[powayseller]

Diego Mamani, are you persian too? From your name, Mamani…

Waiting Hawk, everbank.com, highly rated online bank, lets you buy foreign currencies, FDIC insured. Pretty cool. Some are pro euro, others say the euro will weaken. I say, why not diversify? Is the euro weaker than the dollar? At least Germany, the strongest European economy (and my native country), is a net exporter. Why not hold some euros?

What do you all think about Schiff’s opinion, that the US dollar is propped up only by the government misleading us into a false confidence, because if we all knew the truth about the poor economy, we would lose confidence and our economy would be in turmoil. Foreign central banks don’t have a choice but to invest in T bonds or other US assets, because if they convert the dollar they get from exporting to us, into their own currency, their currency will appreciate and their exports will get more expensive for us, reducing exports. So the T bond purchases don’t mean they trust our economy at all. At some point, the Asian export countries will have to revalue their currency or increase wages, and that will increase prices and reduce exports, but also make them less export dependent, which is a high priority for them. Doesn’t China realize the US is starting a recession, and then who will buy all that stuff?

[powayseller]

masayako, that is a very important story, that must be relayed to the media. This is huge!!!!

I am getting more worried about holding US $, and wondering how safe is my cash investment in CDs. I am not doing anything, because I don’t know what is better. But I am definitely scared holding 95% of my assets in US $. I don’t see that Bernanke or Bush have any plans at all for our future. I see inflation, $200 oil, massive foreclosures and bank failures starting in 2008 at the latest, and NO plan for any of it. Add to that the Social Security and Medicare problems, deficit, budget debts, flat wages, and that there is little prospects for any new jobs that will pull us out of this. Once we can no longer buy and sell homes to each other, what in the world will we do? I am getting scared.

[powayseller]

Tim Iacono posted Arguments Against Investing in Gold. Please check it out, it is too long to paste here. In the end, Tim advises us to buy gold.

[powayseller]

Lindi, the Australians purchased existing roads. They are buying roads built by US taxpayers.

[powayseller]

My friends just purchased a home because the wife was tired of renting. They had sold their other home in 2003, and rented to wait out the housing bubble. I told the husband that I predicted a drop of 50% by 2010, and he was surprised at my gloom. Anyway, she got tired of renting. I don’t know all the reasons, only what she told me: she wanted her own place, so she could paint the walls and get settled in. SD Realtor, I think this couple would have been better off just painting the rental house. I am thinking of spending a few grand on painting my rental, because I have a 2 year lease. What is it about the wives? I was more eager to rent than my husband, but I am the one who got the 15 year mortgage in Phoenix, and who really wanted to sell. To me, financial security is much much more important than who own the house that I live in.

[powayseller]

Wow, you’re a hard worker.

I hope everyone has caught on that you and sdrealtor are *not* the same person.

It’s really great to have a knowledgeable and nice realtor on this forum! I hope you stick around.

[powayseller]

San Diego was the first city in CA to see double digit price gains, and is considered by one national housing analyst the “canary in the coal mine”. I read this in various articles, too, that SD is the city to watch, since it had the run-up in prices first. The thinking is that if other CA cities are overvalued also, they will follow the trail of San Diego. So basically, what is happening here, will happen in LA, SF, OC…, delayed as long as was the run-up. So if your double digit appreciation lagged ours by 1 years, so will your downturn lag by 1 year.

UCLA Anderson Forecast said Orange County will get hit hardest, because of the high employment base of exotic lending, and there will be massive layoffs in that industry.

[powayseller]

If he’s not lying, he’s stupid. How can he claim to be a real estate researcher, and not know that the median is a 2 year lagging indicator, and know about all the people who are upside down by up to $60K, as written on these forums? He’s spinning the data, and to me, that’s lying.

[powayseller]

Can you elaborate on the amount of increase in your inputs, and how much of that you can pass along to your customers? Are your competitors passing along these costs?

[powayseller]

A friend whom I respect very much for her intelligence, asked me a question I could not answer. I know some of you will be able to help me out.

She said, “Why would an inert metal like gold be worth anything? You say it’s a safe haven, a means of trade, but at one time, so were coffee beans. Why don’t you just stock up on coffee beans?”

I said, “Gold has to be worth at least $300/oz, or in that range, because that is the cost of extracting it from the ground. But why is it worth more than that, why is there a premium above that, I don’t know.”

I see that historically, as well as today, investors buy gold as a safe haven in times of inflation. But why? It’s not like you can use bullion to pay your rent or buy your food.

Please, do not get impatient with me, because I know I have asked this before.

[powayseller]

Did foreigners cut back on bond purchases for a while? China has to recycle every single dollar they get from us, back into Treasury bonds, because if they exchange the US$ for yuan, the renminmbi (name of the yuan currency) will appreciate. So if foreign purchases declined for a while, which country cut back? Is there a Federal Flow of Funds report which tells us?

Does anyone know what happened to sdrealtor? Maybe he’s on vacation?

[powayseller]

I am glad you posted it. We need a thread of this milestone on piggington. The bubble blogger link will be gone tomorrow.

I liked the article very much.

[powayseller]

Foreclosure is more akin to divorce than to bankruptcy. It means you’ve lost your place to live, not just your credit.

[powayseller]

The advice for this guy is easy: sell. This guy can’t afford his lifestyle. Did you tell him about piggington.com?

[powayseller]

sduuude, fascinating article by Cagan, and much more honest than his more recent work. He has data showing that San Franciso, LA, and SD home prices turned negative in certain areas in 2005. He was ahead of his time! I am interested in your comment about Japanese real estate: since their market is turning up, it would be a way to invest in an non-US asset and diversify out of dollars. Are there any funds which invest in Japan real estate? Or did we miss the bottom of Japan real estate, and the price is so high again?

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