Archive for October 12th, 2009

"The Great Recession Is Over"

  There are a few quotes out there that we love to hate- Greenspan’s "a little froth" comment back in 2005 or Bernanke’s "green shoots" comment last April.  Here’s another one we can snicker at six months from now: "The great recession is over," said NABE [National Association of Business Economists] President-Elect Lynn Reaser. "The vast majority of business economists believe that the recession has ended, but that the economic recovery is likely to be more moderate than those typically experienced following steep declines." Here’s another good one from the same survey:

Phoenix condo market given a "death sentence"

  It was tough enough to sell condos in Phoenix in this market.  Now it just got darn near impossible:  [Thanks L!] New federal loan-guarantee rules imposed to fend off future government losses from plummeting condominium prices have rendered condos utterly worthless, Valley real-estate experts said. The Federal Housing Administration rules, which took effect Oct. 1, prohibit any new FHA-backed loans on condo units in projects that include more than 25 percent commercial space. In addition, no single investor – including the developer – may own more than 10 percent of the units in a particular project. That particular restriction…
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