[lindismith]

yeah, I think you’re on to something sdduuud. Whatever it is, it shows how this ‘crash’ is sticky on the way down.

I think we’re going to see more people saying it’s just temporary.

I think we’re going to see more manipulation of oil prices by the government (as needed before elections etc.)

I think we’re going to see more businesses hit hard, but the media or general public response will be, ‘it’s just an isolated case.’

Is it really a crash, if it is so sticky? Or is it merely a burst, albeit a slow leak. Does it matter what we call it?

[lindismith]

Tucker, you are hilarious!

Rich can’t really post in the forums anymore. He’s restricted by his new financial license (or whatnot.)

I think we’re all hopefull Poway gets up and running with her own site soon.

God knows, I can’t take much more of this whinging. (spelling?)

[lindismith]

I don’t think I can find anyone who’ll tell me real estate is not going to correct.

At this point everyone I know, thinks RE is headed down.

For all of us, it’s just a question of how far and for how long?

[lindismith]

The final paragraph reads:
So, why then didn’t he [Greenspan] bring these issues up even earlier? The answer may be that he simply couldn’t afford to–he was relying on a supercharged housing sector to get the economy as a whole through the recession. Indeed, he still is. On the very day that he suggested his reforms of the secondary market, he was trying to squeeze a little more juice out of refinancing with his bizarre advice to consumers about ARMs. And that, ultimately, is the ironic and uncomfortable position that this economy has forced Greenspan into. To get out of the recession, he had to rely on, stay mum about, and even encourage a housing bubble. Now, that very bubble may be the thing that destroys the recovery he has sought to create.

[lindismith]

They want to sell.
“We’ve tried everything from bake sales to bbqs, but no one comes to our open houses!”
Mr Greedypants McBighouse is ready to spend more time with the grandkids, but he’s waiting for his retirement pension, plus, he needs to sell his house if he really wants to stop working.
“We’d love to sell, and move to a bigger house, so there’s room for all the grandkids stuff,” says Mrs. McBighouse, but we’re not just going to give this one away! We’ll try again in the spring when people are ready to buy again.”

[lindismith]

I think the realtors on this board are pretty realistic. Yeah, a year ago, some were saying “things will level out” but they’re not now. Now, they’re just as interested as we are to see how low things will go.

Keep in mind, it’s a realtor’s job to stay optimistic. They’re salespeople. They have to. And, people are going to buy houses during a down-turn. It’s inevitable – divorce, or job relocation, or kids, or whatever. Opportunity’s knocking for someone surely 😉

[lindismith]

Great post Doofrat!

I just finished Tulipomania and was staggered at the parallels between bubbles. It was fascinating!

[lindismith]

At the bottom of the page he has a link to a rent vs. buy calculator. It used to tell me it was better to rent. I don’t know if it still has that functionality.

[lindismith]

The Donald has few comphrensive ones:

http://www.trumpmortgage.com/purchase/calculators.php

[lindismith]

Thanks for this. I had read about him on the other housing blogs.

I’m so glad that’s getting some media attention. Hopefully more of the mainstream media will write about his story. He really is the poster boy for what went wrong.

[lindismith]

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear things are working out so well! (For those of you who may have missed Rich’s answer, he posted an answer on the Piggington home page this morning.)

It is just so amazing how things in life work out. One minute you’re trying to convince your friends there’s a housing bubble, and the next thing you know you have one of the most respected websites on the matter in the country! (What a powerful combination: the truth, the web, and data to back it up!)

And now it sounds like you’re moving on to even bigger things.

Thanks so much for taking the time last year to get this site going, Rich. You really helped me make some very good decisions. I think I might have succumbed to the pressure and bought into the whole Real-Estate-Only-Goes-Up mentality if this site had not been in existance. I have learned so much, both from you, and all the quality Piggingtonians.

If I could afford to buy you all a drink, I would! Cheers!

[lindismith]

JES, I agree.

I think it’s completely immoral on the part of the lenders, and agents. They know better.

[lindismith]

I have seen my employees carrying 16-page booklets on how to buy a home from Coldwell Banker in Spanish (very sophisticated), so yes, I think there’s an opportunty to educate.

Would I spend the money on it for an upstart website? Probably not.

[lindismith]

Per the article, “8.5% in San Diego County”.

“Prices are going to go down and stay down for awhile. It will take at least a couple of years to work off the excesses of the last decade,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com and the principal author of the report.

[lindismith]

Yeah, I love the play by play, Socalalarm. Definitely keep us posted!

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