LOL - I'll have to get me one of these!
Posted on 08/16/2005 10:28:39 AM PDT by Fractal Trader
Striking a chord with uneasy U.S. property investors, T-shirtHumor.com's latest design -- "Mr. Housing Bubble" -has become its best seller in less than a week.
The parody of the decades-old Mr. Bubble bath foam package offers a "Free Balloon Mortgage Inside." But the smiling pink house-shaped bubble also warns: "If I pop, you're screwed."
A disclaimer at the bottom reads, "Not affiliated with Mr. Internet Bubble."
Anthony Phipps, T-shirtHumor.com communications director, said the Austin, Texas-based t-shirt design and marketing firm has sold hundreds of the $20 cotton shirts since they went on sale last week.
He said the design had the right mix of market timing and dark humor.
"I think it's pretty clear that there are a lot of people in fear over the potential of a housing bust," Phipps said. "A lot of individuals have made some interesting moves financially with interest-only mortgages and the idea of suddenly having all that equity disappear is something that scares home buyers and policy-makers alike."
But the Realty Times newsletter chafed at the notion that real estate prices have reached unsustainable levels, declaring in a headline, "Mr. Housing Bubble T-shirts Indicate Market Confusion."
Arguing that Americans are widely benefiting from adjustable-rate mortgages that make monthly payments more affordable, columnist Blanche Evans said some pundits in the financial press were simply trying to scare real estate investors into shifting their money back into stocks.
Even Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, with his recent ominous talk about froth in some U.S. housing markets, has not been able to slow an eight-year housing boom that has absorbed one-third of the nation's investment wealth, Evans wrote.
"Mr. Housing Bubble may get a lot of washings before it wears out," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Housing bubble humor ping
The irony is that most people that would wear this t-shirt probably don't own real estate.
Pretty well done.
I hear rental rates are chasing mortgage payments in the tighter markets.
I'm going to predict that mainland populations will begin to shift way from the coasts as middle class, white collar workers are priced out of the housing markets on the coasts, and the rental rates are on par with what one would pay as a mortgage payment for a larger home out in the midwest.
Because it's not funny to them.....I'd wear it....and I hope it pops.
That's hilarious! I'm a home-owner that would love the bubble to burst so I could upgrade without doing a crazy 35-year interest-only mortgage. I'm going to own a home in the Phoenix market for several decades... might as well be a currently overvalued one that I can buy off a California speculator for a song. :-)
Nope, just lots of tax liens.
Not in the San Francisco Bay area. You can bargain quite a bit on rents. Property owners are no where near able to cover the cost of a mortgage with rents. I know, I am renting, and the comparable mortgage payment for my area in the place I'm living is about 2 times what I'm paying.
With the auto/steel/old world industries continuing in the doldrums (job creation-wise) in the midwest--the best job prospects (and home price appreciation) are CLEARLY on both coasts!!!
Depends on when they bought the property. If they bought it years ago, before the housing inflation, they're probably fine.
Lot of reasons for that, the primary probably being that the rental market supply is higher than the demand, whereas the economy is doing well enough that the drive to own a home is driving people out of the rentals and into homes. (EVIL tax cut economic boom to blame for that.)
As soon as the price of the homes exceeds what people are willing to pay, newcomers, and current rental occupants, to the SF area will choose to rent rather than own, and the competition for rentals will increase, and therefore prices for rentals will increase. In other words, the market may be tight for the new homes but the demand side isn't saturated yet. Not enough people looking to move to SF. What are the population growth stats for the city?
Be careful what you wish for. When you can telecommute, your job can be done in India for 1/10th the cost. There a lot of out of work techies who've learned that lesson.
Your prediction is right on target. I live in Panama City, FL and the housing market here has gone absolutely INSANE over the past 3-4 years. Those who are able to sell and make a huge profit on their house, cannot afford to buy anything even remotely close to what they used to live in.
I hear that....I bought my house in 1999 for $112K. The house next me sold last month for $325K and the new owner is gutting it. Cabinets, bathrooms and tile floor all ripped out.
I could easily triple my money, but where would I go. I'm in Bonita Springs, just north of Naples, btw.
I could just kick myself for not buying several "steals" I've come across in the past few years. All of which would have easily turned a $40-50K plus profit if placed on the market here today. I'm actually scared to buy anything now, because of the "percieved" bubble.
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