“This story is terribly misleading. There is no “population stampede” INTO Southern California aside from that by illegal immigration. The housing prices did not rise because of demand for housing. The prices rose due to shady new loan products and speculative buying. Many who used these products are finding themselves unable to pay their mortgages as their interest rates are resetting. Inventories are rising fast, frighteningly fast. Your artice does a disservice to the readers of the LA Times who expect to get unbiased reporting of facts, not half-truths.”
And her reply:
“I beg to differ—as would the economists I spent weeks talking to. There is, indeed, a large population increase–aside from illegal immigrants–from international migration and from births of U.S. citizens. Housing prices rose because of a huge demand for housing—I’ve covered this for five years and humbly feel I know these facts—as well as low-interest mortgage loans–which I mention in the story. Every expert I talked to about interest-only loans says that down the line there may be foreclosures because of those who cannot afford the payments. But right now, most who have those shaky loans can sell their homes. THis story is a comparison between the housing market in 2000 and now—and I stand by its accuracy.
Diane Wedner
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer”
I’d like to send her a follow-up email with a few juicy facts thrown in – like the fact that 40% of real estate sales last year were due to second home and speculative buying alone. Is this not true of L.A.? Anyone have a good statistic I ought to add?
