San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

The green movement is growing.

I think people are hot on that as it ties into everything that's wrong with our living culture right now.

corn is pretty expensive atm... farmers converting their crops to corn might be a problem.

Yeah, I think a lot of people will get burned on the ethanol movement.

But Green is coming. I think a recession will actually kick it into high gear because people will be forced to think about conservation and sustainablity.

Snake oil--have you heard of it!!!

Solar Power, which I guess is actually part of the green movement. It seems like a no brainer, especially here in Southern California. Hopefully it won't be hi-jacked by the scammers, the way real estate was.

Hate to be a party pooper, but for the record, real estate hasn't fallen......yet.

It's anyone's guess.

Hate to be a party pooper, but for the record, real estate hasn't fallen......yet.

Huh ? What planet are you on ?

You didn't get the memos ?

1. CNN: Prices drop nationwide for the 4th straight quarter according to the NAR of all sources.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/15/real_est...

2. Case-Shiller Index down.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/3...

3. San Diego Prices off about 8% per C-S
http://voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007...

4. Prices down per square foot
http://piggington.com/july_housing_data_...

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What about the rest of the RE market. Let's see... Vanguard REIT Index (VGSIX)is off about 24% since February.

IMHO a recession won't help the green movement, a worsening economy and the rising costs of food, well people would rather eat than worry about the type of fuel they use.

Look to the third world for examples. Poverty is a big cause of pollution. Maybe that would be a better focus for the "Green" organizations. (Maybe the term "Green" really stands for all the cash to be made?)

I read somewhere (can't remember, sorry!) where the author voiced his opinion that the next bubble object will be oil. Look to Wall Street to start running that up. I guess you could expand that to any "energy" source with the exception of nuclear.

if it gets really bad, people growing their own food, and conserving their energy use will be about as green as it gets!

And with an oil spike, people will seek alternatives. I have friends using straight vegetable oil in their diesel cars right now, and they run. I'm not joking.

Poverty is a big cause of pollution.

Actually humans are a big cause of pollution, rich or poor.

I would buy one of these today if they were available.

http://www.flytheroad.com/

Might even consider getting a place out in Alpine and commuting to the coast when I need too, would be fun!

If they have a place to grow their own food. Growing enough food for a family of four will be a little difficult for many, not something done in a few pots or planters on the patio, not to mention the seasonal constraints.

From the little I know(been saying THAT a lot lately) to run a diesel on straight veggie oil requires some big modifications, and doesn't do well in cold climates.

Not everyone can afford to modify their cars for alternative fuels, or buy new ones.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/...

"First, vegetable oil comes entirely as a renewable resource that's grown right here in the US. That reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

Vegetable oil also reduces most tailpipe emissions, but actually increases the smog-increasing nitrous oxides compared to regular diesel.

However, when you factor in the fossil fuel normally used to grow the plants used to make vegetable oil, the results are less encouraging. When the "lifecycle" of the fuel is considered, using pure vegetable oil actually increases the pollution to the atmosphere by about 35%.

On the upside, vegetable oil does reduce the amount of "air toxics" and soot released into the atmosphere, compared to regular diesel fuel.

Of course, if you're using vegetable oil that would normally be tossed in the dumpster, then you're definitely helping to save the planet. "

Lol, while the statement " humans are a big cause of pollution, rich or poor" is true it's also somewhat....
supercilious.

Loads of articles, studies on the topic, do a search.
Here is a couple of links;
http://www.worldbank.org/research/greeni...
http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv...

speaking of supercilious:

"Look to the third world for examples. Poverty is a big cause of pollution. Maybe that would be a better focus for the "Green" organizations. (Maybe the term "Green" really stands for all the cash to be made?)"

you're a fountain of ignorance and hubris. the third world countries known as America, China, Canada, Russia, Japan... all top of the heap in terms of pollution.

yeah, I agree it would be hard to grow one's own food. But in times of great need, people will resort to it.

My Father grew up in England during the War. They had a chicken coop and a vegetable garden. They grew as much as possible. They had no heart to kill their own chickens, so they would swap them with their neighbors so they weren't actually killing the ones they had grown fond of.

It's this kind of good old-fashioned ingenuity that needs to come back to this country. We are a disposable society, that throws away everything and values nothing. If credit had been harder to get, we wouldn't be in this housing mess.

drunkle, I've found a match for my ignorance, yours. As far as hubris - between the two of us that is primarily your gift. If you cannot entertain other ideas (even though supported by some of your enviros) that is a problem that is yours solely.

I'm getting close to thinking that you constantly demean/degrade the U.S. because of the misguided mentality it makes you look "sophisticated". There are possible reasons none that are particularly flattering. I will say though, you are consistent.

There is a lot of information by all type of organizations that address the point I stated. I don't think any of them
(haven't read all, forgive me) say that any countries are exempt from pollution. "Pollution" covers a vast amounts and sources of contaminants.

lindismith, I completely agree with your observation.

What I meant in response to "the rise and fall of real estate" is that the cycle hasn't completed itself, like the dot.com bust. Just a technicallity, as I know we are well underway. But it's too soon to gloat about the fall of real estate as we don't really know where it's going to end up. Actually in my area prices have not budged. Sad.

Thanks for clarifying cashman. You had me worried for a minute.

Since Countrywide has 10,796 homes for sale on their website (today) and 2361 are in CA...........and since they are in serious need of cash....................you can bet that they're gathering up the firewood to start the fire sale any day now. They're going to have to really chop those prices if they want to move those homes. Many more foreclosures are coming over the next year back to Countrywide and other lenders and all of them will want to get them off their books because they're sure not generating anything but more lost $$$ when they're just sitting there empty.

So, my point is....although some areas have already fallen 20% and others have not shown much or any drop as of yet.............no zip code will be immune from the fallout when these foreclosures really start hitting the market at serious price reductions.............that's when the term, "falling prices" will have some real meaning in the housing market.

China

that's rich. literally. preach "responsibility" to the poor while denouncing your own.

"it's poor people's fault there's pollution! what? nevermind my landfills, poor people suck!"

China

I wouldn't. It's too late. You folks think things here are irrationale??? Some of the loans over there makes all the ALT-A and mortgage fraud that occur here look like child's play. As a foreign investor in China right now, you will get burned. 

Who is preaching? Certainly not me. I made no comment to either denounce or waive any responsibility on my own personal part. You're twisting comments way out of proportion, I just don't know if it's deliberate or not.

Where do you come up with this crap? Is it that you are so caught up in yourself that you mirror that onto any comment that you find challenging your preset beliefs?

I would buy one of these today if they were available. http://www.flytheroad.com/ Might even consider getting a place out in Alpine and commuting to the coast when I need too, would be fun!

This one is what I want http://www.teslamotors.com/ It exists, unfortunately, just slightly out of my price range :) Guess though I wouldn't be participating in any endurance race.

50% deposit guarentees you the to be on the next 1000 batch.
http://www.teslamotors.com/buy/buyPage1.php

Those cars are hot. That's the know-how this country needs!

Those cars are hot. That's the know-how this country needs!

The problem with full electrics are that assuming your power source is from fossil fuel, they are a net loss from an environmental perspective. Too much energy is lost in getting the power from the plant to the batteries. Not to mention, those cells have a finite cycle life and can't be recycled, as far as I know.

The problem with full electrics are that assuming your power source is from fossil fuel, they are a net loss from an environmental perspective. Too much energy is lost in getting the power from the plant to the batteries. Not to mention, those cells have a finite cycle life and can't be recycled, as far as I know.

I would say that there are probably alternatives to generating electric that are cleaner. Hydroelectric, wind, solar etc. Plus i would also say nuclear to electric.

However, I would agree that disposal of the Li-Ion batteries are going to be an issue. I'm not sure if this is really better for the environment. Less dependent on foreign oil, possibly. Better for the environment. Not sure.

However, I'm not a big fan of hybrids. I don't think the fuel savings are worth it.

If I had the money, I'd seriously consider a tesla roadster. Aside from no gas, the torque curve of this car is amazing. Essentially a flat torque from 0-6000 rpm. Instant "on" the moment you step on the gas (uh I mean accelerator). This will eat just about any sports car alive.

http://www.teslamotors.com/performance/a... Lotus is building this roadster for tesla. So the quality should be decent.

Unfortunately, $100k is just too steep. I hope tesla builds a sedan thats more "affordable". I believe the mentioned the possibility of a sedan in the future for about $50k. However, I doubt this company will last. There's already some management changes going on, and Im not sure if their really going to penetrate this market even with a $50k sedan.

There are other alternatives. GM is apparently working on something called the Chevy Volt.

Details are here.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/15/gm-ma...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt

Car will start at $30k, but battery not included (seriously).
GM is considering letting the customer "lease" the battery.

In general, if you are interested in green(er) vehicles, autobloggreen has a wealth of information on what is going on. (no I'm not advertising for them, just a car nut).

A Lotus Elise with an extra 650 pounds? Heresy. Colin Chapman is rolling in his grave...

What will be the next boom

I heard that the ones (investor kind) who made a killing in the  housing bubble are looking into speculation in farmland as the next "growth opportunity".  Another one is "clean water opportunity" which is basically rights to water source  for cities. Just think of Enron and Electricity deregulation.