Housing Bubble Bursting?

[Randolph Kinney]

U.S. stocks dive 130 points on China jitters

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={A72936DE-8134-4476-97A9-FECE4F007426}

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks plunged on Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 130 points, as a confluence of events -- a sell-off in China, global geopolitical tensions, jitters about subprime mortgages and concerns about growth -- put investors on edge.

 

[Couch Potato]

A half-hour later it's 180 pts.

And housing prices continue to drop even though sales of existing homes are starting to increase.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

A half-hour later it's 180 pts.

And housing prices continue to drop even though sales of existing homes are starting to increase.

Now contrast this quote from your article on housing prices declining to what NAR has to say:

"The slide at this point is a good deal steeper then we saw at the beginning of the decade and we don't see any sign of a bottom," David Blitzer, S&P Index committee chairman, told CNBC. "These are the worst numbers in at least ten years."

 

[Austin]

I assume that "fully indexed and fully amoratized mortages" means no more gimic mortgages. It is one interest rate, full term or nothing is the way I read that. That is a good start but they still need to raise the credit score bar.
This a good time for some to get out of residential appraising because I think about 35% of GSE work just went down the tube.
I haven't had but a couple of residential appraial all year. I am doing industrial land and buildings and to day a new proposed apartment complex assignment came in. That and estate work.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

It got to 500 points. For want of a deriviative the hedge fund was lost for want of a hedge fund the pension fund was lost for want of a pension the house was lost....

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Austin, FTR, 2/3 of my business this year has been sales: short sales or bank sales REO.

I expect business to get even better once Fannie & Freddie dump their bad collateral on to the market from all the sub-prime loans they have.

Credit is drying up for the entry level of the real estate market. That will push prices lower as demand falls further.

 

[JSmith43]

One investor's account rep after another keeps unloading sugar coated rollbacks in credit qualifying policy. Sure, the barn is on fire, the horses are dead.....great timing! I didn't use interest only qualifying all that much anyhow Maybe, 20% of the time.

 

[hastalavista]

Austin, FTR, 2/3 of my business this year has been sales: short sales or bank sales REO.

I expect business to get even better once Fannie & Freddie dump their bad collateral on to the market from all the sub-prime loans they have.

Credit is drying up for the entry level of the real estate market. That will push prices lower as demand falls further.

Randolph-

I'm with you; I anticipate an increase in non-origination but mortgage-related appraisal assignments for a number of different intended uses. It has started already.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Contagion continues - Japan Nikkei opens down 3.44%

"I suspect this is characteristic of our hedge fund-dominated marketplace," Tower said. "They use program trades and options and futures. And when they all run for the door at the same time, you get lots of selling pressure."

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Hedge funds - spreading the contagion

Robert Steel, under secretary of the U.S. Treasury for domestic finance, said on Tuesday that changing the current regulatory structure is not the best way to tackle new risks posed by the rapid growth of the hedge fund industry.