They Thought They Could Never Go Wrong
A report from Houston Agent Magazine in Texas. "Y’all, I hate to lick all the red off your candy, but the days of a super-hot real estate market are behind us (at least for now). While on the surface, that…
The Gargantuan Phalanx Of Flimflammers And Rug-Pullers
A weekend topic starting with Time. "The idea that banking mistakes could plunge the U.S. economy into a recession is familiar—the Great Recession that began in 2007 was caused when banks made risky home loans and then sold to lenders…
A Consistent Set Of Politics Based On The Ideology Of Home Ownership, Encouraging Us All To Buy As Strategic, Calculating Mini-Capitalists
A weekend topic starting with WBUR in Massachusetts. "The great unwinding of Silicon Valley Bank’s ambitions has a special sting in Boston, where the failed bank’s parent had vacuumed up two local institutions in recent years, part of its bid…
Were These Regulators Just Asleep At The Wheel?
A report from the Idaho Statesman. "The median price of a single-family home in Ada County in February was $492,115, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. That’s down 10.5% from February 2022, when the median price was $549,900. In…
When Money Was Very Easy, Everybody Thought That This Was Going To Last Forever So They Did Stupid Things
A report from DS News. "Auction.com, a real estate auction site offering existing and aspiring investors access to (mostly) distressed assets, generated very revealing information about the state of real estate assets throughout 2022. Over the year, buyer behavior began…
People Are Waking Up To The Gravity That This Was One Of The Biggest Financial Euphoria Episodes
A weekend topic starting with the Epoch Times. "The Federal Reserve adopting a loose monetary policy—slashing interest rates and buying Treasurys—for an extended period can lead to 'financial turmoil' several years later, the central bank stated in a new paper.…
It’s Like The End Of Animal House
It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Silicon Valley Bank lost $1.8 billion in the sale of U.S. treasuries and mortgage-backed securities that it had invested in, owing to rising interest rates. The bank is also contending with shrinking…
Many Sellers Feel They Are Losing Profits Rightfully Theirs And Are Slow To Accept The New Realities
A report from Yahoo Finance. "To say home refinancing activity is a sliver of what it was two years ago is no exaggeration. 'Lenders are hurting. We still see layoffs on a monthly basis,' Jason Sharon, owner and broker at…
Price Signals Have Been Broken
A weekend topic starting with Real Clear Markets. "Arthur Burns, Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1970 to 1978, publicly regretted afterward that he had lacked the spine to do what was necessary to get the Great Inflation of the…
People Weren’t Making Great Decisions
A weekend topic starting with Fortune. "A new era of higher borrowing costs and more cautious lenders—coupled with slowing growth and recession fears—has frozen once-red hot segments of the U.S. economy. Logan Allin, founder of Fin Capital, a fintech-focused VC…