Real Estate
It was only a matter of time before another Homebuilder CEO would claim that the housing market had bottomed. Ara Hovnanian, CEO Hovnanian Enterprises, put his stake in the ground on yesterday 9/14/07 per Bloomberg. Apparently he learned from Robert Toll’s pronouncement in March. He added a caveat to his claim, “The bottom is very near [...]
You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to realize that housing market is not going to turn around overnight. Even the homebuilder CEOs are finally admitting that this environment “sucks.” Economist Nouriel Roubini has been calling this blood bath for what is for awhile. I haven’t seen him on Kudlow and Company in awhile. My guess is [...]
There are many caught in the cross fires of the housing bubble. Here is a story of a real estate investor who got caught up in the mania in 2005. He bought a waterfront property in the hopes of subdividing it, creating a luxury “dream” home for himself and another to sell for profit. Unfortunately, he is stuck [...]
Since bottoming on April 12th, the SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is up 12.5%; twice as much as the S&P 500’s gain of 6%. If you are surprised by that statement you are not alone. I still find it hard to believe even after staring at the chart.
Casey Serin has become the poster child for “liar-loans” also known as Alt-A loans. I have written several articles (here and here) on the Subprime/Alt-A debacle. Casey’s use of these loans played a critical role in his multiple foreclosures. IndyMac (NDE) is the leading Alt-A lender. Their day in the spot-light is coming soon. Here [...]
More than a million people bought Pet Rocks as Christmas gifts in 1975. Gary Dahl, of Los Gatos, California, had the idea while joking with friends about his easy-to-care-for pet, a rock. This pet ate nothing and didn’t bark or chew the furniture. Pet Rocks were sold with a funny manual that included tips on [...]
I think that some heads are going to roll when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are forced to admit that the subprime mortgage problem is not contained. In my previous professional life, I worked as a sales person for a software company. We as sales people were often referred to as [...]
Real Estate investors should be looking for opportunities within this debacle. Certain niches are still growing. Source: Real Estate Journal The real-estate slowdown has forced some investors to change tactics. Gone are the days when an investor could buy a single-family home or condo, flip it, and walk away with a sizeable profit just weeks [...]
On March 15, IndyMac released a rather lengthy press release claiming that it had been inappropriately categorized by many media sources as a subprime lender. IndyMac stated that it is primarily a prime/Alt-A mortgage lender with minimal exposure to subprime. With the subprime lenders in melt-down mode, it is quite understandable why IndyMac would want [...]
Michael D.
Royal Arse