Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Friday Housing News

Seriously, that lyric exemplifies the attitude young home buyers have been taking towards first-time financing, and predatory lenders and sale-driven brokers have been all too happy to take advantage of that. As the story points out, though it always benefits to consult with one's parents and other elders on the virtue of savings and thrift, the simple fact is that creative mortgage products are a very recent creation, and the truth is only now becoming apparent regarding the potential damage they've done to the economy.

I'm going to be downloading Manning's report and reading it with the fine-tooth comb and magnifying glass well in hand. I recommend all of you do the same.

Speaking of recommended reading, here's a lacerating essay that would make Derek Jacobi start stuttering again: I, Greenspan. Absolutely brutal stuff. Love it. Especially this market-relevant section: Since I joined the Fed, outstanding home-mortgage debt has jumped from $1.8 trillion to $8.2 trillion. Total consumer debt went from $2.7 trillion to $11 trillion. Household debt has quadrupled.

I think all the families mentioned in Manning's report as being "comfortable with debt" might be a little less so if they truly saw how fragile the balance is.

Or you could always roll with The Mess That Greenspan Made, particularly this entry about gold being the next housing boom. I put this right up there with people who watched the tech bubble burst and then decided that health care would be the next big thing. Y'know, like Steve Case. :)

Speaking of the next big thing, the mainstream media push to support the Midwest Housing Boom (now officially capitalized) has begun. Check out this fluff piece from MSNBC, found by the mighty Bubble Meter.

"Oh, gosh! Everything's so cheap and friendly here! I don't even worry that I had to use a negative-option ARM just to get my foot in the door! Housing rules!"

The more conspiratorially-minded (myself included) might wonder if this is part of a master plan to drain blue states of voters and resources. Hmmmm......

Thankfully, MSNBC's Bob Sullivan lays the smackdown. A bad loan is a bad loan no matter what part of the country you live in. One can only hope that the boom in the Midwest doesn't get all bubblicious, or people are gonna have to start investing in underwater domes for property...there simply won't be any land left.

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The always on-point Holden Lewis comes correct yet again with a study of homeowners' knowledge gaps when it comes to their mortgages. I am reminded of the '80's FM staple that goes "I don't know much, but I know I love yoooooo....that may be all I need to know..." Seriously, that lyric exemplifies the attitude young home buyers have been taking towards first-time financing, and predatory lenders and sale-driven brokers have been all too happy to take advantage of that. As the story points out, though it always benefits to consult with one's parents and other elders on the virtue of savings and thrift, the simple fact is that creative mortgage products are a very recent creation, and the truth is only now becoming apparent regarding the potential damage they've done to the economy. I'm going to be downloading Manning's report and reading it with the fine-tooth comb and magnifying glass well in hand. I recommend all of you do the same. Speaking of recommended reading, here's a lacerating essay that would make Derek Jacobi start stuttering again: I, Greenspan. Absolutely brutal stuff. Love it. Especially this market-relevant section: Since I joined the Fed, outstanding home-mortgage debt has jumped from $1.8 trillion to $8.2 trillion. Total consumer debt went from $2.7 trillion to $11 trillion. Household debt has quadrupled. I think all the families mentioned in Manning's report as being "comfortable with debt" might be a little less so if they truly saw how fragile the balance is. Or you could always roll with The Mess That Greenspan Made, particularly this entry about gold being the next housing boom. I put this right up there with people who watched the tech bubble burst and then decided that health care would be the next big thing. Y'know, like Steve Case. :) Speaking of the next big thing, the mainstream media push to support the Midwest Housing Boom (now officially capitalized) has begun. Check out this fluff piece from MSNBC, found by the mighty Bubble Meter. "Oh, gosh! Everything's so cheap and friendly here! I don't even worry that I had to use a negative-option ARM just to get my foot in the door! Housing rules!" The more conspiratorially-minded (myself included) might wonder if this is part of a master plan to drain blue states of voters and resources. Hmmmm...... Thankfully, MSNBC's Bob Sullivan lays the smackdown. A bad loan is a bad loan no matter what part of the country you live in. One can only hope that the boom in the Midwest doesn't get all bubblicious, or people are gonna have to start investing in underwater domes for property...there simply won't be any land left.