April 22, 2009

We tried to warn them. We told them what was coming. Congress and the MSM ignored us. And then it came.

There weren't 21 reasons.

Bubbles weren't for bathtubs.

Chicken Little should have been wailing.

And this entire economic disaster could have been avoided. We spelled out what the problem was, who was gaming the system, what cities would be devastated, and what could be done to stop it.

If only they had listened. If only they had acted.

But they didn't. Because corrupt realtors wanted their commissions. Because greedy housing gamblers wanted to get rich without working. Because Congressmen wanted to stay in power. Because bankers wanted their bonuses. Because the MSM were using realtor and homebuilder ads to pay their bills. Because appraisers wanted more business. Because mortgage brokers wanted more cocaine.


And now we have this.

Nevada, Arizona, California post top state foreclosure rates

With one in every 70 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in February, Nevada continued to document the nation’s top state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 15,783 Nevada properties during the month, a 9 percent increase from the previous month and a 156 percent increase from February 2008.

Arizona posted the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in February, with one in every 147 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, and California posted the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 165 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Sunbelt cities post top metro foreclosure rates

One in every 60 Las Vegas housing units received a foreclosure filing in February, giving the city the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among metro areas with a population of at least 200,000. The city’s foreclosure rate was more than seven times higher than the national average. Another Nevada metro area posted a foreclosure rate in the top 10: Reno-Sparks ranked No. 8, with one in every 108 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., metro area documented the second highest foreclosure rate in February, with one in every 65 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.

Six California cities registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Stockton at No. 3 (one in 67 housing units), Modesto at No. 4 (one in 68), Merced at No. 5 (one in 74), Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 6 (one in 80), Bakersfield at No. 7 (one in 85), and Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 10 (one in 111).

With one in every 110 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, the Phoenix metro area posted the ninth highest foreclosure rate in February.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Freddie Mac Head commits suicide?

Sad if this story is true. Of course, one wonders if the stress of the financial standing of Freddie Mac is a factor. We may never know.

Anonymous said...

Az is a toast.

Anonymous said...

Buh buh buh we thought that socialist California was the model to follow, that we should kiss Feinstein, Boxer, and Pelosi's feet...what happened? I thought that Californians were soooo special, you know, with Bill Maher & Co. This must be someone else's fault, cannot be possible.

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith, here's another one of your heroes at work:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., offered to help the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. secure federal funds last year, just days before the agency awarded a contract to Feinstein's husband's firm in the housing foreclosure crisis.

Under FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair, the contract went to CB Richard Ellis Group, the biggest commercial real estate services company in the world. The Washington Times first reported details of the deal Tuesday.
http://tinyurl.com/djqnnr

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith, your socialists at work:

LA Times -- State Assembly leaders hand out staff raises

Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) gives 136 staffers increases totaling $551,000.

State Assembly leaders have given pay raises totaling $551,000 to 136 staff members, even as tens of thousands of other state workers have had their salaries cut and California remains awash in red ink.

Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said she awarded about $350,000 in merit increases averaging 5% to about 80 legislative employees serving members of her party.

"We didn't feel in this time period we could do any more. I'd like to do more," Bass said.

The highest raise on the Democratic side was 13% and went to Sylvia Castillo, a senior advisor to Bass. The increase, which came with a promotion, put Castillo's pay at about $124,200.

The highest-paid staffer to receive a raise was Democratic Caucus chief consultant Richard Simpson, whose 5% increase boosted his salary to $179,196.
http://tinyurl.com/cekfrb

They're doing a great job in bankrupt California. Pay up suckers, with higher taxes! Hey but you're soon to have gay marriage, and you have iPhones and celebs. Isn't that what matters most?

will shill for coin said...

> We spelled out what the problem was...


I'm confused. I thought no one saw this thing coming.

Anonymous said...

Keith - your insights into the housing crash were years ahead of the pack.

Now - tell us whether we will have inflation or deflation.

Your insights are valued!

pwnd said...

they should have read housingpanic everyday...

shame

Anonymous said...

bill maher (a comedian by the way) has been more right about this situation than Fox & Rush. That is an irrefutable fact.

k.w. - Southern Ca. said...

A friend of mine, back in 2001, made the remark that if residential real-estate goes south, so will our business.

So, here we are at that state now, and here's a dose of reality news

At some point, when people's pocket books are dry, and we've lost even more jobs here, they will wakw up:

http://snipurl.com/ggqaz

Anonymous said...

Feinstein & Blum = Bonnie & Clyde.

GUILTY.

les said...

Here comes the second wave of foreclosures.

October 2009 will be a bad month for everyone.

DaveO said...

Even though it's different circumstances, it sort of reminds me of this:

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/25/enron.suicide/index.html

Former Enron exec dies in apparent suicide
January 26, 2002 Posted: 11:47 AM EST (1647 GMT)

SUGAR LAND, Texas (CNN) -- Former Enron Corp. vice chairman J. Clifford Baxter was found dead in his car in a Houston suburb early Friday, the victim of an apparent suicide, police said.

Baxter made millions on the sale of Enron stock, but reportedly was unhappy with Enron's business practices and resigned as vice chairman in May. He had remained as an Enron consultant.

Enron, once a giant energy corporation, has collapsed in the biggest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history amid accusations of mishandling of funds and shredding of crucial documents. Enron and its accounting firm, Andersen LLP, are under congressional investigation.

Congressional sources told CNN that Baxter, 43, had been among several Enron officials that investigators had wanted to interview. And the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, D-Michigan, had asked for documents from Baxter as part of a batch of subpoenas sent out January 11.

miltfreidman said...

Realtors still at it here in Jacksonville...

wife and I are shopping for a house as long as its a good deal...you know the story hp-ers. Buy to rent and all that.

Found a REO last week, listed for 155K for 2200 sqft ft., all brick, nice neighborhood, best schools in county. Sold one day after listing...

now on the market one week later for 230K. Realtor owned.

Anonymous said...

dont buy it till its 85,000...boycott those who kept you from the mls listings aND BUYING FOR ALL THOSE YEARS FOR THEIR PROFITS

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