Will Zealots and Foreigners Support the Market?

Jan 7th, 2009 by IrvineRenter 

Tonight is the night…

IHB Get Together 2

Lemon—U2

And I feel
Like I’m slowly, slowly, slowly slipping under
And I feel
Like I’m holding onto nothing

Over the last two days, we have discussed debt-to-income ratios and how people are financing current purchases. One of the topics mentioned in the comments and in a recent thread in our forums is the large downpayments people are using. (see this excel file)

There were a significant number of all-cash transactions, particularly at the high end where you would expect to see them. When you take out the all-cash deals and look at the 85% of transactions where there was some form of financing, you see that the median downpayment was $150,000. This is 25% down. This is very high. This level of downpayment is unusual in a normal real estate market. Needless to say, it was much, much lower during the bubble rally. The reason is simple: how many people have that kind of cash saved up? Not very many.

We have another forum thread going on the phenomenon of cash buyers. No discussion of this topic would be complete without theories of how rich foreign buyers will save the housing market.

In yesterday’s comments, a new poster named samuroo had recently sold his property. He made this observation:

“We priced aggressively and sold our property in 3 days with 10 written offers on the table.  The offers were from a mix of people.  We had one investor (the only one to offer below asking) and the rest were first timers, move-uppers, or someone buying for someone else (for children or grandparents).  Only one offer was 20% down, the rest ranged from 40% to all cash.  All offers were from asians (except one Brazilian).  The offer we accepted was a first time buyer with substantial down.

The one thing that seemed consistent among all the offers as well as those that came looking was that they believed the market was near bottom and that Irvine is still the place to be.”

I have no doubt that his observation is correct and accurate. So the question is will foreign money or the extremely kool aid intoxicated support the housing market?

The Great Housing Bubble

Rich Toscano, from Piggington and Voice of San Diego, has made this observation:

“Investors from other countries are well known to be the very last participants to arrive at the scene of a financial bubble. They are the last to hear about all the riches to be made, the last to buy in, and the last to realize that the party is over…

Far from being a positive fundamental, a sudden excess of foreign participation in an asset market is indicative of ill-informed speculative money at work. When the foreigners really start piling on, it’s always a good sign that the end of the bubble is nigh.”

Foreign money can support prices for a while, but if market forces are working to drive prices lower, this buying support will be overwhelmed by the supply for sale.

So what about kool aid intoxicated zealots? Most people believe house prices will rebound quickly and that there are certain neighborhoods that are immune to the price decline. I have made fun of Turtle Ridge on many occasions for this attitude. If people believe prices cannot fall in a certain neighborhood, they are far more likely to buy there. If the neighborhood is small enough, and the number of buyers is large enough, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In my opinion, the neighborhood most likely to see this phenomenon is Turtle Rock because there will be fewer toxic mortgages there. Turtle Ridge is toast. Is it possible for zealots to buy up all of Irvine?

In the short term, zealots and foreign money can support a housing market. As long as there are enough buyers willing to pay current prices to absorb the market inventory, prices will find an equilibrium. As some point the number of buyers with significant cash downpayments is depleted, and the inventory of houses for sale exceeds the number of available buyers at a particular price level. When this occurrs, prices fall.

Historically, high downpayment requirements has lead to lower prices because there are so few with downpayments, and there are so many houses that need to be sold. Is it possible that there will be enough buyers to support prices at valuations permanently detached from fundamentals? Well, anything is possible, but if history is any guide, then the answer is no. Cash buyers will continue to provide the liquidity for the low transaction volumes witnessed during price declines. They are the designated bagholders. When prices reach levels of affordability, transaction volumes will increase, prices will stabilize, and the market will be healthy again.

And these are the days
When our work has come assunder
And these are the days
When we look for something other

105 Lemon Grv front 105 Lemon Grv Kitchen

Asking Price: $240,000IrvineRenter

Income Requirement: $48,000

Downpayment Needed: $60,000

Monthly Equity Burn: $2,000

Purchase Price: $367,000

Purchase Date: 12/22/2006

Address: 105 Lemon Grove #264, Irvine, CA 92618

Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Real Estate Owned

How Are People Really Buying?

Jan 6th, 2009 by IrvineRenter 

Give It Away Now—Red Hot Chili Peppers

Give it away give it away give it away now
I cant tell iff Im a king pin or a pauper

In yesterday’s rather lengthy post, I discussed Debt-To-Income Ratios: The Forgotten Variable. Today, I want to bring together parts of that post with other issues in the marketplace to paint an accurate picture of where we are. In the discussion on DTIs, I had the following table that shows how the median income household is financing median income properties.

 $ 91,101 Irvine   Median Income
 $ 7,592 Monthly Median Income
5.0% Interest Rate



Payments, Taxes, Insurance DTI Ratio Max Loan *
 $ 2,126 28.0%  $ 336,580
 $ 2,353 31.0%  $ 372,643
 $ 2,885 38.0%  $ 456,788
 $ 3,644 48.0%  $ 576,995
 $ 4,024 53.0%  $ 637,099
*   Max Loan based on 85% of payment going to debt service

The chart would suggest that people who are still borrowing 6 times their income are doing so by utilizing DTIs near 50% (which represents almost 80% of take home pay). The reality is slightly different. Lenders are telling me that most people buying today are using 5-year and 10-year interest-only mortgages to get the DTIs down to somewhat manageable levels. So how does that math work out?

A median income household earning $91,101 can put $2,885 toward housing payments and expenses if they utilize a 38% DTI. (I think this is insanely high, but the government seems to think this is manageable.) If 20% of the $2,885 needs to be set aside for taxes and insurance ($577 per month), then $2,308 can be put toward an interest-only mortgage payment at 5%. This will finance $553,920 which is a little over 6 times income. Add a downpayment to this, and median income households can “afford” a house price between $550,000 and $650,000. The numbers are a bit smaller with the higher jumbo interest rates, but the downpayment requirements are higher too. Plus, some lenders will still allow DTIs higher than 38%.

People using 38% DTIs, 10-year interest only mortgages and downpayments of 5% to 20% are sustaining the housing market.

Are you willing to do this? I’m not.

For this method of finance to sustain home ownership, mortgage interest rates will need to be at 5% in 10 years time and prices will have to be equal to or greater than they are today. If those two things do not happen, today’s buyers will not be able to refinance, and they will be in the same circumstances as those facing foreclosure today. The only other thing they can hope for is that they will have a much higher income to afford the payments.

In the 10 years while these homedebtors are waiting to see if they can refinance, they will endure crushing housing costs that crowd out all other forms of consumption or savings. People buying today do not believe the harsh economic realities of making crushing mortgage payments is going to go on very long. Most believe that appreciation is right around the corner and with it, they will be able to get a HELOC and begin supplementing their missing income through mortgage equity withdrawal.

Do you think that is going to happen. I don’t.

So there you have it: people buying today are doing the following:

  • Using 38% DTIs and interest only financing,
  • Betting the interest rates will still be at 5% when they need to refinance in 5 or 10 years,
  • Betting their house will appreciate between now and when they need to refinance,
  • Counting on rapid appreciation soon to provide free money they can tap with a HELOC,
  • Counting on banks giving them a HELOC after the banks just lost a trillion dollars doing the same.
  • Putting their faith in the Real Estate Gods to make it all happen.

It this does not work out as planned for today’s buyers, they will be renting from their lender for 5 or 10 years, then they may be evicted when they fail to make the increased rental payments on the banks money that will come due after their loan resets. During their rental period, they will be paying 30% to 40% more than traditional renters will be paying for the same property.

Greedy little people in a sea of distress
Keep your more to receive your less

So why are people doing this? Fear and greed. They are afraid that if they do not buy now, they will never get the chance again, and more importantly they want that free HELOC money they think is coming back soon. Fear might compel someone to buy, but only greed will compel them to pay that much.

In my opinion, if you took away the enticement of free money, prices would collapse almost immediately. We have documented on this blog the hundreds of thousands of dollars of free money borrowers got from their lenders. For those who sold at the peak, the money was totally free, and for those who didn’t, they have to pay with damaged credit. Big deal. They all got to spend or keep the free money.

Californian’s have learned this free money is there, and all they have to do is buy real estate to get it. The collective insanity of everyone believing and acting on this idea makes prices rise and makes the fantasy a reality. Right now, the only thing preventing this from happening is reluctance on the part of lenders to give away another trillion dollars in free money to people who will not pay them back. Personally, I don’t think this reluctance from the lenders is going to change. Funny how losing a trillion dollars will make you a bit more cautious…

The Great Housing Bubble

It seems like there are some properties people just don’t want. I can understand all the crappy little condos in The Lakes (Lakepines, Pinewood, Streamview, etc.) but when you see newer, larger, more desirable properties still in the system and still with declining prices, you have to wonder what is going on. Today’s featured property was first on the IHB as a 2003 rollback in August of 2007, right as the credit crunch hit. It has been almost a year and a half since this property was first featured, and it is still making its way through the system.

Do you see why the hangover from the Great Housing Bubble is going to last longer than most people realize? We will be dealing with properties like this one for the better part of a decade. We still have a number of resets in 2011. It isn’t hard to imagine some of those still polluting the market in 2014. Plus we have all the knife catchers from 2007 and 2008 who used 5 year interest-only ARMs to clean up after.

144 Saint James 144 Saint James Kitchen

Asking Price: $499,900IrvineRenter

Income Requirement: $124,750

Downpayment Needed: $99,800

Monthly Equity Burn: $4,158

Purchase Price: $735,000

Purchase Date: 5/4/2006

Address: 144 Saint James #54, Irvine, CA 92606

Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Real Estate Owned

Debt-To-Income Ratios: The Forgotten Variable

Jan 5th, 2009 by IrvineRenter 

Tighten Up—Archie Bell and the Drells

We’re gonna tighten up
Let’s do the tighten up

Much of the analysis of the housing bubble has focused on the fundamental measures of price-to-income and price-to-rent. These are valid statistical measures of what the market should do, and they reflect the fundamental valuations to which prices ultimately return. However, debt-to-income ratios are very revealing of the buyer/borrower activity due to kool aid intoxication and irrational exuberance.

There was a significant price bubble in residential real estate in the late 1980s crashing in the early 1990s. This coastal bubble was concentrated in California and in some major metropolitan areas in other states, and it did not spread to housing markets nationwide. When comparing this previous bubble to the Great Housing Bubble, the macroeconomic circumstances were different: Prices and wages were lower in the last bubble, interest rates were higher, the economies were different, and other factors were also unique; however, the evaluation of personal circumstances each buyer goes through when contemplating a purchase is constant. The cumulative impact of the decisions of buyers is represented in the debt-to-income ratios – how much each household pays to borrow versus how much they make. Comparing the trends in debt-to-income ratios provides a great tool for elucidating the behavior of buyers. 

Typically debt-to-income ratios track interest rates. As interest rates decline, it becomes less expensive to borrow money so borrowers have to put less of their income toward debt service. The inverse is also true. On a national level from 1997 to 2006 interest rates trended lower due to low inflation and a low federal funds rate. During this same period people were increasing the amount of money they were putting toward home mortgage debt service. If the cost of money is declining and the amount of money people are putting toward debt service is increasing, the total amount borrowed increases dramatically. Since most residential real estate is financed, this increased borrowing drove prices up and helped inflate the Great Housing Bubble.

Figure 21 - Debt-To-Income Ratio and Mortgage Interest Rates, 1997-2006

Debt-To-Income Ratio and Mortgage Interest Rates, National 1997-2006

A refresher from Fundamentals at a Market Bottom:

The figure below shows the historic debt-to-income ratios for California, Orange County and Irvine from 1986 to 2006. It is calculated based on historic interest rates, median home prices and median incomes. Lenders have traditionally limited a mortgage debt payment to 28% and a total debt service to 36% of a borrower’s gross income. The figure shows these standard affordability levels. During price rallies, these standards are loosened in response to demand from customers when prices are very high. Debt service ratios above traditional standards are prone to high default rates once prices stop increasing. In 1987, 1988 and 1989 people believed they would be “priced out forever,” so they bought in a fear-frenzy creating an obvious bubble. Mostly people stretched with conventional mortgages, but other mortgage programs were used. This helped propel the bubble to a low level of affordability. Basically, prices could not get pushed up any higher because lenders would not loan any more money.

Figure 22 - Debt-To-Income Ratio, California 1986-2006

Changes in debt-to-income ratios are not a passive phenomenon only responding to changes in price. The psychology of buyers reflected in debt-to-income ratio is the facilitator of price action. In market rallies people put larger and larger percentages of their income toward purchasing houses because they are appreciating assets. People are not passively responding to market prices, they are actively choosing to bid prices higher out of greed and the desire to capture the appreciation their buying activity is creating. This will go on as long as there are sufficient buyers to push prices higher. The Great Housing Bubble proved that as long as credit is available there is no rational price level where people choose not to buy due to prices that are perceived to be expensive. No price is too high as long as they are ever increasing.

In market busts, people put smaller and smaller percentages of their income toward house purchases because the value is declining. In fact, it is possible for house prices to decline so quickly that no mortgage program can reduce the cost of ownership to be less than renting. The only thing justifying a DTI greater than 50% is the belief in high rates of appreciation. Why would anyone pay double the cost of rental to “own” unless ownership provided a return on that investment? Once it is obvious that prices are not increasing and even beginning to decrease, the party is over. Why would anyone stretch to buy a house when prices are dropping? Prices decline at least until house payments reach affordable levels approximating their rental equivalent value. At the bottom, it makes sense to buy because it is cheaper than renting. In a bubble market when the market debt-to-income ratio falls below 30%, the bottom is near.

The graphs and charts are pretty, and they do illustrate what is happening in a macro sense in the market, but now it is time to look at the micro. The reason prices are still so high is not because of interest rates, high incomes or any fundamental measure of pricing. It is due to the debt-to-income ratios lenders are still permitting and kool aid intoxicated buyers are still willing to utilize to buy real estate.

Take a look at how even small changes in the debt-to-income ratio used by a borrower can make a huge difference in the amount financed and ultimately in the amount paid for real estate. At very low interest rates, every 3% of gross income put toward a housing payment adds 10% to the amount borrowed. Of course, the phenomenon also works in reverse. As DTIs fall due to both lender reluctance and borrower reluctance, the amounts financed decline precipitously.

 $ 91,101 Irvine   Median Income
 $ 7,592 Monthly Median Income
5.0% Interest Rate



Payments, Taxes, Insurance DTI Ratio Max Loan *
 $ 2,126 28.0%  $ 336,580
 $ 2,353 31.0%  $ 372,643
 $ 2,885 38.0%  $ 456,788
 $ 3,644 48.0%  $ 576,995
 $ 4,024 53.0%  $ 637,099
*   Max Loan based on 85% of payment going to debt service

The example above uses the most recent Irvine Median Household Income Data. From this it calculates the gross monthly income. Notice this is the gross amount, not the after-tax income. Someone making $91,101 per year would be taking home between $5,000 and $6,000 a month depending on the number of exemptions claimed and the amount of their tax write-offs. Note the effect this has on the take-home DTI ratio. Someone using a DTI of 31% is really spending almost 50% of their take-home pay on housing and related expenses. The maximum loan amount is calculated using a 30-year fixed-rate conventionally amortizing mortgage assuming 85% of the payment, taxes and insurance amount will be going toward the mortgage payment.

The FHA currently allows a 31% DTI for housing debt. Years of experience has shown that DTIs in excess of this amount have high default rates. This isn’t terribly surprising when you see how much a higher DTI starts to cut in to other lifestyle expenses. Prior to the Great Housing Bubble, lenders only allowed DTI’s of 28% for housing debt and a total back-end DTI of 36% which includes car payments, credit cards, and other debt-service payments. That is where standards are headed.

That brings me to the final point of the day: The credit tightening cycle is not over. Lenders are still underwriting loans with DTI ratios that end up in default.

Let’s tighten it up now
Do the tighten up
Everybody can do it now
So get to it

When the government embarked on its loan modification program in an attempt to save borrowers, they had to pick a payment DTI level to which loans would be modified. The higher this DTI level, the less banks would lose on the modifications because borrowers would be paying more money. Of course, the higher the DTI level selected, the higher borrower default rates were going to be. So what did the government do? Did they pick a DTI that has historically been proven to have borrower stability? Of course not. They chose the DTI that maximized lender and investor revenues and prayed that people would not default. Well, they have been redefaulting on loan modifications at rates exceeding 50%. What a surprise.

If the powers that be really want to stop redefaults and foreclosures, they need to modify loans using a 31% DTI which the FHA has years of data showing it is the highest sustainable level. Further, they need to hope that underwater homedebtors don’t walk away anyway. Even a 31% DTI is pretty onerous when there is little or no chance for appreciation and you are merely renting from the lender.

Lenders have gone back to their historic data to relearn underwriting all over again. They know they must underwrite loans at DTIs in excess of 40% in order to support current pricing, so they limit these loans to people with significant downpayments, large cash reserves, and high FICO scores. In other words, it is the smallest possible borrower pool. Because the potential borrower pool is so small, and because there is a foreclosure tsunami coming, prices will continue to fall.

 IHB Get Together 2

Over time lenders will continue to lower their allowable DTIs because the default rates will continue to be very high. As long as there are high default rates, there will be more foreclosures, prices will continue to fall, and the lenders will continue to lose money. This downward spiral will cause allowable DTIs to shrink until 28% to 31% DTIs are the maximum borrowers will be able to find in the marketplace. Anyone who thinks this credit crunch in mortgage lending is a temporary phenomenon is sadly mistaken.

Also, as people begin to realize that rapid appreciation is not right around the corner, they will not be so anxious to take on massive debt loads. Realistically, the only way a homedebtor can manage their finances with a DTI in excess of 31% is to Ponzi Scheme borrow from HELOCs, credit cards, or other sources. This will result in a voluntary decline in DTIs as well. If you look at the chart at the top of the page, you can see this in action from 1990-1997. We will see it again in the statistics from 2006-2012.

The importance of allowable DTIs cannot be overstated. Look at the math and notice how much of pricing is being supported by the allowable DTI. The debt-to-income ratio is the hidden and often forgotten variable that enormously impacts market prices. When everyone is focused on interest rates at historic lows, they will miss the much more important changes in allowable DTIs.

The Great Housing Bubble

Asking Price: $499,000IrvineRenter

Income Requirement: $124,750

Downpayment Needed: $99,800

Monthly Equity Burn: $4,158

Purchase Price: $656,500

Purchase Date: 5/30/2006

Address: 54 Ardmore, Irvine, CA 92602

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Open Thread 1-3-2009

Jan 3rd, 2009 by IrvineRenter 

Sign of Fire—The Fixx

As with any holiday, the traffic at the IHB is a bit erratic, so I wanted to give everyone an easy recap of the weeks posts for your review:

Off a Cliff—HELOC abuse of about $350,000 on two properties with no money down.

Pepe le Pew—HELOC abuse of $500,000.

Mistake 2008—Distressed property in Turtle Ridge.

Predictions for 2009—It is what it says.

When not If —A look at the refinance problem.

I would like to remind everyone that we are having another IHB party on Wednesday, January 7, 2009, from 6:30-10:00 at JT Schmids at the District.

IHB Get Together 2

Last time was a great gathering, so we are doing it again. Here is your chance to meet many of the regulars of the IHB. Everyone is welcome, so please stop by.

The Great Housing Bubble

Heart of stone—I tried to reach you
Of the altar stone—I tried to warn you
But you were not alone—you wouldn’t take the call
You wear brimstone—I tried to warm you


Sign of Fire—The Fixx

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Posted in News

When not If

Jan 2nd, 2009 by IrvineRenter 

Save a Prayer—Duran Duran 

Don’t say a prayer for me now,
Save it ‘til the morning after

There will be some borrowers who will benefit from the ultra-low interest rates being engineered from the FED. Anyone who has not already refinanced into a 30-year fixed mortgage may have an opportunity to get out of their toxic mortgage. Of course, there are two problems: 1. Some people do not want the fixed rate mortgage, and 2. Very few people that do want it qualify for refinancing.

I remember having conversations with lenders in 2008 about the tightening loan terms. I was surprised by what they were telling me. Apparently, most people that were going in for refinancing were looking to refinance into another toxic mortgage with a low teaser rate. First, people with Option ARMs would ask for another one so they could stretch out their teaser rate period. Then, people who were getting out of Option ARMs (because they were no longer offered) were going with 1 year adjustables or whatever loan product gave them the smallest payment. People were not looking for stability, they were looking for the next bridge loan with the lowest possible payment. There is still a widespread perception among the borrowing public that serial refinancing from one teaser rate into another is a viable way to manage one’s mortgage obligations.

The Great Housing Bubble

This dependency upon serial refinancing from one toxic loan to another is part of the reason people perceive today’s lending standards as being so restrictive even though by historic standards they are still quite loose (allowable DTIs are still at high-default levels, and they will tighten further). Everyone seems to be waiting for the return of toxic financing to re-inflate the housing bubble and allow them to continue serial refinancing their extreme indebtedness. I know I have said it a million times, but I will say it again: the loose financing of the bubble is not going to return.

Think about what the lenders just went through. Here at the IHB we have been documenting hundreds of thousands of dollars in lender losses on a daily basis. This is adding up to hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars nationwide. This happened because the lenders were giving out too much money to people who could not pay them back. Does it seem likely they will do this again any time soon? Those people waiting for a HELOC dependant lifestyle to return might as well be awaiting the Rapture.

(Like all dreamers can’t find another way)
You don’t have to dream it all, just live a day

The people who do not want fixed-rate financing must be flushed out of the system. As long as these short-term adjustable rate loan programs are being offered, the foreclosure crisis is just being extended. Nobody using this form of financing is in a stable loan program, and they will experience one of two possible outcomes: 1. They will eventually get a fixed-rate loan, or 2. They will end up in foreclosure. The longer they wait until they go fixed, the more likely they are to end up in foreclosure. The only thing preventing their foreclosure is an interest rate reset while rates are higher.

The second group of people, those who do not qualify for refinancing, is actually must larger and much more of a problem, despite the spin to the contrary. To illustrate why this is a problem, let’s examine a typical Irvine homedebtor to see the circumstances he is facing.

26 Carver front 26 Carver kitchen

Asking Price: $675,000IrvineRenter

Income Requirement: $168,750

Downpayment Needed: $135,000

Monthly Equity Burn: $5,625

Purchase Price: $822,500

Purchase Date: 10/26/2006

Address: 26 Carver, Irvine, CA 92620

IHB Get Together 2

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Posted in Short Sale

Predictions for 2009

Jan 1st, 2009 by IrvineRenter 

Happy New Year—ABBA 

On January 1, 2008, I wrote a post titled Predictions for 2008. You can go back and review it to see how well I did.

As a recap, I would like to share with you a couple of charts from 2008 for Irvine and OC:

 

OC Actual versus prediction

Click for larger image

Most of the macroeconomic conditions I made in 2008 are still operative, and several of the predictions I made which came true will likely repeat in 2009. These are:

  1. 2008 will see the worst single-year decline in the median house price ever recorded
  2. One or more of our major financial institutions and one or more of our major homebuilders will fail
  3. A severe local recession
  4. I predict we will see many more angry homedebtor’s troll the blog

I do not believe 2009 will see median house prices decline as much as 2008, but I do believe they will drop significantly, particularly in high-end neighborhoods. The low-end neighborhoods are closer to the bottom than to the top, so 30%+ declines in these neighborhoods are not likely. The high end neighborhoods will experience big drops. Most did not drop 30% last year, so they have more room to drop. The unemployment rate is high, and the economy is in recession which will put pressures on home prices. The dreaded ARM problem is not going away, and these loans will start blowing up this year and on through 2011.

However, there is one bright spot for the housing market that will blunt the declines in 2009: ultra-low mortgage interest rates. We will see properties at rental parity in 2009. The low interest rates are going to reduce the cost of borrowing to the point that many properties will reach rental parity this year. This does not mean we will be at the bottom. These interest rates are artificially low due to the “quantitative easing” by the Federal Reserve. This policy may persist for some time, but it is not likely that sub 5% interest rates will be around for buyers 7-10 years from now when 2009 buyers go to sell their property. That creates the issue with Your Buyer’s Loan Terms.

With the low interest rates, and with the foreclosures resulting from this year’s loan resets being a year away, we are in a good position to see our first bear market rally. This summer, we might see two or three months of sustained appreciation. This will bring out all the bottom callers. Everyone will be cheering the Federal Reserve, and many will believe the worst is over for the housing market. This will cause some major emotional gyrations for desperate homedebtors. Those who had moved from denial to fear will likely move back to denial for a time.

Remember, the loans that reset this year will take a year or more to become foreclosures. The real problems caused by all the resets will not be apparent this summer. We will likely see a large number of short sale listings, but as we all know, these rarely consummate a transaction. It is only the presence of these short sales listings that will remind us of the impending disaster when the ARM reset problem becomes a tsunami of foreclosures. When these foreclosures start hitting the market in larger numbers, and the market rally is reversed, all of those who call the bottom this summer will act surprised. Ignorance is bliss.

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but 2009s bear rally will be wiped out by the first wave of foreclosures. I foresee 2010s bear rally being knocked back by continuing foreclosures and the much-anticipated rise in interest rates when the FED stops quantitative easing as the recession abates. The rally in 2011 will be tepid, but at least it will be for real. For 2012-2015, appreciation will be less than 5% each year as the overhang of foreclosures and a sputtering California economy keep prices in check until Californian’s lose their minds again and inflate another housing bubble.

In my opinion, these artificially low interest rates will simply guarantee that house prices overshoot fundamentals to the downside because the fundamentals in this instance are illusory. The low interest rates will prompt some people to buy, and this increased buying activity will stop prices from falling as much as they would have without the subsidized interest rates. However, very few people currently qualify for these loans. Loan terms are getting tighter all the time, and the buyer pool is very restricted. People talk about the conservative lending terms as if they are too tight. This is nonsense. We are still not at pre-bubble loan terms (20% down, 28% DTI, high FICO, etc.) and until we get there, loan terms will continue to tighten. The diminished buyer pool when combined with increased foreclosures creates an imbalance between supply and demand which will push prices lower.

Many people erroneously believe that low interest rates are going to save the housing market because the loan resets are not going to lead to foreclosures. As I outlined in the ARM problem, the payments are going to increase even if the interest rate remains the same due to the amortization recast. If you want a more detailed explanation from Mr. Mortgage, I suggest you read Pay Option ARMs - The Implosion Is Still Coming Despite Low Rates and Low Mortgage Rates to Spur New Wave of Defaults. The idea that low interest rates are going to save the housing market is another in our ongoing series of denial fixes being fed to a weary populace. It is all bull$hit.

The Great Housing Bubble

Last year I predicted that we would see banks and homebuilders go under. We did see several banks including WAMU bite the dust. This trend will continue. All of our banks are basically insolvent. Only creative accounting practices and huge amounts of borrowing from the Federal Reserve is keeping them afloat. Even the huge infusion of money through the TARP program is not going to save them. There will be many more failures and consolidations in 2009.

One surprise from 2008 was the lack of bankruptcies and consolidations in the homebuilding industry. Ordinarily, during a recession, the weak companies go out of business or are absorbed by stronger ones. In my opinion, the reason we have not seen this yet in the homebuilding industry is because there are no strong ones, and there is no reason to consolidate or expand while housing starts and sales continue to decline. I think 2009 will be different. In the second half of 2009, the homebuilders will start to rebound. If past history is any guide, the recession will bottom when housing starts bottoms. This is when the industry will begin to consolidate.

I believe we will see massive consolidation in the homebuilding industry. During the 80s and 90s the homebuilding industry was dominated by small, private builders. Many of the small fry were wiped out during the recession of the 90s. During the 00s, we witnessed the rise of the national homebuilders as the dominant market force. I believe we will see consolidation into an industry dominated by a few big names with a few small privates picking up the scraps in various markets.

Last year I predicted a severe local recession. I did not have the courage to predict a severe national recession. Perhaps I should have…

IHB Get Together 2

I do not have a prediction about angry homedebtors. As the market shifts from denial into fear, there is a widespread acceptance of the reality of a housing bubble. Most trolling comes from people trying to maintain their denial (if you want to study this phenomenon, I suggest you read this forum thread). With acceptance comes less anger and trolling. However, I have recently launched an article marketing campaign that likely will catch the attention of realtors across the country. We may see a few of them stop by to explain to us why we don’t know what we are talking about. That should be amusing.

Today’s featured property was brought to my attention from a reader. It is a typical Irvine property struggling with a typical Irvine debt load. I predict we will see this house for sale as REO in a year.

4152 Homestead St front 4152 Homestead St kitchen

Asking Price: $719,000IrvineRenter

Income Requirement: $179,750

Downpayment Needed: $143,800

Monthly Equity Burn: $5,991

Purchase Price: $475,000

Purchase Date: 10/15/2003

Address: 4152 Homestead, Irvine, CA 92604

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