21 June 2013

Home Sweet Home [update]

Alabama. Well, not so much. Mayhaps some who should have been paying attention before are paying a bit more attention this time. I'd begun to wonder. Today's news (many sites, I expect) brings this quote:
"Some of the increases can be explained by the fact that it is recovering from an over-corrected situation," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. "But with people's income rising at only 1 or 2 percent and prices rising in double digits, it cannot continue."

Now, what to do about it? The banksters and realtors are the ones who make the up-front moolah from such scams. Self-regulating? I doubt it.

"These are huge moves especially considering--when purchasing a house using a mortgage--most people buy based on 'monthly payment and the maximum allowable debt-to-income ratio.' This means first-timer share will fall even further. They are already at a multiyear low even with record-low rates," said [Mark Hanson, a California-based analyst].

So what, gentle reader, has this endeavor been pounding the table about for all these years? If we have another Viagra in the Home blooming, can disaster be far behind? The issue is: who's doing the fiddling this time? Because there has to be a Nero out there. As the man said, they ain't enough moolah to go around.

[update]
Well, this feed goes one better.
"Home buyers have survived rising mortgage rates in the past, often by shifting from fixed rate to adjustable rate loans. In the housing boom, bust and recovery, banks' credit quality standards were more important than the level of mortgage rates."

"The most recent Fed Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey shows that some banks are easing credit restrictions. Given this, the recovery should continue," [David Blitzer of S&P Dow Jones] said in the report.

Here we go again. The pumpers are at it again. Will the economy crash just in time for the Republicans' 2016 coup? The Supremes have just given them carte blanche to disinfranchise the Democratic base, and more than enough time to get that done. I wonder how the quants will include these Black Swans in their MCMC?

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