Housing News: Return Of The King

You didn't really think David Lereah and his minions could take us out, could you? Come now! So let's see, what's been going on while I've been on my quest?

The Fools themselves, normally as bullish as one could get, have taken the wind from beneath Lereah's wings. The lovely Velvet in Dupont offers an unkind ode to Alan Greenspan. The Street is getting extremely skittish over news of potential rate hikes--and we're already on hike 17, are we not?! And homebuilders like much-battered Hovnanian are admitting that they're out to give the market a facial due to their, ahem, "drooping" profits:

On a recent conference call, Ara K. Hovnanian, the president and chief executive officer of homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said that real estate investors "have largely pulled out."

"Investors were a bigger part of the market than many thought, including ourselves," said Hovnanian, whose company builds primarily in the Northeast. Would-be flippers are not only not buying new properties, they're selling what they already own, adding to the record number of homes already on the market.

I couldn't make it up if I tried, kids.

The legendary Bubble Meter, who is Gandalf to my Aragorn for sure, conducted what I think is the definitive rent vs. buy discussion. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, these comments are worth a read.

Ben Bernanke thinks that new risk management plans are essential to ensuring banks remain liquid and don't take on more than they can chew. Yo, Ben, I have a simple risk management plan for you. It goes something like this:

DON'T. LET. BANKS. LEND. MONEY. LIKE. IT. GREW. ON. TREES.

Man, it's good to be back. What else have I missed?

Posted at June 12, 2006 10:52 PM

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You didn't really think David Lereah and his minions could take us out, could you? Come now! So let's see, what's been going on while I've been on my quest? The Fools themselves, normally as bullish as one could get, have taken the wind from beneath Lereah's wings. The lovely Velvet in Dupont offers an unkind ode to Alan Greenspan. The Street is getting extremely skittish over news of potential rate hikes--and we're already on hike 17, are we not?! And homebuilders like much-battered Hovnanian are admitting that they're out to give the market a facial due to their, ahem, "drooping" profits: On a recent conference call, Ara K. Hovnanian, the president and chief executive officer of homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said that real estate investors "have largely pulled out." "Investors were a bigger part of the market than many thought, including ourselves," said Hovnanian, whose company builds primarily in the Northeast. Would-be flippers are not only not buying new properties, they're selling what they already own, adding to the record number of homes already on the market. I couldn't make it up if I tried, kids. The legendary Bubble Meter, who is Gandalf to my Aragorn for sure, conducted what I think is the definitive rent vs. buy discussion. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, these comments are worth a read. Ben Bernanke thinks that new risk management plans are essential to ensuring banks remain liquid and don't take on more than they can chew. Yo, Ben, I have a simple risk management plan for you. It goes something like this: DON'T. LET. BANKS. LEND. MONEY. LIKE. IT. GREW. ON. TREES. Man, it's good to be back. What else have I missed?