Home > Real Time > Archives > 2008 > January > 25 > Entry
VA sales lag under private management
In theory, private enterprises can do things more quickly and efficiently than can fat-and-happy government employees. In reality, that’s not always the case.
For evidence, check out the Government Accountability Office’s none-too-gentle examination of Ocwen Financial Corp.’s handling of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ portfolio of closed properties.
One finding that jumps out: In 2000, before the housing boom and when VA employees were managing VA foreclosures, it took an average of 237 days to sell a VA property. But in 2005, at the peak of the housing boom and with Ocwen managing VA foreclosures, the average sale time had jumped to 315 days.
Don’t expect the VA to renew Ocwen’s contract, which is up this year — and which the West Palm Beach loan servicer had expected to generate revenue of as much as $25 million a year. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif, the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, tells me he’ll recommend that the VA not renew its contract with Ocwen.
Permalink | Comments (30) | Categories: Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski
Alexandra Clough



Comments
By Big Pizow
January 25, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this
Big Pizow will give you a loan, that is, if, you have a job and are a Guat. White people don’t have the cash anymore, just debt. Black folks spend all their ca$h on cars, but the Guats, they sure know how to $ave Ca$h. And furthermore, the Guats know how to spend their Ca$h on Condos and Hoa fees. I should know, being Condo King Pizow.
By Get in the Game
January 25, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this
Good Job Jeff!
Interesting topic.
Fresh.
To the point.
Ahead of the curve.
By easyasabc
January 25, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this
All the Iraq vets we have now are becoming homeless…..one of the biggest waste of money projects this country has is the VA system…..just a bunch of political crooks who are stealing funds away from war vets…..the VA, Indian Affairs, IRS, Education, Energy and Homeland Security are all a joke and a waste of money to this country……let each state be responsible of collecting revenue and educating their kids……the US Govt. then can collect from each state, based on several factors, to support the Federal system…….Do Indians who run casinos really need the govt.’s help?????? ….Energy dept. is run by BIG OIL……and Homeland Security is more wasted funds for political croonies of the president to collect a payroll check and cash in on federal benefits……but with all these people who get federal checks, they can pay the high prices for homes in Maryland and Northern Virginia……….Big P need to watch out when the black folks walk into his office…..while he is talking with them, their family might take his hubcaps off his car…….black folks don’t spend money on cars….they like to buy furniture…..but they do save their money….and they do go to church….and they do have those federal/county/city jobs to afford the homes that the white folks can’t buy……Big P needs to learn some Creole if he wants to be Condo King of the County!!!!!!……..Yeah, I say that Mary is also the b***h named Curious and other names she uses…..she needs to get off of her fat a*s and start selling homes to pay off her mortgage and otherr money problems she will have this year…..she only preys on widows in her village…….what a scumbag whore!!!!!……..
Time for some humor…….A married doctor finds out that his receptionist is pregnant with his child….he promises her he will take care of her and the baby’s future…but she needs to go to Italy and stay there….when she has the baby, send him a postcard and say “spaghetti” on it…..months later, the doctors wife calls the office and said he received a postcard from Italy……he listens and then faints on the office floor……the nurse picks up the phone and tells the wife that the doctor fainted….”What did you say to him?”…..wife said he got a postcard from Italy that only said…..
Spaghetti
Spaghetti
Spaghetti
Spaghetti
Two with meatballs and sausages…..two without!
I just know Fink will tell that joke at his overpriced pasta restuarant tonight……if Finks is smart, he might get a free meal out of it…….or Madmax can tell that to one of his chef’s as he cleans up the tables between customers………
It is FRIDAY !!!!!!!……only 400+ sales in December…..over 8,0000 realtors…..you do the math of how many realtors are making money for how much…….I hope Jeff gives a review later on from which Sales Trailer in the county offers the best cookies, hottest coffee, has the prettiest sales girls……..
Just think of all the dirty old bastards on the Island, who will have to turn over their house to young vixens who are suing them over sex…….at least Trump marries them……..those Wellington Tarts really know how to climb the social ladder to get what they want…….it had to be that their mothers taught them how to do it!
easyasabc
By Condo King Pizow
January 25, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this
Good Job Jeff? More like big yawn. While you are giving kudos to Jeff, my office is being swarmed with the best kind of Guats, ones with Ca$h for down payments luxury condos like the Stand and The Prado in downtown WPB. Now theres a real story.
By Get in the Game
January 25, 2008 2:37 PM | Link to this
Well Condo King…since you have so much business you should expand your operations.
Shoot, take it national.
I am sure there are individuals you are typing of all over America with heaps of cash.
AND they’ll buoy the residential RE market (espectially luxury condos).
Why don’t you call Jeff and let him run the story so your storied transactions can revive the WPB market???
By Gee Willikers
January 25, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this
And Gosh Darn Tootin’. Ah’m-a watchin CNBC on the ole’ cable here, an’ they’z all talkin’ ‘bout some crisis in the stock market. Ain’ no one talkin’ ‘bout no crisis in house prices. Ah reckon y’all watch a different station, ‘z’at raght? HEE HEE!
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January 25, 2008 10:54 PM | Link to this
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By D is for Dummy
January 26, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this
Great. Now where do I find a product that improves my credit score?
By HEY EASY
January 26, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this
hey easy, give me your house. you too max.
dubai
By What about the rest of us?
January 26, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this
I know they are only a few, but lunatics like Mr. Fink and “HA HA” still haunt this board. Enough with them! Enough ink has been wasted on the one out of six people who would like to sell a house or condo.
What about the rest of us? The tourists are gone, nearly all businesses are off, everybody’s commissions are suffering, the huge masses of retirees who depend upon dividend stocks or stock trades are screwed.
We have war in Iraq, Arabs like “Dubai” above ripping us off at the pump, open borders that fill the country with cheap labor, “multinational” corporations that pay no taxes Republicans ripping off everyone who makes under a billion dollars a year, the highest deficits in history, and now what? BUSH WANTS MORE TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH!!!
This country is in real trouble, and if we don’t get Washington to focus on real problems, we are all going down the tubes financially. I don’t GIVE a s**t what your house appraises at — I don’t own one!
By Get in the Game
January 26, 2008 6:34 PM | Link to this
To ‘the rest of us’
OK, now what are you solutions? At least you are one of the few (less than 1%) that actually can string some of our major issues together.
WHY, do we have the above problems you are stating?
Why must we print money? Why is our deficit so high? What has America done with a good majority of the $10 T in national debt?
People, for some reason, think a depreciating structure should INCREASE in value? AND at an abnormal rate?
Or that’s its acceptable to become a DEBTOR at the place you rest your head?
Or that publicly traded US companies should HIDE their balance sheets?
People think it’s OK to BORROW money from CREDITORS overseas?
Or that we should allow Saudi Arabia to purchase $20 B worth of weapons WE PRODUCE? (Can you type nonsense, so Saudi (our oil master) does not recommend raising prices to OPEC)
The list goes on and on…
The problem to every one of your issues above is SAVINGS vs. DEBT, and CREDIT vs. CASH.
Trust me, if anything - America NEEDS a serious, serious recession.
Why? Because, I can think of no other solution to wake Americans up.
This entitlement mentality and borrow, borrow, borrow situation (most persons, most states, and the feds) is just - not sustainable.
I welcome the Fed to add $.15 Trillion so people can spend, spend, spend. Keep printing money. Keep wasting money on consumption. Forget education, who needs it? Who cares about the ports, airports, bridges, roads, shoot we don’t need those either? Oil - golly, let’s keep being a slave to OPEC, good for the soul? We can print these for days and days…
At some point, closer and closer now, America is going to suffer financially (and boy do we need to).
And then, only after some significant pain, shall America be able to thrive properly and responsibly - so, we can continue to be the greatest nation in the world.
By TO Gamester
January 26, 2008 9:35 PM | Link to this
The first and most important solution is to BAN REPUBLICANS from ever getting their thieving hands near the reigns of government again. These “CONSERVATIVE” Republicans are nothing but f**king thieves.
Under Bill Clinton, we had the highest surplusses in hitory. Under Cheerleader Boy, we have the greateset deficits in history. 8 years back everyone felt prosperous. Now everyone is broke. Palm Beach County is one of the most Deocratic in the nation, and we are not to blame. But the flaming a******s in Texas and anywhere people are as stupid as in Texas, have to realize what they have done, own it, and try to fix it — by voting Deomcratic.
By crazydem
January 27, 2008 6:34 PM | Link to this
Wazz up there fellas you been waiting for me, no? I’ve been watching the gibberish on here for months now. Sounds like the same drivel comin out of a Ron Paul supporters meeting. I can say one thing, you people are SCARED SCARED SCARED. Am I right? So many newbies on here, but I suppose it’s probably the same quacks. Imagine INVESTMENTS probably created a new moniker by now…INVESTMENTS-Stay out of Pompano Beach!!!
Fink is probably hog-tied by now. I’ve seen that guy posting pages of spam on the Sentinel site, imploring people to vote against a tax cut, and dying for people to say no to portability based on some vague constitutional constraint on its applicability. Fink, do fill us in. Since when are you an attorney? We thought you were an IT guy? What happened? And when did you sit through a semester of Con Law??? Desperation. Scared. Bet Fink can’t sleep at night in his rented house with granite countertops. I smell desperation. Seems the most desperate are the renters. Do they honestly think the politicians are going to do more for them, the great renters? You people don’t even vote. They are not going to do anything for you. Buy a house, come onto the grid so you can be counted. Otherwise, no one really cares about you, the great unregistered voter class. Whine about homestead taxes, whine about portability, IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOU THINK. You don’t vote. You live in a new state every six months. You do NOTHING for the local economy but milk us for taxes and services. GO MOVE TO ALABAMA.
Rich, Rich, Rich. How many times have you come on here bragging about your wealth. Let’s go back to fundamentals, Rich.
“The first guy in the room to talk about how much money he has is the poorest guy in the room” -Warren Buffett
Rich, we don’t really want to know about you and your dogs. Is your fence painted black, Rich? Ever make any trips to Newport News Richey? You are a top-chaser Rich. Whatever fad investment or lifestyle thing, you’re into it. Gold nearing ten year highs, you buy in and brag about it. Dogs are now the cool thing, you buy dogs and start sticking your arm in unsighly places so you too can brag at parties about your “breeding.” The world is passing you by, all the while are you waste in your plexiglass covered pool.
So much money to be made out there now. Some of us are buying the things that the renters will be paying double for two years from now after this dust settles. There’s blood in the streets! Buying opportunities abound! RCA just spilled his pudding into the plastic plant where he hides his meds from Nurse Papa. Carolina Girl’s plastic lining her windows on her trailer just about crumbled. Chow’s raking in the money on 8.99 specials to the have nots on 441. Fink’s gonna go postal at the polls on Tuesday. Fink, where’s your voting station? Do you even have one? Since you move every five months, where do you vote? Tell Jeff O so he can show up and get the scoop. “Local Man Arrested for Harrassing Voters at Polling Station. Man says, if they pass this thing I’ll never be able to buy a house.”
To all others SELL YOUR ASSETS NOW! GET RID OF EVERYTHING! BUY GOLD like Rich. Breed dogs and sell them on craigslist.
By Curious
January 27, 2008 7:34 PM | Link to this
As said below, it is becoming much harder to hide from what is going on.
Tis a monumentally bad time for those in denial and trying to ignore the obvious.
Facts is facts and Reality exists:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120111917285710781.html?mod=todaysusnonsub_pj&ref
Some lose, while others win. Way of the world, generally.
“Nor all your piety call it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it … .” and so on.
Cheers!
By Rich R
January 28, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
Crazydem,
as usual, you didn’t read the post correctly or you don’t comprehend.
I shifted from equities to precious metals back in ‘05. I was buying at the $500 level. Now selling at the upper $800 level.
Sorry you missed the boat.
By easyasabc
January 28, 2008 12:01 PM | Link to this
Lets get the record straight on this Amendment #1…..the “Haves” will vote YES because they can carry their current tax bracket to the next home…..Homestead goes up to $50,000…..and rthey save on taxes…….the “Have Nots” will vote NO because they are renters, snowbirds…..and they really don’t plan to puttheir roots in this area….just feed offof our social services……police and fire will vote NO because they will see cutbacks in their departments….less funds for their personal weight room equipment and coffee runs to Publix…..the police will not be able to take their squad cars home to run around with their wife on personal errands….and all the “have nots” will have to pay the higher tax bracket if they did buy here…….really, if this passes, we will see lawyers and politicians bicker this out in the court system for years to come…..and the politicians will still raise your taxes one way or another……….then we also choose who we want for president……Republican winner will take all the delagates with him……Rudy will go back to NY after this vote and go back to make a $100k on the speech circuit…….Romney might win, but with McCain getting endorsed, McCain might pull closer for a win here…..Huckabee will get some respect…..Romney is for the economy…..McCain is for WW III and going to the Gates of Hell….Huckabee is for God and what is right to see and hear in the media……..then we have the Democrats……Somewhere in the Constitution, it says no president can serve a third term….so if you vote for Hillary….it is really a vote for Bill…Hillary is the puppet on the strings……..is Obama the new Kennedy?????…..will it be a a Obama/Oprah ticket???????…Edwards is the smartest one in this group, but he is from NC…..and I have not seen Rich R. endorse him yet!……..no matter what, no more Clintons or Bush’s in office for the next 100 years………..So, did anyone buy or sell anything over the weekend??????………….this is the not the time sell….but to BUY…….lots of great stock deals…….but if the ones can’t buy property, they will also not be able to buy stocks……….people who are on Reverse Mortgages, are going to get screwed very fast………..was that RCA who wanted buy property from me????….I have many properties…..none for sale…..but I’ll keep you in mind if I do sell………nothing much else was said here over the weekend……..go out and vote on Tuesday……….nice and sunny here in South Florida…….I bet it is cold up north……..6% of the U.S. population lives in Florida.
easyasabc
By Rich R
January 28, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
Now Easy,
With all the mud slinging on this blog, I really don’t think I have it in me to even touch on politics here.
I can tell you, it’s not Edwards. I met him at an event in Raleigh, and was able to have a chat with him. He’s a very nice man and a good attorney, but not my kinda guy to be the prez.
What do you think is going to happen with Amendment one? That’s the issue in SoFla that i’m watching.
It seems there’s alot of confused people that don’t fully understand the potential impact of such madness.
I feel all should be taxed equally and the SOH crap needs to be ended.
Until that happens, snowbirds will continue to snub SoFla.
Portibility is just insane and perpetuates the madness.
Just my OPINION.
By ponzi to easy and max
January 28, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
YOU NEVER LEARN LOSERS. 60 MINUTES!
The median price for a single-family home dropped 1.8 percent to $217,000, in 2007. Folks, they told us it could never happen. It never happened in history (well since 1968 at least), so therefore it could never happen. This is why you have to ignore these pundits.
They also conveniently forget to mention what else has never happened; the median home price rising at levels they did from 2000-2006. I don’t know the figure percentage rise off the top of my head, but I know the median price rise was historic and also “never happened”. So when you have a bubble, and something goes up at a rate it has “never done so,” a lot of “historical” things can happen on the back end. And I’ll place a wager that 2008 will be a repeat - median prices will fall again.
Housing prices are still too high for people to afford. [Analysis - What Should Median Housing Prices Be Today?] Even if we get these long rates down to 5% - it is not about mortgage rates - it’s about affordability. If you force people (gasp) to come up with 5% down, and have a (gasp) FICO score of 680+, and (gasp) have documented income … well you’ve just reduced the pool of potential buyers by a huge amount from “anyone with a heartbeat” in 2003-2005. So the supply/demand dynamic has shifted. Layer on top of that the fact that lenders now actually might care what happens to the loan once its originated and you have yet another limiting factor.
Current home owners are still being unrealistic about their home prices, and that is the only reason home prices have not fallen further. They are stubborn - meanwhile the home builders are slashing the prices of new homes [Builders Slash Prices]. I keep coming back to the fact, that eventually current home owners are going to wake up to the fact that home shoppers are going to go to the brand new house two neighborhoods over selling for 20% lower than they have their house on the market…
So a lot of people are negative on housing (finally)… except our favorite economist Mr Yun of the National Association of Realtors [ Housing Will be Flat Next Year! Whew!]. In today’s story we get more classic Yun “While Yun said he expected sales to start to rebound this spring”… the guy is always good for a laugh… eventually he is going to be correct, I mean he has been calling for the housing rebound since fall 2006 right?
Sales of existing homes fell in December, closing out a horrible year for housing in which sales of single-family homes plunged by the largest amount in 25 years. The median home price dropped for the entire year, the first time that has occurred in four decades. (folks its only 4 decades since that’s as far back as record keeping goes) For the year, sales of single-family homes were down by 13 percent, the biggest drop since a 17.7 percent plunge in 1982. That was the first annual price decline on records going back to 1968. Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said it was likely that the country has not experienced a decline in housing prices for an entire year since the Great Depression of the 1930s. For December, sales were down in all regions of the country. Sales fell by 4.6 percent in the Northeast, 1.7 percent in the Midwest, 1 percent in the South and 2.1 percent in the West. The inventory of unsold homes dropped by 7.4 percent, raising hopes that backlogs that had hit record levels were starting to be reduced, a key factor necessary to prompt a rebound in the market. (yes, one of the bright spots as we have been mentioning) While Yun said he expected sales to start to rebound this spring, other analysts said housing is likely to remain in the doldrums throughout most of 2008, reflecting in part the credit crunch, which has caused lenders to tighten their standards, making it harder for prospective buyers to qualify for loans Now for another myth - housing is only 4.5% of the economy so we shouldn’t worry about it…
The biggest increase (in unemployment claims) occurred in California, up 27,194, an upsurge blamed on higher layoffs in construction and service industries, and Florida, with an increase in layoffs of 8,496, which was attributed in part to higher layoffs in construction. California and Florida have been particularly hard hit by the housing slump. Again, it’s a ripple in a much larger pool. By the time the ripple hits the shore two miles away its quite the large sized wave. And with many illegal aliens working in construction, the destruction of jobs is far worse than it appears - but of course they cannot apply for unemployment so it doesn’t show. But they are consuming just like regular people so their loss of wages hurts shops, restaurants and service industries just the same.
Some people are still holding out for some sort of miracle this spring and a return to good times in the housing market. I say overlay the tech bubble of 98-00 over housing bubble of 02-06. Then realize how long it took to rebound and what a “rebound” actually means… again, not perfect parallels but when the market does come back, we are not going back to bubble levels. Not unless real wages start spiking up 7-10% annually.
By ponzi to easy and max
January 28, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
YOU NEVER LEARN LOSERS. 60 MINUTES!
The median price for a single-family home dropped 1.8 percent to $217,000, in 2007. Folks, they told us it could never happen. It never happened in history (well since 1968 at least), so therefore it could never happen. This is why you have to ignore these pundits.
They also conveniently forget to mention what else has never happened; the median home price rising at levels they did from 2000-2006. I don’t know the figure percentage rise off the top of my head, but I know the median price rise was historic and also “never happened”. So when you have a bubble, and something goes up at a rate it has “never done so,” a lot of “historical” things can happen on the back end. And I’ll place a wager that 2008 will be a repeat - median prices will fall again.
Housing prices are still too high for people to afford. [Analysis - What Should Median Housing Prices Be Today?] Even if we get these long rates down to 5% - it is not about mortgage rates - it’s about affordability. If you force people (gasp) to come up with 5% down, and have a (gasp) FICO score of 680+, and (gasp) have documented income … well you’ve just reduced the pool of potential buyers by a huge amount from “anyone with a heartbeat” in 2003-2005. So the supply/demand dynamic has shifted. Layer on top of that the fact that lenders now actually might care what happens to the loan once its originated and you have yet another limiting factor.
Current home owners are still being unrealistic about their home prices, and that is the only reason home prices have not fallen further. They are stubborn - meanwhile the home builders are slashing the prices of new homes [Builders Slash Prices]. I keep coming back to the fact, that eventually current home owners are going to wake up to the fact that home shoppers are going to go to the brand new house two neighborhoods over selling for 20% lower than they have their house on the market…
So a lot of people are negative on housing (finally)… except our favorite economist Mr Yun of the National Association of Realtors [ Housing Will be Flat Next Year! Whew!]. In today’s story we get more classic Yun “While Yun said he expected sales to start to rebound this spring”… the guy is always good for a laugh… eventually he is going to be correct, I mean he has been calling for the housing rebound since fall 2006 right?
Sales of existing homes fell in December, closing out a horrible year for housing in which sales of single-family homes plunged by the largest amount in 25 years. The median home price dropped for the entire year, the first time that has occurred in four decades. (folks its only 4 decades since that’s as far back as record keeping goes) For the year, sales of single-family homes were down by 13 percent, the biggest drop since a 17.7 percent plunge in 1982. That was the first annual price decline on records going back to 1968. Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said it was likely that the country has not experienced a decline in housing prices for an entire year since the Great Depression of the 1930s. For December, sales were down in all regions of the country. Sales fell by 4.6 percent in the Northeast, 1.7 percent in the Midwest, 1 percent in the South and 2.1 percent in the West. The inventory of unsold homes dropped by 7.4 percent, raising hopes that backlogs that had hit record levels were starting to be reduced, a key factor necessary to prompt a rebound in the market. (yes, one of the bright spots as we have been mentioning) While Yun said he expected sales to start to rebound this spring, other analysts said housing is likely to remain in the doldrums throughout most of 2008, reflecting in part the credit crunch, which has caused lenders to tighten their standards, making it harder for prospective buyers to qualify for loans Now for another myth - housing is only 4.5% of the economy so we shouldn’t worry about it…
The biggest increase (in unemployment claims) occurred in California, up 27,194, an upsurge blamed on higher layoffs in construction and service industries, and Florida, with an increase in layoffs of 8,496, which was attributed in part to higher layoffs in construction. California and Florida have been particularly hard hit by the housing slump. Again, it’s a ripple in a much larger pool. By the time the ripple hits the shore two miles away its quite the large sized wave. And with many illegal aliens working in construction, the destruction of jobs is far worse than it appears - but of course they cannot apply for unemployment so it doesn’t show. But they are consuming just like regular people so their loss of wages hurts shops, restaurants and service industries just the same.
Some people are still holding out for some sort of miracle this spring and a return to good times in the housing market. I say overlay the tech bubble of 98-00 over housing bubble of 02-06. Then realize how long it took to rebound and what a “rebound” actually means… again, not perfect parallels but when the market does come back, we are not going back to bubble levels. Not unless real wages start spiking up 7-10% annually.
By ponzi to easy and max
January 28, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
YOU NEVER LEARN LOSERS. 60 MINUTES!
The median price for a single-family home dropped 1.8 percent to $217,000, in 2007. Folks, they told us it could never happen. It never happened in history (well since 1968 at least), so therefore it could never happen. This is why you have to ignore these pundits.
They also conveniently forget to mention what else has never happened; the median home price rising at levels they did from 2000-2006. I don’t know the figure percentage rise off the top of my head, but I know the median price rise was historic and also “never happened”. So when you have a bubble, and something goes up at a rate it has “never done so,” a lot of “historical” things can happen on the back end. And I’ll place a wager that 2008 will be a repeat - median prices will fall again.
Housing prices are still too high for people to afford. [Analysis - What Should Median Housing Prices Be Today?] Even if we get these long rates down to 5% - it is not about mortgage rates - it’s about affordability. If you force people (gasp) to come up with 5% down, and have a (gasp) FICO score of 680+, and (gasp) have documented income … well you’ve just reduced the pool of potential buyers by a huge amount from “anyone with a heartbeat” in 2003-2005. So the supply/demand dynamic has shifted. Layer on top of that the fact that lenders now actually might care what happens to the loan once its originated and you have yet another limiting factor.
Current home owners are still being unrealistic about their home prices, and that is the only reason home prices have not fallen further. They are stubborn - meanwhile the home builders are slashing the prices of new homes [Builders Slash Prices]. I keep coming back to the fact, that eventually current home owners are going to wake up to the fact that home shoppers are going to go to the brand new house two neighborhoods over selling for 20% lower than they have their house on the market…
So a lot of people are negative on housing (finally)… except our favorite economist Mr Yun of the National Association of Realtors [ Housing Will be Flat Next Year! Whew!]. In today’s story we get more classic Yun “While Yun said he expected sales to start to rebound this spring”… the guy is always good for a laugh… eventually he is going to be correct, I mean he has been calling for the housing rebound since fall 2006 right?
Sales of existing homes fell in December, closing out a horrible year for housing in which sales of single-family homes plunged by the largest amount in 25 years. The median home price dropped for the entire year, the first time that has occurred in four decades. (folks its only 4 decades since that’s as far back as record keeping goes) For the year, sales of single-family homes were down by 13 percent, the biggest drop since a 17.7 percent plunge in 1982. That was the first annual price decline on records going back to 1968. Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said it was likely that the country has not experienced a decline in housing prices for an entire year since the Great Depression of the 1930s. For December, sales were down in all regions of the country. Sales fell by 4.6 percent in the Northeast, 1.7 percent in the Midwest, 1 percent in the South and 2.1 percent in the West. The inventory of unsold homes dropped by 7.4 percent, raising hopes that backlogs that had hit record levels were starting to be reduced, a key factor necessary to prompt a rebound in the market. (yes, one of the bright spots as we have been mentioning) While Yun said he expected sales to start to rebound this spring, other analysts said housing is likely to remain in the doldrums throughout most of 2008, reflecting in part the credit crunch, which has caused lenders to tighten their standards, making it harder for prospective buyers to qualify for loans Now for another myth - housing is only 4.5% of the economy so we shouldn’t worry about it…
The biggest increase (in unemployment claims) occurred in California, up 27,194, an upsurge blamed on higher layoffs in construction and service industries, and Florida, with an increase in layoffs of 8,496, which was attributed in part to higher layoffs in construction. California and Florida have been particularly hard hit by the housing slump. Again, it’s a ripple in a much larger pool. By the time the ripple hits the shore two miles away its quite the large sized wave. And with many illegal aliens working in construction, the destruction of jobs is far worse than it appears - but of course they cannot apply for unemployment so it doesn’t show. But they are consuming just like regular people so their loss of wages hurts shops, restaurants and service industries just the same.
Some people are still holding out for some sort of miracle this spring and a return to good times in the housing market. I say overlay the tech bubble of 98-00 over housing bubble of 02-06. Then realize how long it took to rebound and what a “rebound” actually means… again, not perfect parallels but when the market does come back, we are not going back to bubble levels. Not unless real wages start spiking up 7-10% annually.
By Rich R
January 28, 2008 5:20 PM | Link to this
Ponzi,
Well said.
Good post and real.
By Curious
January 28, 2008 6:26 PM | Link to this
More smoke and mirrors to try to hide the gory economic details about this train wreck:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/24/news/economy/barr_interest.fortune/index.htm
Appears to be lots of info and details to sort through for some econ PhD candidate looking to write a recent economic history thesis.
By I Like Mountains
January 28, 2008 8:12 PM | Link to this
I sold my WPB House, a year and a half ago, because I couldn’t afford Property Insurance any longer. I moved to a small town in Western N. C. Insurance rates for my N. C. house, which sits on a half acre,are a little over $ 400.00 a year. Taxes are about $535.00. I bought the 1,200 sq. ft. Ranch Style House,in excellent condition, on the above mentioned half acre, for $78,000! I have to commute to work, just like I did when I lived in WPB. The climate is moderate, because of the Mountains that surround the area, and create an Isothermal Effect, making it 5 to 10 degrees warmer in winter than many surrounding areas. If you don’t believe that you can still buy a nice house, in a safe neighborhood, for under 80k, you can do a Google Search on Forest City, N. C. You might also look at the surrounding areas of Asheville, Hendersonville, and Charlotte; prices are much more expensive there. I feel that Forest City hasn’t been fully discovered yet,and house prices won’t stay this affordable for very much longer.
By Investments
January 28, 2008 9:42 PM | Link to this
Buy low sell high.
Now is the time to BUY DIAMONDS. Everyone is unloading their vaults of family jewels for hard cash. Market is flooded with diamonds. Best deals to be found are in the pawn shops of Las Vegas.
Now is the time to SELL GOLD stock with all time highs. Gold will peak by mid-year.
Pompano Beach has nothing to offer.
Branson Missouri had the best action last weekend and New Orleans is getting my money next weekend.
Looking forward to reading about voting irregularities and chad problems in South Florida in the days ahead. Now don’t you cheat down there when you vote cause the whole nation knows how bad you all are when it comes to voting and presidential elections.
By TO Ponzi
January 29, 2008 12:21 AM | Link to this
Fonzi, or Ponzi, or whatever you are, you are apparently a newcomer. The situation we had a year ago was delinquents like RCA coming on the board and claiming that (long before) now, we would have an ACROSS-THE-BOARD, NATIONWIDE DECLINE OF 70% in house prices. It’s all here in the archives in black and white, so don’t even attempt to argue this.
Rational people like Max came on the board to calm people’s fears.
The doomers are still wrong. Nationwide, existing house prices were down 1.4 per cent on a median of something like 219K. This amounts to a potentional of under 5,000 dollars IF owners had to sell immediately — an absolute nit, pocket change.
It is now widely agreed there are only a few “pockets” of housing problems in the country. Palm Beach County happens to be one of them. The other big one is Stockton, California.
SO if we have houses down in value a little bit , so what? 95% of the owners in the county are not interested in selling, and most of those who do manage to sell are going to make a profit due to the HUGE equity build-up the overwhelming majority of owners have.
I don’t know Max, but as a retired financial professional myslef I have to confess that the range and depth of his knowledge are startling. I am pretty sure no one person could know everything that “Max” does, but if he really is one person, I am sure he is no “loser.” I feel safe in believing such a person would be beyond well off.
The challenge most of us are facing now is in a dwindling economy. Local businesses are failing. Hotel occupancy rates are disappointing, the evening crowds at restaurants last an hour, not 4 or 5, we are all in trouble and it has nothing to do with housing. Those of us who live off stock dividends are downright scared. The most popular sources of uneaerned income, such as tech stocks, have nothing to do with the sub-prime problems.
So please, just shut up if you have nothing meaningful to help those of us who are facing problems from the economy.
My wife and I will occupy our home until the Lord calls for us. What you think it would sell for is no more relevant than your lack of insight and respect.
By Pop goes the Weasel
January 29, 2008 8:42 AM | Link to this
Sales of new homes reached a nearly 13-year low in December, falling 4.7% from November and almost 41% from the year-ago period.
Prices also slid, with the median home price.
For all of 2007, an estimated 774,000 homes were sold, a 26.4% drop from the 1.05 million new homes sold in 2006.
By Pathetic cheerleaders
January 29, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this
First, they said that prices go up by 12% per year everywhere in the known universe.
Now they are relying on areas that never saw a boom as proof that prices are really stable.
Cheerleaders are now relying on markets in NC and the midwest as proof that there is no r/e crisis.
One problem, my stupid cheerleader friends, WE LIVE IN PB COUNTY!!!
The housing market here is a disaster, and its only going to get worse. Remember when the cheerleaders back in early 06 said we’d have a median of over 500k now? Now we actually have a median of a little under 340k.
Cheerleaders, you couldn’t be more wrong, or pathetic.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
By Pathetic HA HA
January 29, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this
I don’t understand something, Mr. HA HA. The cheerleaders are living in comfortable circumstances, in properties they own, with money in the bank. They are at ease. You are here tense, belligerent, bellowing your guts out that life for them COULD get as bad as it is for you.
How do you figure THEY are pathetic?
By Alina
February 6, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this
Just wanted to make a comment, Ocwen Financial is run by outsourcing to India. How in the right world could VA let this company run our business and outsource. This is a blow for us Americans trying to get jobs here!!!! I really wish they let VA know this!!! To outsource to India is a total disgrace!!!! The American Peaple need to stand and make this known. At Ocwen they can even know English, let alone our financial business.
By Alina
February 6, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this
Just wanted to make a comment, Ocwen Financial is run by outsourcing to India. How in the right world could VA let this company run our business and outsource. This is a blow for us Americans trying to get jobs here!!!! I really wish they let VA know this!!! To outsource to India is a total disgrace!!!! The American People need to stand and make this known. At Ocwen they can even know English, let alone our financial business.