Ambrose Pritchard of the Telegraph is reporting this morning: The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has warned the United States Congress that the US risks triggering "economic war" if it attempts to devalue its way out of trouble by allowing a relentless slide in the dollar. The stunning remarks came as the greenback plunged to a record low of $1.4731 against the euro, causing a chorus of angry protests from industrial leaders in France and Italy. The dollar breached $2.10 against sterling for the first time since the early Thatcher years in 1981. On Wall Street the Dow tumbled 246.40 to…
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Just when I think I’ve heard it all…. Many thanks to J.R., who emailed me last night and shared the following story: I just got a call from my brother a few hours ago, from jail.  My brother has never been in trouble before, so I was totally shocked when I got the automated collect call message.  The reason he is jail is even more shocking- he failed to sell his house.  He just went through a nasty divorce which left him cash poor but equity rich, so as part of the divorce, there was a list of debts that…
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L occasionally sends me something from IMAPP, a program available through ARMLS. [Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service] Using IMAPP, you can look up a property and see a map showing listings and foreclosures in an area.  Listings are shown with green signs, foreclosures are represented by gavels.  Foreclosures can be at any stage from having received a "Notice of Trustee’s Sale" to being a REO.  When L sent me this one from El Mirage, [a Phoenix suburb] it really caught my attention:

 In Business Las Vegas said last week: [Hat tip Judge!] Las Vegas housing analyst Dennis Smith says it may be 2004 all over again for the valley’s housing market. No, he’s not saying home prices will rapidly appreciate as they did that year and in 2005. Smith says it won’t be long before prices return to the levels of late 2004 when it comes to the existing home market. We didn’t have long to wait. The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors [GLVAR] has released their October numbers.  Las Vegas, welcome back to 2004. Prices The median price for a…
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If you are wondering why you haven’t seen the Pending Home Sales Report yet…. Since its inception in 2005, the Pending Home Sales Report by the National Association of Realtors has been one of the earlier economic reports that we see every month.  A cursory check of the NAR’s releases showed that with the exception of one release on the 6th, the report is always released between the 1st and the 5th of the month.  This month however, with virtually no fanfare, the report has been delayed to be released with the housing forecast.  This month that means the report…
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It’s Monday, and the pundits are all saying that it looks like a wild ride this week for Wall Street, as the "subprime slime" problem morphs into "mark to myth" problems.  Captain Alpha Male asks, "Can something be done?"  

Well, well, well…  A Gilbert, AZ home is going into foreclosure, so the homeowner has decided to have a "foreclosure sale" and list it on Craigslist: [Many thanks to the reader that forwarded this] Everything must go this weekend!!! – High end kitchen appliances. Buy more than $4,500 in new appliances for only $1,700. – GE Profile Counter depth side by side with dispenser. – KitchenAid Supeba slide in gas range with self cleaning oven. – Huge Kitchenaid micorwave. – Brand new Maytag Quiet Series 300 dishwasher. – Beautiful Ornate entry table. For sale for $300 – Great bar-bbq. For…
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  I’ve got some things to catch up on this weekend, so I’ll be in and out.  I couldn’t  help but think, though, that this video, produced by a Las Vegas realtor, deserved a rebuttal:              

I didn’t even know that it WASN’T official, but this just came out this evening from PRNewswire.  WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Association of Realtors (R) today named Lawrence Yun chief economist and senior vice president of research. Yun has served at NAR since 2000, most recently as vice president and senior economist. If I had written the press release, it would have read a little differently…. "Lawrence is a talented economist and an outstanding forecaster who has contributed greatly to NAR’s growth and prestige as the leading advocate for the housing industry," said Dale Stinton, NAR executive vice…
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A big thank you to "The Judge" for both the link and the headline.  For those of us who know and love the Las Vegas real estate pundits, we know that they’ve assured us for years that the limited land in Las Vegas would keep prices headed up, up, up.  Consequently, it’s hard for us bears not to gloat just a little when we read Hubble Smith’s headline in the Review Journal, "Little action at BLM auction:  31 parcels for bid; one sold": Only one of 31 parcels offered at Thursday’s BLM auction was sold, an indication that Las Vegas land prices…
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Hat tip to L for this great picture from Fallbrook, CA:  [Note flyers are still in the box] We’re here to discuss fire sales, or just about anything else housing related.  We welcome your links, comments, stories and suggestions.

As of yesterday evening [and remember, this number should increase slightly] 3457 properties sold in the Phoenix area.   [Thanks to M and L for the data] Officially ARMLS reported 3421 sales in September. There were 5569 homes sold in October 2006, so sales year-over-year are probably down around 35%.  As M indicated last month: I believe the rush to close deals in August sucked a lot of sales from September. If this is the case, then October’s increase is probably a bit of an anomoly, and I would not expect to see further increases until spring.

How is this for a haircut?  M sent me the following listing yesterday: The listing said: If you are in the market for a wonderful home at an unbelievable deal this home is a must see. Lovely quiet lot in a great neighborhood. This home is priced for a short sale. Home valued at $270,000 and being sold at $135,000. According to the website of the Arizona Republic and Zillow, this home last sold for $300,000 in June 2006.  That means that with a selling price in October of $89,000, this home dropped 70% in 16 months.  In addition, this…
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