Re: A warning from 2005

On Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:11:03 -0700, El Castor
<ElPoloGrande@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:12:57 -0400, Gary <not@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

But the stupid $%#& at the Federal Reserve did not think real esatate
would ever decline.

I would think this is a sufficient argument that NOBODY should ever
serve more than one term as Fed Chairman.
------------------------------

Real Estate: Avoid the Burn

Tuesday March 15, 2005
By Amey Stone in New York

In a market this hot, home buyers and investors can easily get singed.
Here's what could happen. Plus: Tips to get you through unscathed

You've heard the conventional wisdom: Don't think of your house as an
investment. Think of it as a place to live. But how can you not think
of it as an investment when it has been such a good one lately?

The median existing home price in the U.S. rose to $189,000 in
January, up 10.5% year-over-year. Indeed, homes nationwide have
appreciated an average of 8% annually in the past three years. That
compares to a three-year average annual return in a typical
diversified stock fund of just 5%. Homes in metropolitan areas on the
East and West coasts have risen at a faster clip -- doubling in the
past five years in many markets.

Can this continue? It turns out that caution may be in order for 2005.

Continued --

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2005/nf20050315_5246_db093.htm

Here's a warning from 2003:

"The Bush administration today recommended the most significant
regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings
and loan crisis a decade ago.
<Snip>
The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than
$1.5 trillion in outstanding debt -- is broken. A report by outside
investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its
accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does
not adequately hedge against rising interest rates."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html

Here's another warning -- this one from May of 2006 -- signed by 20
Republicans, including John McCain:

"Dear Majority Leader Frist and Chairman Shelby,
We are concerned that if effective regulatory refonn legislation for
the housing-finance government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) is not
enacted this year, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to
the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing
market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.
Therefore, we offer you our support in bringing the Federal Housing
Enterprise Regulatory Refonn Act (S. 190) to the floor and allowing
the Senate to debate the merits of this bill, which was passed by the
Senate Banking Committee."
http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/docs/gse_reform_060505.pdf

The bill was blocked by Chris Dodd, and his fellow Democrats, just as
Barney Frank and his fellow Democrats blocked the same bill in the
House in 2003.

You want other warnings that you and your fellow lefties are ignoring
-- warnings about the unsustainable debt and deficit that are
engulfing this country? Just let me know. I'd be glad to post reams.
You vote for these people Gary. You ignore the warnings. And then you
try to blame someone else.

There were a lot of fools -- and criminals -- responsible for the real
estate crash. From Barney Frank to Fannie Mae to the mortgage
brokers.

But one over riding fact remains. Had the interest rates not been
held artificially low, the real estate bubble could not have formed.
It was those low rates that allowed the criminals to offer such great
deals to the gullible. Who is responsible for that ? Alan
Greenspan. Why did he do it ? Because he could.

Without those sucker interest rates from 2001 to 2005, there would
have been no Great Recession.

My only fear now is Greenspan's half-witted successor is repeating
that same mistake.

As I said -- NOBODY should be allowed to serve more than one term as
Fed Chairman. And that term should not be over two years.

I know ! I know ! I'm trying to like Bernanke, but he's making it
awful hard. What's the odds of QE3 ?
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: A warning from 2005
    ... serve more than one term as Fed Chairman. ... home buyers and investors can easily get singed. ... Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than ... the real estate bubble could not have formed. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Soft market teaches flippers an ever-so-humble lesson
    ... Investing in real estate looked so sexy. ... into real estate flippers, who would buy and then quickly sell homes ... Thousands of real estate investors across the country are saying the ... Investors bought about one out of every four homes sold ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)
  • Re: OT: The Fear Merchants
    ... assets of the global economy are still intact. ... losses on to the actual investors than to cover them. ... Real estate will probably adjust back to the long term ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: OT: The Fear Merchants
    ... The vast resources and assets of the global economy are still intact. ... The argument is that it will be more costly for the taxpayer to pass the losses on to the actual investors than to cover them. ... Real estate will probably adjust back to the long term curve. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: OT: The Fear Merchants
    ... The vast resources and assets of the global economy are still intact. ... The argument is that it will be more costly for the taxpayer to pass the losses on to the actual investors than to cover them. ... Real estate will probably adjust back to the long term curve. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)