The future of IHB news and real estate analysis

Mar 26th, 2011  
by IrvineRenter  in Library News

Astute Observations

Astute Observation by winstongator
2011-03-26 05:44 AM

What’s interesting is how bad the early 90’s were.  It looks like late 93 was as bad as early 2009.  The sub-25 home/mo period stretched from mid 1990 to mid 1994, longer than the current down period.  Talking to a builder, he mentioned (for our area in NC) that this downturn in building would not be as bad as the early 90’s.  It somewhat seems like, at least in Irvine, he might be right.

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Astute Observation by Confused
2011-03-26 09:20 AM

What happened to the column earlier this week about real estate brokers?

Did you have to pull it due to copyright issues?

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Astute Observation by IrvineRenter
2011-03-26 09:53 AM

Yes, I emailed Dr. White the post, and he asked me to take it down as it is about to be published in a major journal. I thought it already was published when I wrote the post. I wanted to help him out, not cause him grief, so I took it down when he asked.

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Astute Observation by No Longer Confused
2011-03-26 09:34 PM

Thanks for the explanation.  I thought I was going mad and dreamed the whole thing.  Alternatively, it would have reinforced my paranoia about the dark powers of realtors.  What they don’t like, they simply make disappear…

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Astute Observation by gmoney
2011-03-26 10:08 AM

I like your data approach… I work in govt contracting and we handle contract/supply chain/payment data for DLA and it’s very compelling what data tells you in terms of processes, perception, and the ability to save govt money and get manufacturers paid ontime with accurate data flow… real estate seems to be a great arena for that data consolidation and publication… the results will be fascinating I’m sure…

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Astute Observation by Vincenzo
2011-03-26 02:42 PM

This article says that many desperate homeowners in Las Vegas try to rent their vacant properties much cheaper than it costs to own them. It contradicts your facts.

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/5558987/new-ghost-towns-sprout-up-in-las-vegas
...one thing that’s added to this trend is the buyer’s mentality.

“They’re not buying. They’re sitting on the sidelines. These investors that own all these vacant properties they can’t sell are turning to rental markets. So they’re renting them out at actual rents that are much less than what these people would pay if they were owning them.”

It’s true for Irvine too. Many homeowners who have bought recently lose at least $1,000 when they rent.

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Astute Observation by IrvineRenter
2011-03-26 04:56 PM

I think that Las Vegas article is old. The post has no date, but it did have this statement: “In September, the median price for a home was $285,000. That’s exactly the same as it was one year ago.”

The median in Las Vegas is around $115,000, and it has been in decline since 2007. I think the article must have been written in 2007. Everything stated in that article was true in 2007, but not today.

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Astute Observation by Chris
2011-03-27 04:36 AM

“They’re not buying. They’re sitting on the sidelines. These investors that own all these vacant properties they can’t sell are turning to rental markets. So they’re renting them out at actual rents that are much less than what these people would pay if they were owning them.”

Dang, and this quote is coming from a ‘r’ealtor. Imagine that. No bubble quote whatsoever.

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Astute Observation by Dumbass Sinan Ozyol
2011-03-26 04:50 PM

Did anyone see this article in the NY Times?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/business/26nocera.html?_r=1&ref=business

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Astute Observation by IrvineRenter
2011-03-26 04:58 PM

Thank you. That will be a post next week.

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Astute Observation by dilbert dogbert
2011-03-26 05:18 PM

Just looked at this over at necked capitalism:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/03/paul-jacksons-follow-the-money-shows-housing-wire-deep-financial-ties-to-mortgage-market-bad-actors.html

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Astute Observation by IrvineRenter
2011-03-26 06:35 PM

It reads like a petty hit piece to me.

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Astute Observation by Fight FIRE with fire
2011-03-26 09:41 PM

But wasn’t Paul Jackson petty in the first instance?  NC’s point is that Housing Wire has no moral high ground from which to complain about.  Furthermore, lawyers, from a professional ethics point of view, are required to zealously advocate for their clients, including, at times, finding ways to finance litigation (heck, our whole system of tort-law is based on contingency-based lawyer fees).  Journalists on the other hand, based on best practices (reality tends to undermine best practices) are supposed to avoid conflicts of interest and at the very least identify them.  I hardly see why pointing out all the reasons why Jackson and Housing Wire can never claim to be objective sources of news is “petty.”

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Astute Observation by IrvineRenter
2011-03-26 11:03 PM

There is nothing wrong with pointing out conflicts of interest. I made a point of disclosing mine.

I was merely pointing out that the writing was personal, and it’s tone was that of a hit piece. There are other ways the author could have pointed out the conflicts of interest without the innuendos and disparagements.

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Astute Observation by dilbert dogbert
2011-03-27 09:30 AM

Irvine Renter,
I don’t view the Housing Wire Blog so will depend on your evaluation.  Does it spin real estate news any worse or better than what you see in the blogs you frequent?
We are also NV rental property owners - Reno in our case.  We own outright so we don’t depend on cashflow to pay a mortgage.  So far so good as the rental returns are much better than what we were getting from our investments. 
I also have rented my old residence in Silicon Valley for the last 15 years.  Total returns have more than compensated me for the total nominal cost of the property plus I had a place to raise my family.
I always knew that the California Property Pyramid was the way to real wealth but never had the cash to play and too many responsibilities to be risky. Only late in life has it become possible.  Thank goodness, even if the properties crash and burn we will be OK.
Thanks for the blog efforts and good luck with LV.

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Astute Observation by IrvineRenter
2011-03-28 07:34 AM

I read housing wire nearly every day. I haven’t noticed an agenda to spin information to benefit advertisers or industry insiders. In fact, Paul Jackson has been nearly as critical as I have about the practices that led to the housing bubble.

It sounds like you have done well with your property investments. The virtue of paying them off rather than Ponzi borrowing is apparent every month you cash those rent checks.

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Astute Observation by matt138
2011-03-28 06:44 PM

Sounds like a data bomb may soon be dropped on planet realty and bull entourage. 

We have a myriad of subsidy and still the numbers need massaging.

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Astute Observation by GF Uncle
2011-03-29 12:55 AM

Small thing… though colloquial usage varies and there is some uncertainty, I believe data are plural.  So I think the post should read, “Where are the data coming from?”

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