales in December jumped to fastest pace in seven months. The National Association of Realtors says sales dropped 4.8 percent to 4.91 million units in 2010. That was slightly lower than 2008, which had been the weakest level since 1997. Home prices have been depressed by a record number of foreclosures and high unemployment. Many potential buyers held off on purchases last year, fearful that prices hadn't bottomed out yet. The poor year for sales ended strong in December. Buyers snapped up homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million units, an increase of 12.8 percent from November and the strongest sales pace since last May.
Banks Forced To Walk Away From Houses - (www.zerohedge.com) About 4 months ago, I claimed that Banks Will Be Forced to Forgo Certain Foreclosures, Even If the Borrower Has Admittedly Defaulted! In summary: Without an economic incentive to foreclose, it would not be in the bank shareholders best interests to pursue foreclosure even though borrowers clearly defaulted & owe money to the lender. The economics of distressed assets in mortgage and commercial banking are quickly changing. I am quite open to discussing this in the mainstream media if any are interested in hearing the “Truth go Viral!” I want all to keep this in mind when pondering the release of reserves by the banks. This was taken by many readers as sensationalist and unlikely. As a matter of fact, much of my writing is taken in a similar way, most likely due to the fact that I have an uncommon proclivity to state things exactly as I see them, sans the sucrose patina. This is not a pessimistic (bearish) outlook, nor an optimistic (bullish) outlook. It is simply called, the TRUTH! Realism! Something that is increasingly hard to come by in these days of media for a purpose and embedded agendas. You see, the United States, much of Europe, and China have sever balance sheet issues that are ravaging their respective economic prospects. The media, analysts, and investors are gingerly mozying along as if this is not the case. Well, no matter how hard you ignore certain problems, no matte how hard you try to kick the can down the road – the issues really do not just “disappear” on their own.
Municipal Bond Danger: Vallejo Bankruptcy Plan Offers Unsecured Creditors Only 5-20% - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) Vallejo is using federal bankruptcy laws to stick it to unsecured creditors. Please consider Vallejo Plan Would Give Unsecured Creditors 5 to 20 Cents on the Dollar. Unsecured creditors will receive 5 cents to 20 cents on the dollar for their claims under a reorganization plan Vallejo, Calif., filed Tuesday in federal court. The plan to exit bankruptcy outlines the reorganization of debt the city owes its largest creditors, Union Bank and National Public Finance Guarantee. It also sets aside a pool of $6 million to pay unsecured creditors about 5% to 20% of their claims over two years, according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District in Sacramento. “The city regrets that it cannot pay a higher percentage,” Vallejo officials said in the court filings. “The city lacks the revenues to do so while maintaining an adequate level of municipal services, such as the provision of fire and police protection and the repairing of the city’s streets.”
How the Government Caused Overinvestment in Housing - (www.theatlantic.com) Conservatives blame poor government policy for causing the housing bubble, while progressives blame the financial industry. While most arguments on the right focus on the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, its stance actually might not need to rely on them. Data indicates that the government's broader efforts to make housing an attractive investment has funneled money away from business and into the housing sector. This analysis comes from University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan, via the New York Times Economix blog. He analyzed the value of housing capital, as a measure of profitability, in the U.S. from 1950 to 2000. He calculates it to be average out to 5.7% over the period.
OTHER STORIES:
Fed’s QE Program Should Help Lower Unemployment, Fed Paper Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Reading Tea Leaves of Federal Reserve Board - (gonzalolira.blogspot.com)
U.S. Bancorp Enters New Mexico as 4 More U.S. Lenders Collapse - (www.bloomberg.com)
Wells Fargo wants government guarantee of private profits, at taxpayer expense - (www.nytimes.com)
Higher costs sink Ford profit, shares slide - (www.reuters.com)
High Interest Rates Are Good For Those Buying Houses - (www.lewrockwell.com)
Who's to Blame for the Mortgage Mess? Mostly Banks, Not Buyers So Much - (www.dailyfinance.com)
Fannie, Freddie Got $21 Billion Back From Banks - (www.online.wsj.com)
Financial elite ate the middle class -- top 1% control 43% of all financial wealth - (www.mybudget360.com)
Inquiry Is Missing Bottom Line - (www.nytimes.com)
Geopolitical worries move up the agenda - (www.ft.com)
Limbo Loans: We need another $100 trillion - (theautomaticearth.blogspot.com)
Is Economy Headed for a Double Dip Recession? - (www.kondratieffwavecycle.com)
Iron ore and Australian house prices - (financialfollies.blogspot.com)
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