-
Treasury Official ‘a Wreck’ Over Economy
Tweet Share on Facebook July 9, 2008 CommentIf you've never read Dana Milbank's side-splitting "Washington Sketch" column in the Washington Post, here's a great one to get you started.
In the item, Milbank—who typically catalogs the hypocrisy and foibles of America's elected officials—turns his attention to Phillip Swagel, skewering the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for economic policy for his visible anxiety over the stumbling U.S. economy. (Fist pound, Housing Wire)
"Think you're worried about the economy? Phillip Swagel is a wreck," Milbank writes.
During a painfully awkward recent presentation, the best that nerve-jangled Swagel could muster about the downtrodden U.S. housing market was:
"We're not through the housing correction, but you can sort of see signs of the bottom coming."
Watch the hilarious video here.
-
Crazy Good News: Home Sales Plummet
Tweet Share on Facebook July 8, 2008 Comment (2)After teasing downtrodden homeowners with a surprising jump last month, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that May pending home sales fell 4.7 percent from April, and 14 percent from a year earlier. "This was a larger-than-expected setback," economists at Goldman Sachs said in a report. "But it was tempered by an upward revision to the surge in April, to 7.1 percent from the 6.3 percent originally reported."
Despite the sharp drop, Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, says recent data points to the possibility of stabilization.
-
The Most (and Least) Risky Home Price Markets
Tweet Share on Facebook July 7, 2008 CommentPMI Mortgage Insurance Co. recently released its U.S. Market Risk Index for the summer of 2008. The index ranks the 50 biggest metro areas in the United States by the likelihood that home values will be lower there two years from now.
So which markets are at the greatest risk for falling prices?
From the U.S. Market Risk Index:
-
More Foreclosures, More Home Fires
Tweet Share on Facebook July 7, 2008 Comment (1)Add another scary phenomenon to the growing list of troubles that have emerged in the wake of the national housing crisis...
From Bloomberg:
The biggest surge of mortgage defaults in seven decades coincides with an increase in blazes in foreclosed properties led by states with the most repossessed homes, according to fire safety officials in Nevada, Massachusetts and Ohio...
"Home arsons follow foreclosure trends, with a lag," [Coalition Against Insurance Fraud spokesman James] Quiggle said, pointing to an increase after the last housing slump when the number of blazes reached 116,600 in 1992 from 111,900 in 1990. "We're facing a potential spike in arson like we've never seen before."
-
Obama's and McCain's Housing Plans
Tweet Share on Facebook July 7, 2008 Comment (1)With the national housing crisis poised to play a key role in the 2008 presidential elections, the Associated Press recently ran a helpful primer outlining the leading candidates'—John McCain and Barack Obama—positions on the issues:
From the Associated Press:
McCain:
_To be eligible for the FHA-insured mortgages, certain borrowers who live in their homes must prove creditworthiness at the time of the original loan and that they can meet the terms of a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
_Separately, McCain wants the Justice Department to create a task force to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing in the mortgage industry.
-
Homeowner Kills Real Estate Agent, Authorities Say
Tweet Share on Facebook July 2, 2008 Comment (26)As if the housing market wasn't scary enough already, a 73-year-old man in Michigan has been arrested in the murder of his former real estate agent.
From the Associated Press, via BusinessWeek and The Real Estate Bloggers:
A man upset about a property transaction fatally shot a real estate agent in the head during a meeting Tuesday morning in the victim's office, authorities said.
-
“Market-Ready” Home-Cleaning Tips
Tweet Share on Facebook July 2, 2008 Comment (7)In today's sluggish housing market, it's more important than ever to ensure that your home is immaculately presentable for showings. With that in mind, The Maids Home Services passed along the following cleaning tips to help "get your home market-ready."
Wash windows inside and out. Use a drop of liquid dish soap per two gallons of water and a good squeegee. Dry the window with crumpled newspaper. You'll get the best results if you wash windows on a cloudy, not sunny day, because sunlight dries the glass quickly, causing it to streak.
-
The 9 Best Bargain Markets
Tweet Share on Facebook July 2, 2008 CommentLooking for a livable city that won't bust up your budget? MSN Real Estate recently released its "Most-Livable Bargain Markets" list for 2008. Here are the rankings, from the Wall Street Journal:
- Wichita, Kan.
- Omaha, Neb.Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
- Madison, Wis.
- San Antonio
- Indianapolis
- Pittsburgh
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- Tulsa, Okla.
-
Couple's Belongings Removed in Foreclosure Mix-up
Tweet Share on Facebook July 1, 2008 Comment (1)As the mortgage crisis escalates, it seems even homeowners not in foreclosure have to worry about having their property repossessed.
Just look at the case of this Texas couple, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman, via Housing Doom:
A Nigerian couple who are victims of a mortgage mix-up filed a lawsuit Monday in Williamson County against the company that removed everything they owned from the house, including family heirlooms, furniture and even food from the pantry.
-
Washington Suburb to Buy Foreclosures
Tweet Share on Facebook July 1, 2008 Comment (2)While Congress's gigantic housing legislation is held hostage by political bickering, one suburb of Washington is taking aggressive steps to attack the foreclosure problem.
From the Washington Post:
Fairfax County [Va.] approved a landmark housing program yesterday to buy foreclosed properties for middle-income families, becoming one of the first communities in the country to tackle the nation's growing mortgage crisis while also addressing the region's increasing demand for affordable housing.
advertisement
Follow U.S. News Money
Like Us On Facebook
advertisement
Subscribe
U.S. News Weekly
An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
