Extended Unemployment: Initial, Continued and Extended Unemployment Claims June 28 2012

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Bits Bucket for July 20, 2012

Given how badly the Housing Bubble has turned out for Western nation economies, you’d think policies to pin economic hopes on housing would be soundly renounced.

But so far, all I have seen and heard have amounted to hair of the dog hangover cures.

Monday, Jul 16, 2012 06:58 AM PDT

Unemployed generation threatens Spain

No end’s in sight to Spain’s economic crisis as the government embarks on new austerity measures
By Paul Ames, GlobalPost

This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.

MADRID, Spain — Beatriz Martinez graduated with a degree in art history three years ago. She’s worked only eight months since then, mostly telemarketing.

Twenty-three-year-old Andrea Gonzales, newly qualified in specialized teaching, works stacking shelves in a supermarket.

And Diego, who declined to give his full name, is a freelance photographer. He’s spent most of his time volunteering with a protest group that tries to protect families from eviction since his commissions dried up.

Meet Spain’s lost generation.

More than half of people under 25 here are out of work. That’s Europe’s highest rate, ahead of even Greece, which has come close. Spaniards are worried the strain it’s exerting on society is putting stability at risk as the government prepares to cut unemployment benefits, among other tough measures aimed at meeting the obligations of a eurozone bailout.

The country’s largest labor union, Comisiones Obreras, or CCOO, says 1.73 million people under 30 are unemployed.

However, it says the real situation is worse than the figure shows. Of the 2.4 million under 30 who have jobs, half of them are working on precarious short-term contracts. Another 200,000 are believed to be on unpaid or poorly compensated “internships” the union criticizes for offering no real training. It says many are schemes for unscrupulous businesses to exploit cheap labor.

Hanging out with friends in Madrid’s gritty Lavapies neighborhood, Martinez says “nobody” entertains hopes the situation will soon improve. “I lost my last job a week ago, and more than half of my friends are in the same situation,” she elaborates. “And the ones who aren’t probably will be in a couple months.”

Like so much that’s wrong with Spain’s economy, the soaring youth unemployment has its roots in last decade’s property boom.

Skyrocketing real estate values prompted construction companies to increase wages to attract workers. Many young men dropped out of school to earn good money working on building sites.

By the height of the boom in 2007, more than a third of Spaniards between the ages of 18 and 24 had dropped out of high school, more than double the European Union’s average.
…

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Bits Bucket for July 17, 2012

Drove by my DBLL`s place today, grass turning brown, weeds sproutin` up and there about 2 weeks away from being $5,100 out of free money they had been counting on. I can see their financial situation just like a WW2 fighter plane that has been hit with smoke coming from the tail as it spins out of control twoards the ground.

But a Mayor DBLL? LMAO Somebody strike up the band and play.. Hail to the Beats…

UNITED STATES PRESDENTIAL ANTHEM (HAIL TO THE CHIEF …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAsycMvZde4 - 128k

Updated: 11:04 p.m. Monday, July 16, 2012 | Posted: 12:49 p.m. Monday, July 16, 2012

Suspended Boynton Mayor Rodriguez faces three new felony charges; trial date moved

By Eliot Kleinberg

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

BOYNTON BEACH —
Suspended Mayor Jose Rodriguez — already facing corruption charges that led to his suspension from office — has been hit with three new felonies alleging he defrauded a bank by short selling a Palm Beach condominium to a relative.

He also allegedly falsified an affidavit in October saying the condo had been his primary residence for four years, even though he was renting it out at the time and living miles away at his Boynton Beach home, and had been mayor for nearly 18 months.

According to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office, Rodriguez bought the 44-year-old, 640-square-foot condo at Palm Beach Whitehouse in May 2005, paying $230,000. Prosecutors say he obtained a $184,000 mortgage.

Property records show he “quit claimed” it in December 2005 for $10 to his first wife, Lynn Sue Shumate, 46, of Wellington — whom he divorced in 1996 — as well as the former couple’s 16-year-old son, who is listed in state corporate records as vice president of Rodriguez’s Reguez Investments real estate firm.

On Sept. 5, property records show, Shumate quit claimed the property back to Rodriguez for $10.

According to a probable cause affidavit released Monday, Rodriguez had applied on Oct. 10, 2009, to Chase Bank for a loan modification, saying he had only $2,000 in the bank. Investigators later determined that he had more than $250,000 in an American Express Bank account.

The bank declined the modification, saying Rodriguez didn’t qualify. Less than a year later, on Aug. 27, 2010, foreclosure proceedings began.

Then, in August, an attorney for Rodriguezasked JP Morgan Chase Bank to approve a short sale for $74,000 in cash to Eric Molares of Royal Palm Beach. Prosecutors don’t detail Molares’ relationship to Rodriguez. The bank agreed and the deal was struck Oct. 18.

Rodriguez and Molares each signed an “affidavit of arm’s length transaction,” in which Rodriguez said he was neither a relative nor business associate of Molares and they shared no business interests.

Investigators later discovered that on Sept. 8

Rodrigu­ez deposited $75,000 in one of his accounts, then wrote a check for $74,000 to Molares. Molares then gave a cashier’s check to cover the short sale.

Molares told investigators Thursday that Rodriguez gave him $75,000 to pretend to buy the unit.

The condo’s tenant later told investigators she’d received an email pur­portedly sent from Molares, saying he was the new owner and landlord, telling her Rodriguez would be managing the property and directing her where to send the $950-a-month rent.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/former-boynton-mayor-rodriguez-trial-moved-to-octo/nPtjT/ - -

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Reading Rates: MBA Application Survey – June 27 2012

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Magazine Living: Think Pink...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, July 23, 2012, by Sarah Firshein The all-American characters of Gary and Elaine have wormed their way into households aplenty thanks to the ingenuity of Molly Erdman, whose Catalog Living blog points to styling curiosities within catalogs. Here now, Erdman does the same for shelter magazine photos. Aware of their friend Wayne's delicate stomach, Martin and Gareth made the wise choice to start the meal with a Pepto amuse bouche.Photo by Laurey W. Glenn/Southern Living

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Bits Bucket for July 21, 2012

Lots of economists seem fine with the “screw the seniors and bond owners” easy way out of the Great Recession.

To his credit, Ben Bernanke is not among them.

Those who advocate higher inflation seem happy enough to overlook the moral hazard problem associated with painlessly letting debtors off the hook, which is that another generation of profligates will feel encouraged to assume unrepayable financial obligations, recognizing that they, too, will soon enjoy a credit bailout in one form or another.

Not only seniors and bond owners will get shafted, but also American workers. This isn’t the 1970s, when union contracts covered many American workers with COLAs. Raise wages now, and the production effort will simply shift elsewhere in the global economy.

July 21, 2012, 5:00 AM

Number of the Week: Could Inflation Revive the Recovery?
…
In a speech last fall, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans laid out the argument this way: The Fed’s implicit inflation target is 2%. The Fed doesn’t have a widely cited numerical target for unemployment, but a conservative estimate of the “natural,” or underlying, rate of unemployment is 6%.

“So, if 5% inflation would have our hair on fire,” Mr. Evans said in September, “so should 9% unemployment.”

Unemployment has come down some since last fall, but it’s still at 8.2%, nowhere close to the Fed’s “maximum employment” mandate. By Mr. Evans’s logic (which he explains more fully in his speech), the current rate of joblessness is equivalent to inflation running at 4.2% — more than double the Fed’s target rate.

Mr. Evans has argued the Fed should consider allowing inflation to run above its target until unemployment falls to some pre-determined — and pre-announced — level. He got more support for that position this week from economists Menzie Chinn, of the University of Wisconsin (and also the blog Econbrowser), and Jeffry Frieden, of Harvard. In a new article in the Milken Institute Review, the two economists argue that if fiscal stimulus, quantitative easing and an alphabet-soup of mortgage relief programs haven’t been enough to kick-start the recovery, it’s time to try inflation.

The big factor holding back economic growth in both the U.S. and Europe, the two economists say, is debt: Consumers, companies and governments are all struggling under the burden of huge debts run up during the boom years, making it harder for them to spend, borrow and invest.

That diagnosis of the problem — they cite “This Time Is Different,” Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff’s now-famous study of financial crises — is fairly mainstream at this point. But their prescription isn’t: Ease the burden on debtors by allowing inflation to rise.

“Raising the expected rate of inflation would reduce the real burden of debt on households, corporations and governments, spurring both investment and consumption,” Profs. Chinn and Frieden write, arguing the Fed should allow inflation to run “in the 4 to 6 percent range for several years.”

The authors recognize their proposal will likely be “met with howls of indignation” from creditors, who would see a policy of intentional inflation — which would reduce the value of their bonds — as an expropriation of their assets. “To an extent, they are right,” the economists say.

But one way or another, they continue, those debts aren’t going to be repaid in full, whether it’s through inflation, default, bankruptcy or negotiated settlements. Better to do it in a way that’s quick and, because it treats all debts equally, at least relatively fair. The logic is the same as in bankruptcy proceedings, they write: “For creditors, something is better than nothing; for debtors, relief is better than default; for both, certainty is better than uncertainty.”

Messrs. Chinn and Frieden join other prominent economists, including Mr. Rogoff and left-leaning economists such as Paul Krugman, in arguing for more inflation. But one important economist they don’t look likely to win over: Mr. Bernanke. In this week’s testimony, Mr. Bernanke left little doubt that he opposes raising the inflation target, even temporarily. (Mr. Bernanke has plenty of prominent backers for his position, too, including former chairman Paul Volcker.)
…

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Recovery-less Recovery: Unemployment Duration June 2012

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Why Drop in Foreclosures Is Bad for Housing Market

In a normal housing market, lack of supply is generally considered a good thing. When demand outweighs supply, home prices rise and homeowners gain equity. Like so many things in this historic economic recovery, that premise doesn’t exactly apply.

This housing market has been running on distress for the past year, as investors rush to buy foreclosed properties in order to take advantage of today’s hot rental market. Sales of millions of foreclosed homes pushed home sales higher, off the bottom in fact. 

Now that supply of distressed properties is drying up, and pulling overall home sales down with it. Sales of existing homes dropped unexpectedly in June, down 5.4 percent from the previous month, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.

Home sales were particularly hard hit out West, where there is the largest concentration of delinquent mortgages and foreclosed properties. Overall sales out West were down 3.6 percent in June from a year ago according to the Realtors, but in the $0-100,000 price range, they were down nearly 36 percent.

“More than 50 percent of all existing home sales have been to "investors" and "first timers" — thin and volatile cohorts relative to repeat buyers — looking for low-end properties to rehab and occupy or rehab and rent/flip respectively. These two cohorts have carried the market for three years,” California-based mortgage analyst Mark Hanson noted.

The distressed share of home sales fell to 25 percent, while it had been running at a third for much of the past year. The first-time home buyer share also fell to 32 percent, down from 34 percent the previous month and from a normal range of 40-45 percent. First-timers are having particular trouble obtaining home loans.

So why is the supply of foreclosures so low when there are so many hungry investors waiting to pounce? There should be plenty to go around, given that the total U.S. delinquency rate is at 7.2 percent, representing 5.57 million loans either delinquent or in the foreclosure process, according to Lender Processing Service’s June Mortgage Monitor.

The answer is the process.

This from Fannie Mae’s most recent quarterly report:

“Our foreclosure rates remain high: however, foreclosure levels were lower than they would have been during the first quarter of 2012 due to delays in the processing of foreclosures caused by continuing foreclosure process issues encountered by our servicers and changing legislative, regulatory and judicial requirements.”

New laws in Nevada, criminalizing faulty foreclosure processing ground that state’s foreclosure machinery to a near halt. Foreclosure filing there down 61 percent annually in the first half of this year according to RealtyTrac. 

California just passed a new law requiring mortgage servicers to prove they have the right to foreclose by showing title of the loan. That is sure to create huge delays, as many of these distressed loans were sliced and diced and sold off in strips to investors during the housing boom.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun also noted that many foreclosure transactions are either getting delayed or not clearing at all due to title issues, a new phenomenon.

“This is due to increasing legal risk,” said Yun, noting a 10-15 percent fallout rate, up from a negligible rate just months ago.

In addition, major bank servicers are now complying with a $25 billion mortgage servicing settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general. Part of that is offering principal reduction modifications to delinquent borrowers. Bank of America [BAC  Loading...      ()   ] alone put 200,000 delinquent loans on hold while it sends out letters offering to slash loan balances.

A lack of supply, even of distressed homes, should help settle this housing market, but the trouble is that regular buyers, move-up buyers, are, in large part, unable to participate in this recovery.  Negative equity (including second liens) and near negative equity (less than 5 percent equity) is trapping an estimated 30 million potential repeat buyers in their homes, according to Hanson.

— By CNBC's Diana Olick
— CNBC Producer Stephanie Dhue contributed to this report.

Questions?  Comments?  document.write("");document.write("RealtyCheck"+"@"+"cnbc.com");document.write('');And follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick

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Constuction Spending: May 2012

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AM Linkage: Buying Real Estate in Berkeley For $1.00; Hayes Valley Gets Some New Public Art; BART Weirdness; More!

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Shameless Self-Promotion : The Curbed SF Newsletter Is Filled With Wonder and Amazement

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, July 20, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

Yes, we know this weather is amazing and everyone wants to be outside, but we have an incentive for keeping you indoors. Why, it's the Curbed SF newsletter! Our daily summary of the day's top Curbed SF stories, all compiled into one beautiful newsletter sent directly to your inbox every afternoon. You just have to sign up by entering your e-mail address in the box below. Trust it, it's worth it!
Sign Up For the Curbed SF Email Newsletter:

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Money Mag Shows Us How To ‘Think Like an Appraiser’

Posted by Jonathan Miller - Monday, July 23, 2012, 3:18 PM

The August 2012 issue of Money Magazine on the newsstands now has a nice article penned by Ali Rogers called “Think Like an Appraiser.”

It’s not available online yet but the magazine is always a good read. Although Money Magazine has named me “Best Online Real Estate Expert,” I swear I have offline expertise too.

Ok before you go on with snarky comments about the last appraiser that screwed up your deal, I’ve heard it all before, much of it spoken here on this blog. The article is more about the concept of “contributory value” – how certain modest improvements help provide additional value of your home. In theory, an appraiser is going to walk through your home at time of sale just like your buyer would and place a certain value on things you may have done to improve the property. First impressions are important in building a sense of value for the property.

I’d like to expound on the contract “data” point in the article to provide context (not something I commented on for the article). Appraisers absolutely consider contract data in addition to closed data (and listing data). We can place them in the report but normally are not the sole basis of determining value.

What often happens is that we are told about a home that is under contract nearby but we don’t know the sales price. We will call the listing agent of that “contract” and try to get a sense of the interior condition and the actual price (99% of the time we are NOT successful getting the price) but we sometimes we might get feedback like “sold at list” or “sold very close to ask” etc. This can be a helpful gauge on value but not the key factor in the report presentation, especially since there is a higher probability in today’s market than in year’s past that homes under contract don’t always close.

These bits of info from a little detective work are among the subjective elements to valuation that help “tell the story” of the transaction. It’s not about dropping raw data on a spreadsheet and taking an average.

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Ask Curbed: Is West Portal About to Become the Next Noe Valley?

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, July 20, 2012, by Philip Ferrato

A curious reader posed this question via email:

Guys- This closed at $700/sf? Is this the first sub-1500sf sale to close above $900k? Am I going crazy here?

While we're not qualified to make a diagnosis regarding his mental state, the answer is "No." Our reader was inquiring about 15 Forest Side Drive, a 2-bed, 1-bath house built in 1951 that closed yesterday for $905,000, or $700 per square foot. We can argue all we like about neighborhood boundaries, but the San Francisco Association of Realtors does not. In the past six months, three houses have sold in the West Portal neighborhood (as defined by the SFAR) and 243 Vicente Street, a 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,320-sq-ft (per public records) house tops the trio with $837 per square. Our friend at 15 Forest Side Avenue comes in at second with $700 and $106,000 over the original asking price. In answer to the next question, broker Leon De-Levi confirmed there was a bidding war.

Meanwhile, not far away, 260 Claremont Boulevard sold for $691 per square. As far as we could find, there are currently no houses under 1,500-sq-ft on the market in West Portal, and in the rest of 94127 close to West Portal, most houses this size have closed for under $700-psf. Which may soon change.

While our reader may be crazed (or thrilled- hard to say) we can come up with two solid reasons for the price. The first is that while the house is apparently well-maintained, it's never been renovated, so you're not paying for and demolishing someone else's c.1995 Tuscan kitchen. The second is that the MUNI West Portal station is within a few minutes walk, making Mid-Market an easy commute while being in a stroller-friendly neighborhood, and challenging buyers' assumptions about where they have to live.
· 15 Forest Side Avenue [Redfin]
· 15 Forest Side Drive [Leon De-Levi/PacUnion]
· 243 Vicente Street [Redfin]
· 260 Claremont Boulevard [Redfin]

15 Froest Side Drive, San Francisco, CA

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On the Market: Glorious Alamo Square Abode Hits the MLS

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, July 20, 2012, by Sally Kuchar While we're on the topic of celebrity real estate, PR hotshot Jessica Mullens and her husband have just put their centenarian Italianate in Alamo Square on the market. Mullens PR's long list of fancy schmancy clients (we're talking the Asian Art Museum, Burberry, SFMOMA, Vogue, etc) makes us wonder how many top tier peeps have spent time in this beautiful abode. Can you imagine the parties? We're swooning. So anyway, the home. It's a 2-bed, 2-bath condo asking $929,000. We should point out that the home's location is directly across the street from Alamo Square Park, which makes for a great front yard. The condo's been recently renovated and features highlights like 14' ceilings, marble in both the kitchen and the bathroom, and an adorable dining area that overlooks the shared garden. Monthly HOA dues are $300 and there's 2-car (tandem) parking in the garage. It's open from noon to 2pm on Saturday and 2 to 4pm on Sunday.
· 1110 Fulton [TRI]
· Mullens PR [website] 1110 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA

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On The Margin: Total Unemployment June 2012

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Controversies: Here's a new one: the Frank...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, July 23, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

? Back to top

? Previous: Bachelorette Winner Jef Holm's Childhood Home For Sale

? Next: Monied AD100 Designer Moves to Sell New York Townhouse

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Bits Bucket for July 22, 2012

Here they come again! It`s like Night of the Living Deadbeats, these financial corpses won`t die.They`re crawling out of the shadows and ready to sign their name to another promissory note that they will blame someone for giving them to sign when they Re-Beat!

Posted: 4:28 p.m. Thursday, July 19, 2012

Post panel: Former homeowners get second chance at American Dream

By Kimberly Miller

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Homeowners forced into a short sale or foreclosure during the worst of the real estate bust are tip-toeing back into the housing market as their credit improves and lender prohibitions time out.

Palm Beach County real estate experts who spoke this week during a forum hosted by The Palm Beach Post said people who lost their homes in 2009 and 2010 are able to get new home loans under certain circumstances.

“Starting right now, this month, there is a big population of people who are starting to fit the timeline of those who can qualify after losing a home a few years ago,” said Skip McDonough, president of Family Mortgage in Jupiter, during the forum titled “Finding the up in a down market.”

While having a foreclosure or short sale on your record was once at least a three- to-seven-year sentence against buying another home, McDonough said the Federal Housing Administration as well as federal mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have softened those rules.

It especially helps if the short sale or foreclosure is the only blemish on the homebuyer’s credit record, and if they have a good reason, such as job loss or family illness, for losing the property.

“For the next few months I believe the largest segment of buyers will be those who believed in the American dream and can now get back into the market,” McDonough said.

But whether they’ll find a home may be a different story.

Other panelists at the forum, including Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches President Bonnie Lazar, Platinum Properties Broker-Associate Kevin Kent and Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy in Palm Beach Gardens, said a shrinking inventory is driving up prices and increasing competition for homes.

About 65 people attended the forum, which was held Wednesday evening at The Palm Beach Post’s West Palm Beach office.

“Are there buys out there? Sure. Are there steals? No,” Lazar said. “If you were waiting for rock bottom, you missed it.”

According to a report released Thursday by the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, the inventory of single family homes in Palm Beach County fell to five months in June, down from 12 months during the same time last year.

AsifSarfi and his wife RubayaSarfi, who attended The Post’s forum, have seen the dearth of choices first hand. The couple, who married in October, have “passively” looked for a home for about two months.

“What I’ve found is stuff in good condition and that is a good value, cash buyers are coming in and swooping it up,” AsifSarfi said.

And the couple is concerned prices will go lower as more foreclosures — the so-called shadow inventory — are put on the market.

Hunter, of Metrostudy, said he expects prices may slip some, but it will be selective, falling mostly in neighborhoods where there was too much speculation during the run up to the real estate bust.

“There are a couple million homes nationwide in the shadow inventory and that’s not something that is trivial or something to be ignored,” Hunter said.

Still, Lazar said banks have learned from their earlier mistakes when they flooded the market with foreclosures and crashed prices. She believes even though there are hundreds of thousands of foreclosure cases still held up in Florida’s courts that banks will mete them out more strategically.

“I don’t think you’ll just see the inventory dumped on the market,” Lazar said. “(The banks) got smart and saw what they had done to themselves.”

People wishing to attend the next Straight from the Source panel discussion, on Jobs and the Economy, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. at The Palm Beach Post, should call (561) 820-4100 for reservations. The event is free of charge.

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Real Estate Sold: Top Three Residential Property Sales For the Past Seven Days

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, July 24, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

Listed for: $2,450,000
Received: $2,400,000
Size: 3-bed, 2.75-bath, 3,172-square-feet
Location: 4570 19th Street, Eureka Valley
The skinny: First listed on May 31st, the home went into contract in less than two weeks. We're not entirely sure why it didn't at least get its asking price, as homes in this neighborhood are going for hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking. According to one agent, the garage is "at the rear of the property and is accessible through an easement in the middle of the block. Probably too far away from the house to make it practical to use for everyday parking." Parking. It's always about parking.

Listed for: $2,595,000
Received: $2,500,000
Size: 4-bed, 4-bath, 2,912-square-feet
Location: 430 Hill Street, Eureka Valley
The skinny: Another big and beautiful Eureka Valley home that accepted an offer below its asking price. This home went into contract less than a month after being listed.

Listed for: $25,000,000
Received: $17,000,000
Size: 4-bed, 7.5-bath, unlisted square footage
Location: 2808 Broadway Street, Pacific Heights
The skinny: This big house is located on Billionaire's Row, home to the very rich like the Getty family, Larry Ellison, and a few other bazillionaires. The neo-Tudor brick and stone home was built in 1927 by Willis Polk & Company, the successor firm to architect Willis Polk who died in 1924. This is the second most expensive sale of the year.

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CurbedWire: One of Boston's Priciest Rentals; a Listing With a Job; More!

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, July 24, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

Photo by Tim Schreier/Curbed National Flickr pool

BOSTON—A newly listed three-bedroom apartment rises immediately to the top of the pile as one of Boston's priciest rentals. How pricey, you ask? Oh, just $16,750-a-month pricey. No biggie. [Cubed Boston]

MERCER ISLAND, WASH.—Curbed Seattle notices a five-bedroom home on offer for $4.75M, and its 4.25-acre lot happens to come with a shiny caboose. According to the brokerbabble, the buyer is "to act as steward for property including pioneer cottage & renovated caboose!" Careful what you sign up for, folks: don't wanna be tagged as "hired help" in this pristine, monied billionaires' enclave. [Curbed Seattle]

NYC—Another crazy promo video from the guys at Curbed NY, this time a $50K production that includes a flamethrower and a roof deck that looks like Manhattan's High Line. Can't anyone sell $8.95M apartments the old-fashioned way anymore? [Curbed NY]

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Bits Bucket for July 23, 2012

Barofsky is an American hero, for sure. Unfortunately, evil villains are firmly in control of the U.S. financial system. Nothing has changed, and our children can expect more of the same kind of top-down screwings the present generation of Main Street Americans have endured.

Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), speaks during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill July 21, 2010 in Washington, DC.

Behind the scenes of the bank bailouts
Interview by Tess Vigeland
Marketplace for Monday, July 23, 2012

Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street
Author: Neil Barofsky
Publisher: Free Press (2012)
Binding: Hardcover, 288 pages
Purchase from Amazon

Tess Vigeland: It’s been almost four years since Lehman Brothers went under and the world’s financial system started to spin out of control. The fall of 2008 was all about Henry Paulson’s bazooka, the Troubled Asset Relief Program — TARP — a $700 billion bailout for the banks. The bailout legislation created a special inspector general at the Treasury Department to oversee where all that money was going.

Neil Barofsky performed the job until he resigned early in 2011. Now he’s out with a tell-all book of his experiences in Washington, including the time he was pretty sure Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was about to haul off and punch him. It’s called “Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street.” Neil, welcome to the program.

Neil Barofsky: Thank you for having me.

Vigeland: You know, I have to tell you, reading this four years after the fact, it’s amazing to remember that the original TARP document was all of three pages and it was completely designed to help homeowners by buying up troubled mortgages.

Barofsky: There was a remarkable transformation as the bill made its way through congress, and it’s important to remember that this was part of the legislative bargaining. TARP doesn’t get passed just to help Wall St., the economists insisted that there be foreclosure prevention and homeowner oriented programs as part of TARP, and those promises were, of course, both subsequently abandoned. And part of it was there was never the same type of ferocious commitment to help homeowners, in addressing the housing crisis, as there was was to saving banks.

Vigeland: You talk about TARP essentially just becoming a giveaway. Can you talk about what you mean by that?

Barofsky: Well when the TARP money was exspended, hundreds of billions of dollars were provided to the banks under the Capital Purchase Program. We were told that it was for certain purposes, it was going to help restore lending, and one would assume since those were the goals of the program — that when providing the money in the contracts and the policies — there would be something to advance those goals. But, none of that was present, so essentially the money was given with a very low market interest rate and with no conditions to accomplish those goals, and the banks were pretty much allowed to do anything they wanted with it.

And when I started pushing back on that, when I suggested that we needed to have some additional conditions, I was told essentially that I was advocating something that would drive the banks out of the program that would end TARP. I was told that I was stupid, I was told that I was being political, and it’s just another example of this deference and defense of the banks over what were some pretty common sense policies to accomplish our goals.

Vigeland: I want you to explain the concept of reputational risk for us — essentially this said that the banks would not commit fraud with TARP money because they would be too concerned about their reputations to do so, right?

Barofsky: Well, over and over again, I heard that arguement, but I didn’t understand. Just that these banks would never, ever take advantage because it would harm their reputations. It was almost as if they didn’t realize there had been years preceeding the crisis in which banks proved their reputation was perhaps the least important thing when it came to the opportunity to make rapacious profits. I mean, it got so bad, Tess, that at one point in another TARP program a New York Fed official said to me, when they were describing the Treasury’s refusal to adopt some really basic concepts to reign in the TARP participants, he said to me, ‘you know, Neil, it seems as if Treasury’s lips are moving, but,’ the CEO of one of the investment houses, ‘Larry Fink’s words are coming out their mouth.’

Vigeland: To be fair, this was a crazy time back in 2008 and 2009, financial armageddon upon us, no one seemed to know what was going to happen. So it is easy to criticize now, but can’t you maybe just believe that people were trying to do their best under pressure of very difficult circumstances?

Barofsky: That is actually part of the fundamental problem. The lack of diversity of thought, the fact that so many of these officials come from a Wall Street background — Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch — meant that when confronted with a crisis they went with the only thing that they knew. You know I don’t think that these people are necessarily fundamentally evil or bad people or sinister, I think they are patriotic people who went to serve their country in the middle of a financial crisis. The problem is they don’t know anything else. They just don’t know anything other than, ‘wow, if this is what the high lords of finance are telling us, this is the best thing, then therefore it must be the best thing, and what’s good for Wall Street is what’s good for America.’ And that’s why if we have another financial crisis, we’re going to have these same problems.
…

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New Home Sales: May 2012

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[Three Cents Worth NY #199] Luxury Market Getting Away From Us

Posted by Jonathan Miller - Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 3:26 PM

It’s time to share my Three Cents Worth (3CW) on Curbed NY, at the intersection of neighborhood and real estate in the capital of the world. And I’m simply here to take measurements.

Read today’s 3CW post on @CurbedNY:

This week I took a look at the top of the Manhattan apartment market to see whether or not all the luxury housing market hype we are reading about is, well, all hype. It sure doesn’t look like it is. After all, the trophy sales we have been reading about (that have closed) on Curbed only impact the overall stats by a few percentage points if removed, so I wanted to see if the luxury market gains were a broader phenomenon.

[click to expand]

Curbed NY : Three Cents Worth Archive
Curbed DC : Three Cents Worth Archive
Curbed Miami : Three Cents Worth Archive

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Fairy Tale Fabrics for Kids' Rooms

When I was little, my parents gave me a book called Clever Gretchen. It was a collection of traditional folk and fairy tales in which the girls saved the prince/saved themselves/outsmarted the villain/fought the dragon. I loved it dearly, but I can't help but love non-girl-power fairy tales, too. If nothing else, they're great for inspiring a discussion, and for inspiring charming fabrics. This modern, independent 32-year old woman needs a pillow made of that Sleeping Beauty fabric, stat.

• Heather Ross created a Princess & The Pea print that I adore, and she has designed some pretty adorable fabrics as well. This Sleeping Beauty fabric is my favorite- the colors are perfection, and the illustration is daintily delightful. She's dreaming sweetly under lilies-of-the-valley!

• Her Snow White fabric is quite charming as well, with little vignettes such as the dwarves chopping wood, Snow White sleeping, and little laundry out to dry.

• Speaking of the seven dwarves and their laundry, Heather has created an entire fabric around that motif, with union suits and plaid shirts out to dry- and a mischievous owl stealing their polka dot underwear!

• Cean Irminger designed The Black Forest fabric at Spoonflower. It appears to be a mash-up of Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, and a story I don't recognize involving a girl riding a bear.

• Wendy G's Little Red Riding Hood fabric at Spoonflower is intended to be used to make a L.R.R.H. costume, but I think it's too good not to use for other projects, too. It also might be a bit scary for some kids, but it is definitely stylin'.

• I'm not sure if Heather Ross's Under Water Sisters pattern for Free Spirit Fabrics is based on The Little Mermaid, but for our purposes I'm going to say that it is. It is definitely cute.

• Lisa H.E. sells this Little Red Riding Hood linen from Japan in her Etsy shop. It comes in a few different colorways, and I appreciate that it's a less ominous take on the story- and Little Red is absolutely darling.

• There are lots of fairy tale fabrics from Japan available on Etsy, and the Hansel & Gretel versions are particularly kawaii. This one is from Matatabi's shop, and features pretzels in trees, cygnets, hedgehogs with parasols, and other delights.

(Images: As credited above.)

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Bits Bucket for July 18, 2012

The future strength of the U.S. housing market lies in the weak hands of Generation Screwed. Good luck with that plan!

Are Millennials the Screwed Generation?
Jul 16, 2012 1:00 AM EDT
‘Boomer America’ never had it so good. As a result, today’s young Americans have never had it so bad.

Today’s youth, both here and abroad, have been screwed by their parents’ fiscal profligacy and economic mismanagement. Neil Howe, a leading generational theorist, cites the “greed, shortsightedness, and blind partisanship” of the boomers, of whom he is one, for having “brought the global economy to its knees.”

How has this generation been screwed? Let’s count the ways, starting with the economy. No generation has suffered more from the Great Recession than the young. Median net worth of people under 35, according to the U.S. Census, fell 37 percent between 2005 and 2010; those over 65 took only a 13 percent hit.

The wealth gap today between younger and older Americans now stands as the widest on record. The median net worth of households headed by someone 65 or older is $170,494, 42 percent higher than in 1984, while the median net worth for younger-age households is $3,662, down 68 percent from a quarter century ago, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

The older generation, notes Pew, were “the beneficiaries of good timing” in everything from a strong economy to a long rise in housing prices. In contrast, quick prospects for improvement are dismal for the younger generation.

One key reason: their indebted parents are not leaving their jobs, forcing younger people to put careers on hold. Since 2008 the percentage of the workforce under 25 has dropped 13.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while that of people over 55 has risen by 7.6 percent.

“Employers are often replacing entry-level positions meant for graduates with people who have more experience because the pool of applicants is so much larger. Basically when unemployment goes up, it disenfranchises the younger generation because they are the least qualified,” observes Kyle Storms, a recent graduate from Chapman University in California.

Overall the young suffer stubbornly high unemployment rates—and an even higher incidence of underemployment. The unemployment rate for people between 18 and 29 is 12 percent in the U.S., nearly 50 percent above the national average. That’s a far cry from the fearsome 50 percent rate seen in Spain or Greece, or the 35 percent in Italy and 22 percent in France and the U.K., but well above the 8 percent rate in Germany.

The screwed generation also enters adulthood loaded down by a mountain of boomer- and senior-incurred debt—debt that spirals ever more out of control. The public debt constitutes a toxic legacy handed over to offspring who will have to pay it off in at least three ways: through higher taxes, less infrastructure and social spending, and, fatefully, the prospect of painfully slow growth for the foreseeable future.

In the United States, the boomers’ bill has risen to about $50,000 a person. In Japan, the red ink for the next generation comes in at more than $95,000 a person. One nasty solution to pay for this growing debt is to tax workers and consumers. Both Germany and Japan, which appears about to double its VAT rate, have been exploring new taxes to pay for the pensions of the boomers.

The huge public-employee pensions now driving many states and cities—most recently Stockton, Calif.—toward the netherworld of bankruptcy represent an extreme case of intergenerational transfer from young to old. It’s a thoroughly rigged boomer game, providing guaranteed generous benefits to older public workers while handing the financial upper echelon a “Wall Street boondoggle” (to quote analyst Walter Russell Mead).

Then there is the debt that the millennials have incurred themselves. The average student, according to Forbes, already carries $12,700 in credit-card and other kinds of debt. Student loans have grown consistently over the last few decades to an average of $27,000 each. Nationwide in the U.S., tuition debt is close to $1 trillion.

This debt often results from the advice of teachers, largely boomers, that only more education—for which costs have risen at twice the rate of inflation since 2000—could solve the long-term issues of the young. “Our generation decided to go to school and continue into even higher forms of education like master’s and Ph.D. programs, thinking this will give us an edge,” notes Lizzie Guerra, a recent graduate from San Francisco State. “However, we found ourselves incredibly educated but drowning in piles of student loans with a job market that still isn’t hiring.”
…

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Reading Rates: MBA Application Survey – July 11 2012

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That Was Quick: It was just last week that...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, July 24, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

? Back to top

? Previous: San Francisco's Shiniest Apartment Also Happens To Be Its Most Expensive One Bedroom

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ADP National Employment Report: June 2012

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Curbed Comparisons: What You Get For $400K Around the Curbed Universe

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, July 20, 2012, by Rob Bear

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what set dollar amounts buy in the ever-growing list of cities that comprises the Curbed universe. Is one man's studio another man's townhouse? Let's find out!

Palm Springs isn't in Los Angeles, not even close, but while it lies more than 100 miles from downtown, the desert town sees so many Angelenos in the winter months—and has so much stunning midcentury architecture—that it might as well be. This 1959 build might not have the architectural distinction of a Neutra or the pedigree of Frank Sinatra's former home, but at just $409K, it's much cheaper. The low-slung home includes four bedrooms and three baths, along with a coveted swimming pool. As a benefit to owners who can only be around part time and would like to make some extra income to offset costs, the house is equipped with a lockable master suite, to make short-term renting easier.

? Similar to Palm Springs, slender Plum Island, a one-hour drive north of Boston, is primarily a seasonal escape for Bean Town locals looking to get out of the city. The low-lying sandy island is largely comprised of a state park and wildlife refuge, so overdevelopment is hardly an issue. This modest cottage on the island's inhabited north end houses three bedrooms and one bath in just 760 square feet, but it has a casual, beach-appropriate feel and is literally just steps from the sand. The asking price of $420K puts us just over budget.

? Belvedere, Calif., located across the bay from San Francisco, is known as one of that city's most expensive suburbs, but this $430K condo sneaks in among the multi-million dollar mansions and even manages to bring a view of the bay. The compromise here is on the size. The unit has just two bedrooms and a single bathroom, but at least shares a giant swimming pool with the other condos.

? For something that feels remote without straying far from the city center, this Philadelphia townhouse, or at least the rendering, looks pretty tempting. Listed for $400K, the as-yet-unbuilt brick house faces a private driveway, while the rear garden provides a buffer against avenue noise. The three-bed, three-bath house is a strikingly modern take on the townhouse, while retaining the familiar brick.

? Described in the brokerbabble as the "In-City Resort Lifestyle," this condo in the high-rise Olive 8 building in downtown Seattle costs $395K, cheaper than the others on this list, but boasts sky-high views of the city and the surrounding waters, along with ten-foot ceilings, a fireplace, and a modern kitchen. The buildings amenities are where the resort comes into play, with a "fitness center, day spa and 65-foot lap pool." Despite the nice amenities and new construction, there are some downsides, like the space, which is just 690 square feet and has just the one bedroom.

· 312 E Glen Cir N [Zillow]
· 10 6th Street [Zillow]
· 395 Cecilia Way [Zillow]
· 259 Leverington Avenue [Zillow]
· Olive 8 [Sotheby's International Realty]

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[Stable Burb] 2Q 2012 Westchester & Putnam Report

Posted by Jonathan Miller - Thursday, July 12, 2012, 4:43 PM

We published our report on the Manhattan rental market for 2Q 2012 this morning.   This is part of an evolving market report series I’ve been writing for Douglas Elliman since 1994.

Key Points

WESTCHESTER

Housing prices were stable, basically unchanged from this time last year. Median sales price was $459,000 in 2Q 12Sales activity jumped, up 14.7% from last year to 1,815.
Listing inventory fell 11.7% to 7,064.
The combination of rising sales and falling inventory quickened the “pace” of the market as the monthly absorption rate fell to 11.7 months from 15.2
Luxury market saw stronger price trends than the stable overall market, median was up 6.6%.

PUTNAM

Housing prices softened – median down 6.6% to $293K
Sales jumped in response to falling rates.
Inventory fell 13.2%

Here’s an excerpt from the report:

…The Westchester housing market showed price stability, rising sales and falling inventory during the second quarter, as the regional economy continued to confront tight credit and a slowly improving economy. Median sales price was $459,000, essentially unchanged from $457,500 in the prior year quarter. Average sales price followed the same pattern. The average sales price was $645,208 in the second quarter, similar to $643,907 in the same period last year. Price per square foot, the least reliable of the three price indicators, reflected a 2.6% increase to $279 per square foot over the same period…

You can build your own custom data tables on the Westchester & Putnam market – now updated with 2Q 12 data. I’ll have the newly created chart section for Westchester & Putnam uploaded this evening.

The Elliman Report: 2Q 2012 Westchester & Putnam Sales [Miller Samuel]
The Elliman Report: 2Q 2012 Westchester & Putnam Sales [Prudential Douglas Elliman]

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Hong Kong Bubble?: Hong Kong Residential Property Prices April 2012

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On the Market: Now's Your Chance to Purchase One of the Very Few Pieces of Celebrity Real Estate in San Francisco

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, July 20, 2012, by Sally Kuchar We gave you the heads up on Wednesday that Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin and his husband Christopher Turner would be putting their home on the market this week, and here it is in all its glory. The couple is moving to Santa Fe. The 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,606 square foot shingled Craftsman/Edwardian-style abode was built in 1906. Mr. Maupin picked it up in 1993, when he purchased it for $615,000. He's asking $1,198,000. The Parnassus Heights location is perched high atop San Francisco, so the home has views galore of downtown, Marin, and the Bay. It was in this home that Maupin wrote three New York Times bestselling novels. Maupin's most autobiographical novel, The Night Listener, published in 2000, is largely set at 27 Belmont Avenue, as described in this excerpt:

Out of habit I approached the house from the sidewalk across the street, where I could see it in context: three narrow stories noticed into the wooden slope. Its new cedar shingles were still too pallid for its dark green trim, but another season or two of rain would turn them into tarnished silver. I'd be eagerly awaiting that. I'd wanted the place to look ancestral, as if we had lived there forever.

Want to see it in person? There's an open house on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4PM.
· Author Armistead Maupin is About to List [Curbed SF]
· Armistead Maupin Sells in San Francisco [The Real Estalker]
· 27 Belmont [Redfin] 27 Belmont Avenue, San Francisco, CA

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The Chicago Fed National Activity Index: May 2012

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Weekend Topic Suggestions

Not paying any taxes in 2009 is one hypothesis. I’ve heard two others. One is that he made a lot of money in 2009 by shorting the market. The other is that he took advantage of the IRS amnesty in 2009 to declare previously unreported off shore accounts. That would mean that he had been failing to report them in violation of law in previous years but has zero criminal liability because of the amnesty.

All of these scenarios are consistent with him having given 23 years of returns to the McCain campaign when he was being considered as McCain’s VP as 2009 hadn’t happened yet. The 23 years given to McCain seem to concentrate the focus for something he doesn’t want public in the years after he gave his info to McCain and before 2010, the year he has disclosed.

I personally think that the zero taxes in 2009 is unlikely. It could be very, very low as a percentage of his income, but he did get some income from speaking fees and such and only $3000 of that can be offset by capital losses. I’m not sure that having his tax rate be 5% for one year is all that overwhelming. And besides, you can spin it as not really being a 5% rate since there are real recognized losses in there. Yes, if someone adds the ordinary income and cap gains without the losses it will look outrageously low, but the cap losses are there too.

Shorting the market is also a possibility, but it would just show in his returns as a good year in investing when everyone else was doing poorly. Possible, but I don’t think his campaign has shown itself all that self-aware when it comes to understanding that people resent folks who appear to have information the rest of us don’t. And it would play into his “I understand the economy” meme. Possible but not that likely.

Oddly enough, that leaves the IRS amnesty as the most likely scenario. It wouldn’t be my normal first choice. The man has been running for president for a long time. You would think he would have started reporting the income off any foreign accounts a good long while ago since US citizens and residents are liable for taxes on their world wide income. But until the US got a bunch of Swiss banks to hand over the names of their US account holders, the likelihood of getting caught was essentially nil. It trends a little conspiracy theory for me, but I see this one as most likely.

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S&P/Case-Shiller: April 2012

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PM Linkage: Master Closet Envy; Troubles For Golden Gate Park's Lily Pond; Foie Gras Lady Meme Debuts; More!

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Bits Bucket for July 19, 2012

“The program, called (drumroll please) the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program,” Loud crashing cymbals!

This is the song that never…. Oh wait, I did that about yesterdays new government program.

“the expanded program, which requires that buyers agree not to resell for three years at least half of the homes they buy.”

Let`s see 5000 x 3 = 15,000 divided 2 = 7,500 + 6,500 former deadbeat homeloaners turned rent-to-loan deadbeat victims and their sob stories about why they can`t pay rent x 3 years = 4,000 bulldozed hoods in the year 2017 + interest. Right?

Tampa targeted in expanded federal sale of defaulted loans
by Kim Miller

The Federal Housing Administration announced this morning that investors can start applying to purchase distressed home loans with concentrations of properties in Tampa, Phoenix, Chicago and Newark, N.J.

Beginning in September, defaulted loans insured by the FHA will be sold in discounted pools to private investors, who have more flexibility in negotiating lower mortgage payments, reducing loan amounts, or offering other options such as rent-to-own deals.

The program, called the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program, was announced last month and was originally expected to target about 5,000 loans nationwide. This morning, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said that has increased to 9,000 loans.

“Given the strong interest in this program and the shadow inventory, we are actually talking now close to 9,000 loans,” she said. “At its most basic level, this program creates the opportunity for everyone to come out a winner.”

Florida has about 366,650 loans insured by the FHA, according to a first-quarter report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Of those, 15 percent — about 55,000 — are in foreclosure or 90 days or more late on payments.

Nationwide, FHA insures about 6.7 million loans, 9 percent of which are in foreclosure or seriously delinquent.

About 5,000 defaulted mortgages are expected to be sold every quarter under the expanded program, which requires that buyers agree not to resell for three years at least half of the homes they buy.

For more informaiton on the program, go to http://www.hud.gov/fhaloansales.

Under the program, loans are sold competitively at a market-determined price generally below the outstanding principal balance. FHA then processes an insurance claim, removes the FHA insurance and transfers the loan to the investor. Once the note is purchased, foreclosure is delayed for a minimum of six additional months, giving the new servicer time to work through alternatives with the borrower, possibly finding an affordable solution to allow the borrower to remain in their home.

Because the loans are generally sold for less than what the borrower currently owes, the purchaser has the ability to reduce or modify the loan terms while still making a return on the initial investment.

If no viable alternatives exist, the purchaser may be able to help the borrower sell the property through a short sale and avoid the costs of foreclosure.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2012 at 8:53 am and is filed under Banking, Foreclosures, Housing affordability, Mortgages, Real estate bust. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Envisioning Employment: Employment Situation June 2012

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Pending Home Sales: May 2012

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[Not Feeling Distressed] 2Q 2012 Miami Sales Report

Posted by Jonathan Miller - Thursday, July 12, 2012, 5:16 PM

We published our report on the Miami sales market for 2Q 2012 this morning.   This is part of an evolving market report series I’ve been writing for Douglas Elliman since 1994.

Key Points

-Distressed sale market share has fallen to 40.6% of all sales from 2/3 in early 2011. Fewer lower priced distressed sales are skewing prices higher.
-Non-distressed sales showed stable to modest price appreciation.
-Listing inventory continues to fall sharply.
-Days on market had second fastest rate in more than six years.

Here’s an excerpt from the report:

…The housing market in Miami’s coastal communities continued to show increases in nondistressed sales, falling inventory, and demand from foreign buyers from Europe and South America.

The median sales price jumped 20.9% to $196,500 from $162,500 in the prior year quarter. The $399,440 average sales price and $257 price per square foot both showed the same pattern, with respective gains of 17.7% and 14.2% over the same period. The 28.5% year-over-year gain in median condo prices largely outpaced the 4.4% gain in median single-family home prices. This was largely due to the drop in lower priced distressed sales activity over the past year, related to the “robo-signing” scandal at the end of 2010. In addition to the court-related foreclosure backlog, servicers slowed the volume of property entering the market during most of 2011 and early 2012. Condo sales saw more of a decline related to this matter; distressed condo sales fell 31.9% over the past year, while distressed single family sales fell only 11.7% over the same period…

You can build your own custom data tables on the Miami sales market – now updated with 2Q 12 data. I’ll have the latest charts on the Miami sales market uploaded this evening.

The Elliman Report: 2Q 2012 Miami Sales [Miller Samuel]
The Elliman Report: 2Q 2012 Miami Sales [Prudential Douglas Elliman]

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Extended Unemployment: Initial, Continued and Extended Unemployment Claims July 12 2012

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Off to Vacation!

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Radar Watching: May 2012

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Sold Stuff: Family Guy Producer Buys in the Pennsylvania Countryside

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, June 26, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

Kara Vallow—producer of Family Guy and American Dad—has bought a 54-acre estate in bucolic New Hope, Pa. According to Curbed Philly, Vallow has once been characterized as a "snarky female from Philadelphia," but even Peter Griffin would be at a loss for snarky words about Twin Creeks Farm: there's a stone main house with pine floors, beamed ceilings, and stone fireplaces, as well as a detached barn, a carriage house, and a pool with waterfall. Plus, the landscaping includes everything you'd ever want from a home in Bucks County: stone walls, gardens, ponds, patios, the feeling of charm, the twinge of yesterday, a hint of yore, and so on. The property was most recently listed for $2.599M.

· 6117 Lower Mountain Road, New Hope, Pa. [Bucks County Estates]
· "Family Guy" Producer Buys $2.6 Million New Hope Estate [Curbed Philly]

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Bits Bucket for June 22, 2012

“Green Shoots, Volume XXVII”

A little background….

One of the main reasons I left my former employer was that, even averaging 600-800 hours of “overtime” a year (I was Salaried Exempt, so I didn’t get paid for O/T), it was impossible to do an adequate job, because we had to wear three hats:

-Supervisor of 20-30 direct reports, working 5-10 projects scattered between 2-3 hangars
-Customer Service Rep
-Billing Analyst

3-5 years of this, you were either toasted figuratively, or literally (heart attack, aneurism, suicide, fatal accident caused by fatigue). I managed to last nine, mainly by telling myself they couldn’t fire me no matter how bad if/when effed up, because nobody with any brains would take my job. Took them a year to find my replacement……who only lasted six months because of:

a) Sexual Harrassment of the office staff (who also happened to be the wife of one of the guys on another crew…..fistfights between the bargaining unit and management are “disruptive”)

b) General Dumbassery

c) Both of the above, depending on who you talked to.

(I thought the stories on Jerry Springer/Maury were total BS……before I became a Supervisor/Crew Chief. I then found out that Springer didn’t even scratch the surface….but I digress)

After I (and others) left/died, the company decided to split the job between two people….one to run the crew, one to be the CSR, and review the bills/invoices.

Fast forward to 2012.

The employee friendly managers are leaving, being shown the door by the Mother(effer) Ship. All of the 20 year plus guys who didn’t take buyouts are now considered “part of the problem/old paradigm/uncooperative” and are being terminated/demoted.

And, of course, because of “customer complaints about communications”, the CSR/Analyst guys are being given the boot, and the Crew Supervisors get to wear three hats again.

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Bits Bucket for June 21, 2012

Geeze, Louise, look at all them negative numbers!

How is the Fed’s reinstated Operation Twist working so far? Not too well, I imagine. Decoupling, we scarcely knew thee.

June 21, 2012, 10:38 p.m. EDT
Asia markets sink amid global growth fears
By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Asia markets sank early Friday, tracking sharp falls on Wall Street, as signs of a deepening global economic slowdown wiped away investor appetite for risk.

Resource sector stocks tumbled after weak manufacturing reports from around the world hit commodities hard overnight, sending crude-oil prices below $80 a barrel and gold futures under $1,600 an ounce in New York trading.

South Korea’s Kospi KR:SEU -2.25% dropped 2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI -1.03% lost 1.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO -1.16% fell 1% and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average JP:100000018 -0.44% lost 0.5%.

China’s Shanghai Composite was closed for a holiday.

Most indexes are on track to post a weekly loss, although a weaker yen helped Japanese shares gain 2.4% so far this week.

A batch of soft economic data sent U.S. stocks sharply lower on Thursday, with sentiment further depressed by disappointing euro-area and Chinese manufacturing reports. Read more on the U.S. session.

Adding to investor concerns, independent stress tests of Spanish banks revealed capital needs for financial institutions in an adverse scenario could be as high as 62 billion euro (78.8 billion).

After the U.S. close, Moody’s Investor Service downgraded 15 global banks citing volatility and risks in capital markets.

Financials were weaker across Asia. In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings PLC HK:5 -1.10% HBC -2.46% traded down 1.1%. BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. HK:2388 -0.21% BHKLY -1.37% dropped 1.5% and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. HK:1288 -1.32% ACGBY -1.42% lost 1.5%.

Tokyo-listed shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. JP:8306 -1.08% MTU -2.15% shed 1.1%, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. AU:ANZ -1.74% ANZBY -2.95% lost 1.6% in Sydney.
Exporters hit

Global growth concerns slugged exporters across the region. Fashion retailer Esprit Holdings Ltd. HK:330 -1.35% ESPGY -1.14% sank 1.9% and luxury goods maker Prada S.p.A HK:1913 +0.60% PRDSY -7.91% lost 2.1% in Hong Kong.

Losses were steeper for major exporters in Seoul. Samsung Electronics Co. SSNGY 0.00% , tumbled 3% and LG Electronics Inc. LGEIY 0.00% gave up 2.3%.

In Tokyo, Suzuki Motor Corp. JP:7269 -2.67% SZKMY -0.18% declined 2.2% and Nintendo Co. JP:7974 -0.53% NTDOY -0.28% dropped 1.1%.

Olympus Corp. JP:7733 +1.71% OCPNY -1.69% outperformed, with shares up 1.7%, after the Nikkei reported the firm is entering final stage talks for a near 50 billion yen ($625 million) investment from Sony Corp. JP:6758 +4.36% SNE -3.01% in an attempt to rebuild the company from last year’s accounting scandal. Sony stock jumped 3.6%. Read more on Sony’s potential Olympus investment..

A separate Nikkei report said Sony is close to agreeing to a technology alliance for television panels with Panasonic Corp. JP:6752 +1.13% PC -0.66% . Panasonic shares rose 1.1%.
Resources weak

A weak showing for resource firms dragged across Asia.

Among energy firms losing ground after oil’s overnight slump, Tokyo-listed Inpex Corp. JP:1605 -2.91% IPXHY -0.98% sank 2.4% and Santos Ltd. AU:STO -2.16% SSLTY -6.12% traded down 2.3% in Sydney.

Also in Sydney, index heavyweight BHP Billiton Ltd. AU:BHP -2.67% BHP -5.34% lost 2.5% and rival Rio Tinto Ltd. AU:RIO -1.85% RIO -5.21% dropped 1.8% and Hong Kong listed Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. HK:2600 -0.60% ACH -5.34% lost 2.1%.

Shares of gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd. AU:NCM -3.64% NCMGY -7.09% tumbled 3.2%, while gold miner Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. ZHAOF -2.94% HK:1818 -3.59% skidded 4.8% in Hong Kong, following the drop in gold prices.

Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.

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Curbed Maps: Where to Take a Dip For Under $10 in the Bay Area

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Thursday, June 21, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

[Photo via Shutterstock]

The rents are too damn high and the median home sale price for May was $701,000. It's time to give your pocketbook a break. Here now, a handy map of several places in the Bay Area to dip your toes into some agua for under ten bucks.

We know that summer in San Francisco is spent mostly wearing fleece jackets instead of swimsuits, but bear with us. All but two San Francisco spots on our map are indoor and feature heated pools. We also took you way east and north, where warmer weather is the norm. Did we miss your favorite watering hole or spot to throw a pool party? Let us know in the comments, as we'll be updating this map next month. Onwards!

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Bits Bucket for June 26, 2012

I find it pretty curious the San Diego real estate experts’ worry list doesn’t include shadow inventory. With plenty of people living in homes with defaulted mortgages, and plenty more vacant properties held off the market by the GSE inventory hoarders, I’m guessing it’s pretty large.

I also note their discussion focuses on “CHALLENGES” which support higher home prices; no mention of what happens when the era of extraordinary federal support of housing demand comes to a close, or when an army of San Diego area empty-nesters tries to move to lower-priced markets in Nevada, Utah or Arizona several years from now, or when the recent Eurozone-driven Wall Street swoon trickles down to the U.S. housing market, or when the army of Chinese and Canadian all-cash investors is all spent out and has shifted from buyer to seller.

Most challenges of which I am aware point to lower prices ahead.

EXPERTS FORESEE BIG CHALLENGES IN LOCAL HOUSING
Slow job growth, inventory squeeze viewed as hurdles

Written by Lily Leung
12:01 a.m., June 26, 2012
Updated 6:32 p.m. , June 25, 2012

The local housing market has come off a hot selling streak this spring, but going ahead, it could face a slew of challenges — from slowed job creation to lower-than-normal inventory levels, based on a discussion among economists and housing insiders Monday.

Real estate pros and business-school professors appeared to have mixed feelings about the future of home sales and prices, but most believe someone must do something bold to get the economy back on track.

“We’ve been on a drunken binge for a long time,” said former San Diego Association of Realtors president Bob Kevane, referring to shenanigans before the housing crash. “I don’t see this being better until someone does something significant. We need to grow up and face the facts.”

Kevane and others focused on a few key struggles that the local housing market could face in the coming months and years — in a discussion led by Alan Nevin, economist and a principal at London Group Realty Advisers in San Diego — at the local Realtors’ association headquarters. Here are three worries:

The Dec. 31 sunset of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. This act has provided tax relief to borrowers whose home loan debt was forgiven after a foreclosure or short sale. Once that relief ends, that kind of debt will become taxable. If the federal government does not extend the protection beyond year’s end, then the effect on San Diegans could be brutal. “It will result in an enormous amount of bankruptcies,” said Nevin, of the London Group. Local real estate broker John T. Altman said the expiration of the debt relief act could create a “serious situation” for local borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth.

Slowdown in job creation. “2012 has kind of stalled, lagged a bit,” said Kelly Cunningham, economist at the National University System Institute for Policy Research. San Diego County added 12,400 jobs from May 2011 to May 2012. Since the recession, the local economy has added a total of 40,000 jobs, so at May’s pace, it will take about five years to return to the pre-recession peak of 100,000 new jobs a year, Cunningham said. Technology and biotech, traditionally the sturdiest and most high-paying sectors, are starting to encounter some struggles with hiring and financing, Cunningham added. A key issue is that the county has turned into a two-tiered structure of high-paying jobs and low-paying jobs without much of a middle.

Available housing is low. An underreported issue is lack of housing inventory in the county. There are roughly 6,300 active listings in the Multiple Listing Service, which equals a 2.2-month supply of single-family homes and condos, Altman said. Market experts generally agree that six months’ supply is considered healthy. The same issue also can be seen within the new-homes sector, according to Nevin, of the London Group. He said new inventory in the Otay Ranch area will be zero by year’s end because housing there has been selling at a fast pace. The next wave of new homes, Nevin said, will come in two to three years.
…
Also of interest
DO RECENT HOUSING REPORTS INDICATE THAT HOME PRICES IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY HAVE HIT BOTTOM?
WILL HIGH GAS PRICES HURT SPRING HOME-BUYING?
Will county home prices rise this year? As of December, the median was $315,000. What do you think it will be in Dec. 2012?

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