Wild Ride
By Charles TurnerUp, down, up, down goes the stock market. The market is an instant pulse of the economy compared to housing reports that take time to flush out.
Home construction tumbles: Housing starts fell to a 17-year low in September, according to a government report released Friday before the market opened. Starts fell to a seasonally adjusted 817,000 in the month from 872,000 the previous month. Economists were expecting a smaller decline.
Applications for building permits, considered a good indicator of future activity, fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 786,000 in September, down from a revised 857,000 in August. Economists were expecting a smaller decline.
Does anyone have access to or know how we find out about Portland housing starts and permit applications?
Charles, given that your wife tends to work with first time buyers and you with the higher end homes, can you give us any insight into the credit concerns affecting potential home owners at either end.
What are you two seeing or hearing from your potential buyers? Anyone complaining about the jumbo loan rates? Are banks asking for a higher percentage of down payment with the more expensive homes?
Is the credit crunch DIRECTLY effecting a certain part of the Portland market?
Any improvement in the past week or too soon to tell?
Thanks for your insight. Leigh
The stock market would be stable if not for the destructive influence of the real estate market.
Maybe some other realtors can add something? Any banks in particular lending with a bit more ease, maybe US Bank?
Naysayer, you think they will follow through with some corrective action, ie, eliminate all ARM’s, Neg Am loans, etc. Require DP’s…anything to prevent greed and ignorance from killing our economy?
Too late. Greed and ignorance have already done their job. Now we have to live through a mini-Hell. Of course the top 5% won’t be affected.
3 decades of conservative political dominance will take 60 years to reverse if it’s even possible. We’re on our way to a South American style culture.
Buckle up.
bearlee,
Of all the lenders, “I” happen to think USB is in the best place at the moment. They had a much more traditional underwriting process and as such, kept many of the loans they originated.
Do they have skeletons? I’m sure they do, but not to the degree many of the on the ropes/now defunct lenders did. I’d think it would be worth the time to at least give them a call?
naysayer, that’s such an excellent point and I fear it’s getting lost in the shuffle. I realize it can be difficult at this point but virtually ALL of the negative implications you see all have (1) starting point! ( Cr@ppy Mortgages that are in/or about to default )
Of course w/ Stimulus Pahlooza, Auction Rate Failures and multiple fires, it gets hard to track? When I was in the service we had what they called “Merchandise Control” on the base overseas. One crazy Vietnamese guy knew they were on to him ( so he burned the ENTIRE building down! ) Even though he was always the primary suspect and ultimately went down for it ( he sure… helped a LOT of other people get a “clean slate” )
So now that the Fed is buying bunk commercial paper from mutual fund managers I guess the guys that were fluffing up appraisals don’t really have a thing to worry about now do they?
I wrote a reply last night but it failed before posting so I wrote a new post this morning about it.
One immediate resutl of all this stock market crazy stuff is that people who invested their down payment money in hopes of buying somehting bigger are now looking for something a lot smaller. Or renting.