CountryWide CEO Mozilo's Lie

Courtesy: NYPost

Case Shiller Index Way Down; Washington, DC Area Down 7.8% YoY

Prices for housing units continue to decline in most major cities throughout the USA. Los Angelos Time reports that:

Home values in major U.S. cities continued to fall at a record pace in November, with Southern California posting some of the steepest declines in a national index released Tuesday.

Miami saw a 15.1% drop in November compared to a year earlier, the worst among 20 metropolitan areas in the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller composite index. But an Diego was close behind with a 13.4% decline.

The November index of 10 metropolitan areas saw a year-over-year annual decline of 8.4%, the sharpest annual plunge since the index began in 1987. It was the second-straight record decline for the index, following a 6.7% drop in October

In the Washington, DC area the price index fell 7.8% compared with November 2006 . Prices continue to fall in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. In real dollars prices have fallen about 10% this past year.

For more numbers go to Case Shiller S&P Index. The prices declines in the metro area are accelerating with the Case Shiller S&P Index showing October 2007 prices declines 1.1%. For comparison purposes in November 2007 prices fell 1.8% (in that month alone). This housing bust is accelerating; expect further prices declines during the coming months in the Washington, DC area.

House Sales Dive

Hat Tip: Paul Krugman's Blog. Bubblicious indeed!

60 Minutes: House of Cards

Great Video from 60 Minutes: House of Cards

BubbleSphere Roundup

Capitalism's Enemies Within (WashingtonPost)

NAR commends Ben 'let's cut rates fast' Benranke. Message to NAR: Housing prices will continue to fall despite Bernanke's cutting.

HousingPanic (HP) is planning a Housing Panic convention in Las Vegas. Will there be a debate between a Realtor who has just called the bottom and Keith the loud leader of HP?

Foreclosures up 353% in S.D. County in 2007 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

According to VirginiaMLS the number of available listings as of January 17 in Northern Virginia is 16,853 which is up 31% from one year ago. Meanwhile sales are way down from last year. Increase in supply, lower demand.

Housing Bubble Song

Housing Bubble Song



Nice song. Easy listening, unless you are a f*cked borrower!

Lawrence Yun Spouts More Nonsense in Denver

Lawrence Yun traveled to Denver and spouted more nonsense. The Denver Post reports that:

“The subprime-mortgage crisis already is a thing of the past and should not affect the housing market going forward, Yun said. ‘The subprime mess is a Wall Street mess,’ Yun said. ‘They made a huge gamble, and they lost. Subprime is a past event that’s unrelated to homebuying.’”

The subprime mortgage crises is NOT a thing of the past. It is still very much a part of the housing market as over 250 billions dollars of subprime mortgages reset in the next couple of years (see chart below). Yun is a subprime economist and has lost his credibility.

Your Turn: How Much Have Prices Fallen in the DC Area?

How Much Have Prices Fallen from Peak Price? (in nominal $s)

1) For the average single family detached housing unit in the outer suburbs (ex. Woodbridge, Manassas, Sterling, Frederick, Waldorf) ?

2) Condos in yuppie neighborhoods in DC (ex. Dupont Circle, Woodley Park, Capitol Hill) ?

3) Row houses in yuppie neighborhoods in DC (ex. Dupont Circle, Woodley Park, Capitol Hill, Lance's housing unit) ?


4) For the average single family detached housing unit in the inner suburbs (ex. Silver Spring, Bethesda, Arlington, Alexandria) ?

BubbleSphere Roundup

The NAR launches there recently created propaganda website Housing Market Facts with 'facts' and information why owning a housing unit is better then renting. These paid shills at the NAR are desperate to keep 'their' dollars. The NAR has lost its credibility. Don't trust this shilling douche bag of an organization. They have brought you the likes of David 'paid shill' Lereah and Lawrence 'paid spinner' Yun.

Keith the super housing bubble blogger continues to pound at those responsible for this mess Federal Reserve, NAR, Speculators, etc.).

Phoenix Housing Market: 2007 Sales Were Below 2000 Level (Housing Doom)

They are all Double Digit Declines Now (TheMessThatGreenspanMade)

'Piece of Cake' Housing Downturn Exceeds 90s 'Depression' (SacramentoLanding)

Foreclosure Rate by County