Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Wednesday Housing News: That's a wrap!

My last entry for 2005 is quite a mixed bag. Lots of stuff going on around the real estate world!

But wait! According to the wise sage, housing prices will continue to appreciate in 2006, "due to favorable demographic and population trends." Hmmm...wonder what he means by that. It couldn't possibly be the great leap inward, could it? Y'know, one of the regions of the country where consumers are more concerned with cheap housing than environmental and energy efficiency?

These guys just don't know the meaning of the word "shame," do they? Trying to exacerbate a collapsing bubble market by pushing for construction in the middle of the country and claiming that we want cheapness and convenience over livability. Ok, maybe that last part's true, but I'm an idealist. Sue me.

Aid continues to pour in for Katrina victims. Throwing money at the catastrophe is needed, but it's got to be properly managed and disbursed if it's to have any real effect. We're talking in the tens of billions of dollars here, spread out over many years. After reading this story about what FEMA considers "widespread and significant" damage, I don't have a lot of hope. This sad tale doesn't help matters much either.

FEMA is completely overwhelmed, understaffed, incompetently managed, and cash poor. By that I mean that it's spent all its money on things like unnecessary trailers, contracting snafus, and so on.

Still, I have hope that 2006 will bring us better things. The pace of the reconstruction effort in the Gulf Coast will bring thousands of new jobs and new investment, and a more relaxed housing market will give buyers more chances to negotiate price without being forced into "creative" mortgages.

In the December Conference Board survey, consumers said they were more likely to buy a car and major appliances in the next six months than they did in November, but less likely to buy a home.

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My last entry for 2005 is quite a mixed bag. Lots of stuff going on around the real estate world! Home mortgages take a tumble. Even David Lereah is flat-out saying that it's a wrap. But wait! According to the wise sage, housing prices will continue to appreciate in 2006, "due to favorable demographic and population trends." Hmmm...wonder what he means by that. It couldn't possibly be the great leap inward, could it? Y'know, one of the regions of the country where consumers are more concerned with cheap housing than environmental and energy efficiency? These guys just don't know the meaning of the word "shame," do they? Trying to exacerbate a collapsing bubble market by pushing for construction in the middle of the country and claiming that we want cheapness and convenience over livability. Ok, maybe that last part's true, but I'm an idealist. Sue me. Aid continues to pour in for Katrina victims. Throwing money at the catastrophe is needed, but it's got to be properly managed and disbursed if it's to have any real effect. We're talking in the tens of billions of dollars here, spread out over many years. After reading this story about what FEMA considers "widespread and significant" damage, I don't have a lot of hope. This sad tale doesn't help matters much either. FEMA is completely overwhelmed, understaffed, incompetently managed, and cash poor. By that I mean that it's spent all its money on things like unnecessary trailers, contracting snafus, and so on. Still, I have hope that 2006 will bring us better things. The pace of the reconstruction effort in the Gulf Coast will bring thousands of new jobs and new investment, and a more relaxed housing market will give buyers more chances to negotiate price without being forced into "creative" mortgages. Actually, this promising news about increased consumer confidence tells us all we might need to know: In the December Conference Board survey, consumers said they were more likely to buy a car and major appliances in the next six months than they did in November, but less likely to buy a home. Whoops! See you all in 2006!