I think that there are a lot of people that are buying properties. No doubt. I also know that here in Carlsbad there are properties that are being held back from market. I think that perception is very powerful and when I see houses sitting empty with no activity (two less then a mile from where I am renting)and realtors making statement asserting that prices are where they are because of no supply, it makes me just question their integrity. They know as well as I that for a while anyway perception is reality. I latched on to the exact same part of this article that you did Temeculaguy. Most of the mortgage activity is (!!!!) and has been (!!!!) refis. Not new purchases!! That is the entire point. Agents, mainstream media, bloggers, have taken the mortgage refis as signs of a rebound. This article at least shows that a)most of the activity that “interested parties” have pointed to as green shoots may just be “yellow weeds” b)$700 billion is not just a drop in the bucket….at the very least the mortgage business will suffer orginations or refi’s. In a time when 10% unemployment is reality, this will not help.
BTW my whole point is simply that the market will eventually prevail. All of the government action, all of the wealth transfer (and it has been massive) all of the fraud committed by homeowners, realtors, mortgage agents, appraisers, lawyers, “investors” simply delays the inevitable.
