I confess that I didn’t watch the State of the Union address last night. I don’t even like baloney in my sandwiches– I can’t take it in large quantities. I did however, read the summaries this morning, particularly the housing proposals. This is the one that stood out to me: Obama proposed that “every responsible homeowner” be able to refinance. The existing refinancing program (HARP) lets borrowers who are current on their mortgages refinance even if they’re way underwater — but only if their loans are guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Obama’s proposal would extend refinancing to borrowers…
Read more…

Here at Housing Doom blog we’re always on the lookout for really worst case scenarios, especially the ones where grownups, the MSM and recognized authorities all get together and say: “Why are we even bothering to debunk something that dumb?” Which is why we’ve got a soft spot in our heart (hearts for pet dragon Igor, head for yours truly) concerning the idea that a tidal wave is supposed to engulf Mt Everest at the next Winter solstice  But on the other hand … 12/21 ’12 just happens to be smack in the middle of a US congressional / presidential…
Read more…

Following up on yesterday’s episode of the new reality TV show “Who Wants To Lead The World Through Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 Of The Present Long Depression” here is tomorrow’s skill testing question … Please Choose The Best Candidate: A) Pompous B) Wooden C) Fluffy D) Gone Igor thinks there’s a good chance “D” finishes better than fifth (sic), at least that’s how he’s voting At “the Fred”, America’s most solvent housing GSE, holdings of MBS surged up $7.160 billion. Meanwhile foreign cenbanks’ holdings of agencies were flat, but they bought enough treasuries to reverse most of the…
Read more…

Sometimes these guys are way too smart for their own good … Economist (1/19 ’12): “Perry exits” … You have to wonder why a man of such towering ignorance ever thought he had the right to aspire to the White House.   Meanwhile, Igor credits WaPo with the most dangerous 51 seconds of MSM coverage yet in the present primary cycle. Plus 10 for [candidate's name redacted] if SC ever sees that one

Worried about losing your home to foreclosure?  There are a number of companies out there that are willing to help you, or rather, help themselves to your money. [Thanks L!] If you want to try and modify your loan, pick up the phone and call your lender.  You might be an amateur, but at least the price is right, and you can be confident that you have your best interests at heart.

I’m not a US person, or at least not anymore, so Housing Doom’s pet dragon Igor had to clue me in about this plant that’s been in the news so much recently. It grows in South Carolina, and Igor also tells me that it’s there, over the next six days, that most of the juice of this year’s presidential election will be squeezed.  Pollsters predict primary election or caucus outcomes by measuring the intentions of likely participants / voters, but this week’s Republican party aspirants are depending so heavily on un-likely supporters that the statisticians are severely off-balance.  So some…
Read more…

So Thursday the radio is carrying a promo for the new David Cronenberg film and today the library’s e-mail notification comes for Timothy Findey’s Pilgrim and I spend the afternoon reading the first few chapters. Oops! Just reviewed the comments under twist’s old post “Pheonix Realtors: Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Weird, especially considering the date. I’ve learned to appreciate that these co-incidence clusters (aka synchronicity, which given the context is likely the preferred term) often come just before interesting events. Time will tell … The Fed’s own holdings of MBS eased back $2.535 billion and the foreign cenbanks’ holdings of…
Read more…

A headline worthy of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald’s Bill Smith, circa 1975 … CBC News (1/12 ’12): “Same-sex divorce options explored by Harper government” The mind boggles.  Meanwhile, the foreign central banks continue to steadily reduce their holdings of US obligations … more on this in due course

The Fed’s own holdings of MBS were flat, rebounding up a small $0.444 billion while foreign central banks’ holdings of agencies fell by a similar amount. However the bleeding continued (at a reduced rate) with the treasuries number dropping at a more-than-$billion-a-day rate once again. Last week’s Reuters report1 was, as usual, based on the weekly update from the NY Fed’s H.4.1 table site,2 but they seem to be among the missing again this week. Here is Doom’s updated CSV version3 of the agencies and treasuries foreign central bank holdings data set. Treasuries slumped $8.560 billion, and while that’s barely…
Read more…

Well, Igor, it’s been quite a while since we’ve tried one of these Monday posts, but for some reason I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.  Wikipedia has that my birthdate (and Charles Bernstein’s, go figure!) is within a few days of this guy’s (we’ll need lots of silly coincidences like this in future, it would seem): NYT (12/29 ’11): “Charles Krauthammer: Are we alone in the universe?” … As we inevitably find more and more exo-planets where intelligent life can exist, why have we found no evidence — no signals, no radio waves — that intelligent life does exist?…
Read more…

To all of our friends here- If you are: Buying or selling a house Looking for the perfect rental Trying to negotiate a short sale Searching for a good investment property Trying to negotiate the best possible deal for your clients Working to keep sales up in a slow market Searching for good investments Or just trying to survive in a tough economy Here’s hoping that 2012 will bring you all the best.

…gears, and just for fun consider this recent huff from the land of Cockney rhyming slang: Economist (12/28 ’11): Lexington — “Ron Paul’s big moment” … Even if he wins in quirky Iowa, Ron Paul will never be America’s president. But his coming this far tells you something about the mood of Republican voters. A substantial number like a man who wants to abolish the Federal Reserve, introduce a new currency to compete with the dollar, eliminate five departments of the federal government within a year, pull out of the United Nations and close all America’s foreign bases, which he…
Read more…

Bank in 2008, Bank of America purchased the ailing Countrywide Financial.  This acquisition has turned out to be poisoned pill for BofA, in spite of former CEO Ken Lewis’ optimistic comment at the time of the purchase: “Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation’s premier lender to consumers,” Lewis said in a statement. MSNBC said at the time: It also places Lewis in the position of a market savior. By buying Countrywide, he’s keeping the…
Read more…

The National Association of Realtors (NAR)  has released their pending home sales number, and indicates that pending sales are at an 19month high.  Pending home sales measures how many homes the NAR will be closing in the near future.  They did, however, admit earlier this month that they had “miscalculated” home sales for the past few years.  It does make one wonder if they can count pendings any better than they can count sales.  Chief economist for the NAR, Lawrence Yun, did admit that there might be one factor throwing off the accuracy of pending home sales:  [Thanks L!] The…
Read more…

More Americans are trading in their mortgage for a lease.  For some, the change is mandatory, as foreclosure or financial circumstances force them to sell or walk away.  Others would like a mortgage, but just can’t seem to qualify. Then there’s the crowd that is finding the “dream of homeownership” just a little too risky for their taste.  Whatever their reasons though, homeownership rates are dropping as rental rates rise: With U.S. unemployment at a lofty 8.6%, home foreclosures rising and property prices under pressure, more and more Americans have given up the dream of owning, opting instead to rent,…
Read more…