Free Republic

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy expressed skepticism about sending more aid to Ukraine if Republicans take back the House in the upcoming midterm elections. "I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they're not going to write a blank check to Ukraine," the California Republican told Punchbowl News in a report published Tuesday. "They just won't do it," he continued. "It's not a free blank check." While "Ukraine is important," GOP concerns about the border and other domestic policies also carry weight, McCarthy added. The comments signal that bipartisan support for funding to Ukraine against Russia's invasion...

Whether you think there has been a housing “recovery” or not is a matter of perspective. Sales are indeed up 117% since the 2010 low, but that low was literally the worst level in the history of this data (since 1963) as a percentage of population growth. It was the Great Depression of Housing, the only possible result of the greatest housing bubble since the 1920s, if not in history. While sales have rebounded since that low, the current sales rate has barely recovered to the levels seen at the recession lows of 1991 and 1982. This rebound is little...

When she’s not looking out for the little guy being taken advantageof by predatory lenders, Elizabeth Warren is making high-interest, short-term loans to family members and flipping homes for a profit. That’sthe revelation in a story published today by the Boston Herald,which identifies nine instances when Warren made a quick profit eitherbuying and reselling homes or loaning money to family members to fliphomes in the late 90s. For instance, in 1993 Warren purchased a foreclosed home in OklahomaCity for $61,000. She resold the home 18 months later for $95,000. In several more cases, Warren provided loans so that her brother...

A new study from the widely respected National Bureau of Economic Research released this week has confirmed beyond question that the left's race-baiting attacks on the housing market (the Community Reinvestment Act

The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.

Below are the 19 metropolitan areas where Zillow expects Housing prices will hit bottom in 2012: New York Los Angeles Dallas-Ft. Worth Philadelphia Washington, DC Miami-Fort Lauderdale Boston Riverside, Calif. Phoenix San Diego Tampa St. Louis Baltimore Denver Pittsburgh Orlando Las Vegas San Jose Virginia Beach, Va.

Reporting from North Las Vegas, Nev.— Charles Mills can barely afford to stay here. But he also can't afford to move. That's why the 44-year-old heavy-equipment operator was preparing to leave his wife and young daughter here and go where he could find work — the Oklahoma oil fields. Mills has a mortgage to pay, even if its size pains him. He purchased his house in 2006 for $308,500. Current value: $105,797. "We talked about it: What can we do with the house?" Mills said. "Nobody's going to buy it. Nobody's going to rent it. If we walk away, my...

I keep hearing everyone say either, “Deregulate!” or “Re-regulate!” What do I not see them saying? I don’t see them offering any rational reason why one is better than the other. I don’t see them telling the people why they will personally benefit from either. When I see this happening, I again, go to the root of the problem and offer you solutions. The housing market crashed. The derivative market that traded toxic assets helped obliterate our economy. The question is why and what do we do now? Throughout history going back a century, the value of real estate has...

A young couple from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., told a woeful tale of lost jobs, a lost home in Florida, a deeply troubled 12-year-old, and a kiting operation that kept all their credit-card payments up to date. "I had to take money from the Optima card to pay the bill on the MBNA," the wife said. "But I always paid." With $258,685 on more than 60 cards, they finally filed for bankruptcy....... Bankruptcy lawyers say that this does not mean that homeowners have been more prudent than renters. "Two or three years ago, mortgage companies were giving money to anyone," Mr....

Short View: House party finally over? By Stephen Schurr Tue Aug 23, 3:25 PM ET Is the US housing market partying like it's 1989, the peak of the previous housing boom? No, say mortgage industry officials. Those who see a housing bubble agree: this time, they say, it's much worse. "Prices have been increasing more quickly than is customary," writes the Mortgage Bankers Association in the sanguinary tone that runs through the white paper it published on Tuesday. The report addresses risk factors in the housing market, but offers offsetting "risk mitigants", including a healthy economy with strong consumer spending;...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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...

When we first began writing about the possibility of a housing bubble nearly three years ago, economists who sketched a grim scenario of downward spiraling prices largely were dismissed as overly pessimistic cranks. So far, their harsh projections have failed to materialize. But even the most optimistic housing industry boosters are beginning to worry, to wonder and to wish out loud for a cooling-off period....... Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who as recently as last year dismissed talk of a speculative housing bubble, now acknowledges that there are “a lot of local bubbles” in the housing market, although he sees...