It has been a year-and-a-half of foreplay here on the Irvine Housing Blog. It has been a long time coming, but the book, The Great Housing Bubble, is finally here.
And yes, the mystery of my identity is gone.
The book is available for download as an ebook, or as a paperback on Amazon.com.
I am pleased to announce we will be having an Irvine Housing Blog party and book signing at 6:30 on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, at JT Schmids at the District. This is your chance to meet the people behind the screen names.
You have plenty of time to order and receive a copy of the book from Amazon. I will also have a large but limited number of books available at the signing. These will be available for a $15 “donation” to the IHB. You are under no pressure or obligation to buy a book or have it signed. All who wish to be a part of the IHB community and meet others in the community are encouraged to attend.
I hope to see you all there.
{book}
Its been such a long time
I think I should be goin, yeah
And time doesnt wait for me, it keeps on rollin
Sail on, on a distant highway
Ive got to keep on chasin a dream
Ive gotta be on my way
Wish there was something I could say.
Well Im takin my time, Im just movin on
Youll forget about me after Ive been gone
And I take what I find, I dont want no more
Its just outside of your front door.
Its been such a long time. its been such a long time.
Foreplay/Long Time — Boston
BTW, We have a private room, and although this is publically announced, it is a private party. Agitators will be asked to leave.
Tequila shooters for everyone!
Congrats on the publishing. I am looking forward to meeting the IHB crowd. Of course, we probably need a bouncer or two considering how unruly we can get on this site…I know a few big Samoan guys I can call up.
Awesome, congrats! See you on the 12th!! I’m living in Tokyo right now but read this site daily. I’ll be flying over to pick up that copy – and check out some target properties to buy when the prices reach bottom… 🙂
I was hoping we would all be able to meet! I’m marking my calender. Congratulations Irvine Renter! I’m sure that my brother Schadendude and his wife SnowKat will be attending as well, if they can.
Tequila shooters – cool. Personally, I think somebody should bring some cherry kool aid…
HA !
There should definately be cherry cool-aid served. Ya it’ll be great to meet you IR ! I can’t wait to get a copy of your book signed as well… I’ve never been a loyal reader of a blog before, but then again I’ve never been so impacted by a single issue in my life. My inexhaustible resevoir of schadenfreude found great company on your site, and the education you’ve provided to me has been indespensible over the last couple years as I beat down perma-bulls both real and virtual.
All hail IR !! Thanks again for all of your dedication and hard work. I’ll be recommending your book to anyone who ever asks me ‘how this happened.’
Make mine a virgin cool-aid. Great cover. Best of luck, IR! I hope you make a million! Living well is the best revenge!
We wouldn’t miss it ! Schadendude & I will most definitly be attending – first in line to get our copy of your book signed IR !
It will be great to put faces with the screen names. Who is planning on attending ?? 🙂
I’ll be there too.
Do they have wireless? We could post while at the party.
I will make it for this as well. Reserve a signed copy of the book for me too. Again. Congratulations on all your efforts.
Where is the Kindle version? I went to go download it and it’s not there….
CONGRATS! I can’t wait to read it, should be as informative and hopefully amusing as this blog has been for me over the past many, many months!
I wish you the best of success and maybe it’ll be such a hit you’ll make a big ole pile of “F-you” money!!!! $$$$$$$$$$$
PS – I will make a point of making the signing and kick-off party as I owe you a hearty thank you and would be honored to shake the hand of the man who had a major impact on saving my wife and I from a major mistake and the sanguine comfort we now enjoy, knowing our hard earned cash is secure and waiting to provide us that wonderful home we are patiently awaiting.
Cheers!
This is awesome news – CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I’ll be sure to be there and I’d love to shake your hands. Thank you so much for everything you’ve shared.
It is officially on my calendar. Looking forward to meeting you, Lawrence. I have very much appreciated your perspective on this BUBBLE!
RSVP: Two renters from Turtle Ridge. My husband and I look forward to meeting you and all the blog regulars!
And I’d be happy to help your wife pick out colors for that new house in Shady Canyon.
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,601.
Yesssss!!!
I have been a daily reader for the past 15 months…Congratulations on the book! Wish I could be there to meet you in person, but I recently moved to the east coast…sidenote: even though we rent a decent house on a nice street in our new town, it really does not feel like home because I’m not improving it to suit our personal taste and family needs…as we’re not planning to be here more than a few years, my financial sense outweighs my emotional needs to create the best home for my family. Still, it’s hard, and when the urge to buy a house hits as it often does, I hit up the IHB older posts for a reality check. Best of luck with the book sales! If you ask your readers to all buy it from Amazon on the same date (i.e. you designate a certain date),I believe your book will shoot up dramatically on the Amazon popularity list…
Congratulations! I hope the book sells well and many people are enlightened about buying homes.
Congratulations IR. This has been a great site and it saved lots of lives who read and believed in our financial bull shit. I look forward to meeting all commentors on this blog.
Well, it looks as though I’ll have to take a short trip north to join the party.
Congratulations and, again, thank you for the site.
That’s cool. Congrats. I’ll be there and I’ll make a “donation” in exchange for a book. How much do you donate for the priceless education and entertainment you’ve provided me since Feb 2007?
So, will there be “Hello My Name Is” tags?
Congrats IR. Good luck on the sales of your book.
IR you should make an extra article for the week and password protect it. The Password should be like the look in the manual games of old (ex turn to page 17 of my book and type in the fifth word of the third line). That way it gives the book buyers & blog fans an extra incentive to buy your book. There would be a new password for each special article each week.
Thank you all for your kind words. I am very excited about our big gathering. I look forward to meeting all of you.
Even IR drinks the Irvine Kool-Aid. Read his summary comments on his book. Dude, Irvine has above wages due the the theifery of the mortgage industry. Irvine is gonna be the new western facade. Look at all the retail that is closing down.
For anyone not familiar with OC, Irvine is a FLAT HOT faceless place with dirty air. As much as they think they are, they are at least 15 minutes to anything that resembles the coast. I don’t honestly know why anyone would want to set up roots there. IR you seem better than that.
Unfortunately, the Irvine theifs are the one’s benefiting from the bailout…I know a guy who is 28 that was making 100K a month processing mortgages last year…guess what he has no job now, but what does it matter anymore?
Irvine doesn’t produce ANYTHING.
FYI
http://www.edwards.com/
Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) is a global leader in products and technologies to treat advanced cardiovascular disease, the global leader in acute hemodynamic monitoring and the number-one heart valve company in the world. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Edwards has more than 5,600 employees worldwide, selling medical technologies in nearly 100 countries with 2007 sales of $1.091 billion.
You are the one drinking kool-aid…
LOL @ barb
How’s life in the 909 ?
Barb – Thank you for a great Sunday morning laugh! Do I sense a little jealousy in your tone? 😆
not that i’m defending the “prestige” of irvine or anything, but irvine actually does produce a lot of things. it’s home to multiple international corporations such as toshiba, canon, google, etc… just to name a FEW, there are dozens of others.
My son works over at Vizio in Irvine.
In case your not familiar with the company.
They are the Number # 1 Seller of Flat Panel HDTV`s in North America. Life will go on without
Mortgage Companies. It did before and it will again. Hey Barb. How is the wetaher today in 909/951 land ?
Yeah, these loser towns that have a University of California campus are going nowhere.
Well, a heartfelt congratulations.
I think many of us regular readers feel like we have been through an elephant’s gestation period.
It has been a long crazy ride with lots of screaming and stomping of feet.
Nevertheless, the story goes on.
I hope the book, as exciting as the arrival is — is merely a punctuation mark, a milestone on this long journey.
I know when I first started reading regularly, nearly two years ago (and you picked up, taking over from Graffrix, irvinesinglemom and zovall?)and we all saw the blog go to greater heights…
I think you’ve always enjoyed the intellectual parsing of the “anthropology” of the housing bubble as us readers rather reveled in the schadenfreude and lurid details of one more tiny-brained moron’s fall from real estate grace.
Nevertheless, the artful balance remains, and has provided no small amount of enjoyment to myself as a reader. I can only hope you also received at least as much pleasure from the distribution.
I selfishly hope this is a waypoint and not a terminus.
I wish I could be at the signing but am stuck in the Bay Area until Thanksgiving.
Please let us (me) know if another opportunity becomes available.
Again, congratulations.
Congratulations on this major accomplishment IR, I hope the book does well – not just for your own benefit (thought that is certainly well deserved) but to help balance all the kool aid purveyors on the bookshelves as well.
I worked for a non US financial institution and when some of my friends overseas sent me the “WTF is going on in your mortgage market” I always have referred them to this site which clarifies the problem. Also had a couple friends here think a while ago about leveraging up their homes and said you should really check this site out before you do that.
Congrats.
I understand that Irvine has NOT been sinking in price while most other Cali locations are gurgling around the drain?
Sorry I live so far away.
There is a book about pseudo rich americans, which I’ve already forgot the name of, with the cover being the american gothic fellow holding a golf club and the wife in an evening gown holding one of those obnoxious little white dogs.
Your book is after they couldn’t pay the mtg on the house and dog.
I believe the book you are referring to is “Richistan” by Robert Frank. IR’s book comes as a nice follow up as the housing bubble is the primary contributor to the economy being in such a mess.
I wonder how much the lifestyles of these pseudo rich Americans may have changed given the current economic situation.
Congrats IR!!!
Been reading you for quite some time now. Thank you for all your insightful posts. In the past two years, every time the wife and I try and rationalize buying a home for such unrealistic prices, you’re sight has allowed for us to make the decision on evidence and logic, and not emotion. We’re grateful Irvine renters.
Can’t wait to meet everyone Wed night!
Congratulations. I hope your book sells well. There is no doubt there is a huge population out there that could learn a number of very important lessons from your writings.
I’ve been lurking on this blog for over a year now. I left California in 1998 and returned last year when my job took me to LAX. Needless to say, the house prices were a major shock, having been away since before the bubble started. I scratched my head wondering how these prices were afforded by a population whose median income was only slightly higher than the national average. Your blog and a few others focused on SoCal clarified it for me. My wife and I are happily renting, saving dilligently, and patiently waiting along with the other commenters here for the right time to buy (in the South Bay, Irvine is too far to commute 😉
I will definitely be at your signing party to congratulate you on your book and to offer thanks for a year of entertainment and insight.
My calender is marked IR. I started reading your blog about once a week then twice a week and now every day.
Only you and Ben Jones of The Housing Bubble made it that high on my list. The quality and in depth analysis was heads and shoulders above the rest.
And since Irvine housing prices remain stubbornly high I will keep reading.
Congratulations IR!! Just ordered a copy of the book from Amazon.
This blog has saved me from buying a house twice, and I can’t thank you enough for that. Wish you all the best with your book sales.
I’m there! I may not have been too vocal, but I’ve been a loyal reader and promoter of the IHB.
Yeah, cool-aid is a MUST!!
Being an engineer, I have always tied down the housing price to personal income. However, since 2004 the real estate bubble has blown any logics out until I came across your website by accident, and I have learned a lot more. That is the short-term, unrealistic, and unsustainable demand through creative financing. Thanks.
As you have already pointed out in this economy and grim news in real estate, there are still a lot of folks who fantasized about the real estate coming back very shortly. Well, my wife who is extremely shallow minded is one of them. There is just no way I can convince her otherwise. She has her big-shot brother doctor MD who now owns two houses in Irvine with no convincing net gains in both properties telling her not to listen to anyone because real estate would always go up in price. He also made the comment that I think I am so smart that I would not be able to see the very obvious trend in real estate that is it will always go up in.
Well, it is very likely that I cannot attend your party due to work. I am still keeping my fingers crossed. Once again, thanks again. Now, I know what Christmas gift I should give to my brother-in-law, the self-fantasized real estate tycoon.
so irvine renter, are you the scientist who invented the internet or the basketball player, turned mortgage blogger?
WTF???
He’s the pot of gold that attracts trolls…
Congrats on your fine accomplishment IR!!! Hope to see y’all if I can…
Sorry I won’t make it, but I we’re signing the closing docs on our house in Portola Springs that day — NOT!
Congratulations. Now my boss will be happy I’m not jacking around on IHB all day.
My hubby and I are going to try and attend. We have been lurkers but diligent readers. We would like to thank you for your research, your insight and for saving us a ton of cash and heartache. This is the first and only blog I have ever read. It has been very entertaining while I sip my morning coffee. Thank you!