Tom Daschle is deeply saddened
Posted on 10/07/2006 5:06:07 PM PDT by SierraWasp
Greenspan sounds optimistic note on housing: report
By John Shinal, MarketWatch Last Update: 12:49 PM ET Oct 7, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that last week's rise in weekly mortgage applications could signal that the ``worst may well be over'' for the U.S. housing industry, according to a report of a speech Greenspan gave in Canada on Friday.
Greenspan was referring to an Oc.t 4 report from the Mortgage Bankers Association which showed that mortgage applications rose a seasonally-adjusted 11.9% for the week ending Sept. 29, the largest increase in more than a year.
Refinancing applications were up 17.5% from the week before and accounted for almost 47% of all U.S. mortgage applications, their highest share since February 2005. See full story.
Greenspan, speaking at a conference in Calgary, saw this "flattening out" of mortgage activity compared to the steep declines seen in recent months as a good sign, according to a story published Friday by Bloomberg News.
Mortgage refinancings have been a boon to U.S. economic growth during the last five years as homeowners used home equity they've cashed out to finance other spending.
But as mortgage rates rose to five-year highs this year, refinancing activity has ebbed, new home sales have dropped and existing-home price appreciation has stalled in many formerly hot housing markets.
Greenspan's remarks come as current Fed bankers and other economists try to figure out how much the current housing slowdown will hurt the economy.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who succeeded Greenspan, said this week that the negative effects of a housing industry correction could cut U.S. economic growth by about one percentage point in the second half of this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
So if Greenspan says something it makes it so? Interesting. I wish I had a crystal ball too.
(unfortunately all the MSM and Dems wanna talk about is QUEER NATION!!!)
Well that was fast
Greenspan goes to bed with Andrea Mitchell. Enough said. His judgment isn't perfect.
Wow! That was quick! The decline was long predicted and lasted for...what?...3 or 4 hours? Then BAM--the DOW hits record highs! Unemployment hits the lows! And--gee whiz! I just sold my place for four times what I paid for it 5 years ago!!!
Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, and other cities have seen a drop of up to 15% over the last 90 days. Huge part of the population.
If I were Bernanke, I'd be so pissed off. Nobody gives a rat's @$$ what he thinks, they're still paying attention to Greenspan. That's like coming home and finding your wife's ex, uh, you know.....doing the dew and the funky chicken too and her excusing it by saying it was his position for so long, she's just used to it.
Shucks, I've got a couple of 'em... (blush)
For God's sake, don't tell Hydroshock and ex-Texan. They'll be devastated. They spend half their days posting doom-and-gloom articles about how we're all going to be wiped out financially by the housing crash.
Why? Mortgage interest rates are falling once again on 30 year fixed rate contracts!!! Why is that gloomy?
Oh my word, Mr. Allan Mitchell will be sleeping in the garage for that opinion.
That's right! It was fast because Bernake and Company stopped shoving the short term interest rates up our possibly slowing economic fluidity. I sang a fluid dity once. Nobody liked it, however...
And how much did those markets rise in the preceding seven years?
Haven't you learned a thing from the Liberals? (grin)
Actually I don’t like the way the economy is going, it really scares the heck out of me. All indicators are aimed in the right direction and are steady. Stocks are deflated, unemployment is low, low deficit/GDP ratios, the CPI, the PPI the CES, etc., etc., etc… and this is no hype.
The economy is better than anyone here has ever seen it in their lifetime and it does scare me a little because it sounds too good to be true.
Not the point, and you know it.
Well, see? The more things change... The more they stay the same!!! (and the faster it happens, too!!!)(snort!)
This is rich economic talk.
Since Greenspan's interest rate mismanagement caused the 2001 recession.
I KNOW!!! I'll never tell, but that was a big part of the reason this little article caught my eye and caused me to post it. I'm kinda waitin to see how long it takes 'em to sniff this chumming bait... I just love it when someone in a recognized position to know what they are talking about come around and hits a homer out of the park... You know, like slamming "global warming," or "alternative energy" fantasies!!!
No, the point is that the real estate doom and gloomers around here are full of crap and lie about their agenda.
By the way.... How much HAVE those properties appreciated in the last six or seven years?
Is it going down now? Unbelieveable!!! What's causing it to go down? Where's the increase in supply coming from? Are you kiddin me, er what???
A cooling of demand, for one. Also, the resolution of the tariff dispute between the US and Canada over softwood lumber has helped to reduce the price as well, so even if increased demand, driven by declining interest rates, were to enter into the picture once again, we'll likely not see prices for softwood lumber increase to the levels of even last year, not anytime soon at least. The tariff was as high as 27%.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/OPINION01/605050320/1009/OPINION
If evan a partially successful clamping down on illegal immigrant labor is achieved, there will be an increase in labor costs for residential construction, which will more than offset any decline in materials cost, so it's probably a wash, at a minimum, on the price of a new house. But, cement has also been a biggie, as far as price increases over the past several years, due to extremely high demand, both domestically and in China; I really don't have a feel for where that might be headed. Fuel costs could come into play as well at some point, although diesel hasn't come down nearly so much as gasoline.
I heard it on the Ra did dio driving down to the nearest Casino to recoup my losses. It said because housing starts are down and the pipeline to Katrina is overflowing at this time. I can't wait for 2% interest rates so we can relive 22% yearly inflation ala Jimma Karter...
Since Greenspan's interest rate mismanagement caused the 2001 recession.
Technically I don't think it was much of a recession (it was the largest fall in business spending since the Great Depression), but you're right about Greenspan.
However, it is true about mortgage applications being up, and pending home sales in August were up. Two facts reported here on FR, where they were pretty much ignored, but the MSM totally buried the news.
"And how much did those markets rise in the preceding seven years?"
Ahem, I believe the thread was telling us how RE markets have stabilized, NOT how much property values have gone up, as you wish it was. Be careful who you call a liar, BRAIN SURGEON, just look in the mirror.
Tom Daschle is deeply saddened
WE'RE DOOMED!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.