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Fed Chief Ben Bernanke's Boyhood Home is Foreclosed
Tweet Share on Facebook February 17, 2009 Comment (3)Looks like the housing crisis is hitting home for Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Travis Jackson walks through his modest ranch house, admiring the kitchen's built-in spice rack and the red-oak floors...
The young banker just bought Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's childhood home at a foreclosure sale.
"This is where it all happened," marvels Mr. Jackson, a 27-year-old loan officer at First Citizens Bancorp, which is down the street from the old Bernanke place.
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Was the Japanese Finance Minister Drunk?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 17, 2009 Comment (1)Anyone disappointed with U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's performance last week should definitely check out (now-former) Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa's behavior at a Group of Seven press conference in Rome this past weekend.
Nakagawa announced plans to resign Tuesday after he appeared to have done a little pre-gaming before meeting with the media. Nakagawa later said he was not drunk, blaming instead an ill-fated mix of alcohol and cold medicine, according to MarketWatch.
(Video from The Wall Street Journal.)
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Simon Johnson with Bill Moyers
Tweet Share on Facebook February 17, 2009 Comment (1)Bill Moyers had an interesting discussion on the financial crisis with former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson. Watch the video here. (Via Calculated Risk.)
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Real Estate Trends in San Francisco
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2009 CommentIn the latest installment of a new regular feature at the Home Front—in cooperation with our partners over at Trulia—here's a look at some key housing trends and statistics for San Francisco. (Click here for more stats and trends on San Francisco's real estate market.)
[Check out stats and trends for New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. Los Angeles, and Boston.]
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Your Real Estate Budget in San Francisco
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2009 Comment -
Tumbling Asking Prices: San Francisco
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2009 CommentIn cooperation with our partners over at Trulia, here's a look at some San Francisco properties that have been forced to reduce their asking prices:
[Check out New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C Los Angeles, and Boston]
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$15,000 Home Buying Tax Credit: Still Alive?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2009 Comment (89)It's been widely reported that the proposed $15,000 home buyer tax credit was cut out of the stimulus bill, as lawmakers looked to trim the massive price tag of the package.
[See The $15,000 Home Buying Tax Credit: 6 Things to Know.]
But Senator Johnny Isakson, the Georgia Republican who sponsored the amendment, has suggested that the measure could reemerge in a stand-alone bill.
From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via The Real Estate Bloggers:
Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who sponsored the legislation in an attempt to jump-start the ailing housing industry, isn’t giving up just yet.
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10 Counties Hit Hard in the Housing Bust
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2009 CommentIntegrated Asset Services recently released a snapshot of ten American counties that have been hit particularly hard in the housing bust. The red figures represent their percentage drops from their peaks:
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Homeowners: My House Will Appreciate, My Neighbor's Won't
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2009 Comment (2)Here's a striking statistic from Zillow's fourth-quarter Homeowner Confidence Survey:
While 70 percent of homeowners think their own homes' values will increase or stay the same in the first half of 2009, only 52 percent believe home values in their local market will increase or stay the same during the same time period. Nearly half (48 percent) think values in their local market will decrease, but only 30 percent believe the same will happen to their own homes.
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Mortgage Rates Fall to 5.16%
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2009 Comment (4)Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates fell modestly this week to 5.16 percent, from 5.25 percent a week ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday:
Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.16 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 12, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.25 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.72 percent.
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