Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Election Day!

Election Day is today. Go Forth and Vote!
Posted by David at 3:41 AM

17 comments:

  1. wannabuyNovember 07, 2006 10:39 AM

    Yes vote.

    We Americans can all disagree, but the healthiest way to do that is vote!

    Neil

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  2. AnonymousNovember 07, 2006 5:15 PM

    Please do not vote. It makes my vote worth more.

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  3. Rob DawgNovember 07, 2006 9:01 PM

    Voted for lots of incumbents lots of times but then lots of my incumbents are classic outsiders. Arnold, Tom McClintock, even Elton Gallegley the only nonlawyer on the judiciary. Welcome to Kalifornia politics.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 08, 2006 2:04 AM

    Just got back from a victory celebration for Eliot Spitzer (gov.) and Hillary Clinton here in NYC. Got to meet both of them too....along with other NYC politicians. Interesting atmosphere.

    But big news: The House is once again majority Democrat!!


    --SSH Anon.

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  5. AnonymousNovember 08, 2006 9:43 AM

    And meanwhile, the stock market is voting on the housing sector:

    http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/nov2006/db20061107_523557.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

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  6. AnonymousNovember 08, 2006 10:06 AM

    Republicans clean out your desk in the House and Senate, your fired!

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  7. AnonymousNovember 08, 2006 10:08 AM

    over 50% turnout in the Lyon Village precinct. ~3000 names on the rolls, ~1600 voters.

    due to all the condo development in Clarendon, they redistricted the folks south of Wilson to a different precinct... unfortunately not everyone knew so we had many pissed off people that waited to vote only to find out their names were in a different roll book at the new precinct house.

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  8. AnonymousNovember 08, 2006 5:47 PM

    After checking IDs for 11 hours straight I discovered one immutable truth: women have their driver's license photo taken right after they had their hair done and went tanning.

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  9. AnonymousNovember 09, 2006 8:31 AM

    "Anonymous said...
    over 50% turnout in the Lyon Village precinct. ~3000 names on the rolls, ~1600 voters.

    due to all the condo development in Clarendon, they redistricted the folks south of Wilson to a different precinct... unfortunately not everyone knew so we had many pissed off people that waited to vote only to find out their names were in a different roll book at the new precinct house."

    Surprising that people who earn enough to live in Clarendon can't figure out where to vote: Virginia mails new voter registration cards with the polling place location after a redistricting takes place. Maybe this is a new gilded age. Anyone get real estate tips from a shoe-shine boy yet?

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  10. ihateyuppiesNovember 09, 2006 10:04 AM

    I wonder what the Democratic Party takeover of House and Senate will mean for the real estate industrial complex???

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  11. LanceNovember 09, 2006 11:21 AM

    Okay David .... are you on vacation ... or perhaps out house hunting through all the bargains out there?

    In all seriousness, the results of the election for Washington mean more pressure on prices (or less of a tendency for them to drop) because of the increased demand that new staffers, new appointees, and new lobbyists will bring to the region ... not to mention the new congressmen and senators themselves. And this demand won't be a wash with those leaving. Traditionally, a majority of the old staffers, appointees, et al choose to remain here. The increased demand pressure on the region ... particularly the urban parts of the region such as DC (Dems tend to gravitate to those areas) are sure to cause prices to rise (or at least not fall anymore.) Additionally, on a macro, national level we can expect to see the forces of inflation unleashed with the new leadership in the House and the Senate. Despite the bad reputation it holds, inflation is the great equalizer. The middle and lower classes who have been receiving an increasingly smaller share of the pie over the last 12 years will start to see their share increase ... And if the past is any indication, this will occur by (and lead to) inflation. Nominal prices won't fall, but nominal salaries will increase. Bubbleheads will find it easier to buy. But note that nominal mortgages also don't increase. And anyone willing to do their homework now and buy smartly now would do well to lock in a smart purchase at today's low interest rates. If inflation soars high enough, you might actually find yourself being paid to live in your place ... paying back an increasingly smaller "real dollar" mortgage payment. But as Va_Investor has previously noted, the bubbleheads will probably just keep waiting for that nominal 50% price drop ... and miss the train as it is pulling out of the station!

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  12. AnonymousNovember 09, 2006 10:38 PM

    http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/232435950.html

    no comment...

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  13. MyTwoCentsNovember 10, 2006 11:29 AM

    Lance,

    According to the Washington Post's Maryann Haggarty, she gets asked the question every few years or so about whether the changing administration will impact the local housing market. And everytime she has to answer with an exasperated no, a few hundred different officials amounting to maybe a couple thousand people total will not impact a housing market with millions of homes.

    And here's another interesting tidbit. From The Economist Volume 381 Number 8502 (Nov 4th-10th 2006) with a divided government (president/congress different parties) the average per capita expenditure of government grows just under 1%. With a unified government (president & congress same party) average growth is 5 times higher.

    Under Clinton, per capita growth was a mere .3% and federal payrolls actually declined by 200,000 jobs. That exludes military and postal employees. (Bush was 3.1% growth and 79,000 jobs added if you're interested.)

    I guess what I'm trying to say is, I can choose between Lance's economic machinations, or I can go with the observations of a real estate journalist of 25 years and the facts provided by a very reputable international publication.

    I trust my choice is obvious...

    My $0.02.

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  14. AnonymousNovember 10, 2006 12:55 PM

    "In all seriousness, the results of the election for Washington mean more pressure on prices (or less of a tendency for them to drop) because of the increased demand that new staffers, new appointees, and new lobbyists will bring to the region ... not to mention the new congressmen and senators themselves."

    Lance, the statement above is absoultly ridiculous and false. There's certainly not going to be that many lawmakers moving in the area! But the Congress and Senate members that will buy, are going to be in a rage over the prices in DC. Moreover, when they get hit with overpriced homes, theres going to be a battle brewing at the highest levels, to break this chain.

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  15. AnonymousNovember 10, 2006 5:55 PM

    "because of the increased demand that new staffers, new appointees, and new lobbyists will bring to the region ... not to mention the new congressmen and senators themselves. And this demand won't be a wash with those leaving. Traditionally, a majority of the old staffers, appointees, et al choose to remain here. "

    Ummm... ok, two things... first you actually think that a few dozen new congressmen are going to bring in enough new people into a metro area with MILLIONS of people to affect the housing market on a macro level. That, in itself, is hilarious but that isn't where it stops.

    You also think that the old people are going to stay in the area because of why exactly?

    I suppose in Lance-world every two years the housing market jumps after the election because of all those new congressmen and staffers moving into DC while the old ones don't go anywhere...

    You really are delusional.

    (and why the heck would we trust a computer technician to explain the habits of congressional staffers? You really are one of those people who thinks just because they live in the District that they are somehow experts on the federal government.)

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  16. AnonymousNovember 10, 2006 5:56 PM

    "to buy. But note that nominal mortgages also don't increase. And anyone willing to do their homework now and buy smartly now would do well to lock in a smart purchase at today's low interest rates. If inflation soars high enough, you might actually find yourself being paid to live in your place ... paying back an increasingly smaller "real dollar" mortgage payment."

    LOL

    sure thing mr learah...

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  17. AnonymousNovember 10, 2006 11:07 PM

    Lance, your assumptions do not hold up to the history test. After the Republicans took over Congress in 2005 (magnitude was bigger), the real estate market stayed sluggish. It did not take off until after 9/11 and was driven by the elimination of lending standards that allowed anyone to qualify for a mortgage. The fact that the boom was not isolated to the DC area, meant that the boom was not related to government jobs. Also, the previous practices of special interests of all stripes giving sweetheart financing deals to Congressmen and staffers for their personal homes will now attract scrutiny because of recent scandals, including those of Clinton's Defense secretary. In addition, the attraction of Dems to Maryland no longer applies since VA is blue too.

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