December 9, 2009

Some listened to blogs, and common sense. Others listened to the NAR and realtors. Nuff said. "U.S. Homeowners Lost $5.9 Trillion Since 2006 Peak"

Seems like this one ties it up with a bow.

What a clusterf*ck.

Too bad. The real information was out there. If only they had listened.

(Sorry folks - still not back. Just had to post this one, to cross that t and dot that i)

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. homeowners have lost about $5.9 trillion in value since the housing market peak in March 2006 as mounting foreclosures and the recession weighed on prices, according to Zillow.com.

Almost half a billion dollars was wiped out this year through Nov. 30, as the market headed for a third straight annual decline. New foreclosures and higher mortgage rates in 2010 may hinder a rebound, the property data service said today in a statement.

“A phenomenal amount of wealth has been erased since the housing bust,” Stan Humphries, chief economist for Seattle- based Zillow, said yesterday in an interview. “For many households, most of their wealth is tied up in real estate.”

42 comments:

brian t said...

This must be some new definition of "lost" that I wasn't previously aware of. Common sense would seem, to me, to indicate that the wealth wasn't actually there at all; so what was lost?

If we look at home resales: some people lost money to other people or companies (including banks) by paying too much, but no actual wealth was created in that zero-sum process. New home builds create some wealth out of bricks and mortar, but (again) nowhere near as much as people were paying. A promise of future wealth is not wealth - and why would you spend 8x your salary on a house unless you expected to get even more back in the future?

Bukko Boomeranger said...

Mrs. Bukko and I made the right decision by selling our overpriced house at the peak of the bubble and becoming renters in another country. I didn't do it because I listened to blogs, though. (However, The Economist magazine played an important part in the house-selling side of the decision.) I'm afraid that if I had been reading Housing Panic type blogs then, I might NOT have done the right thing. Because I'm contrarian by nature, I don't want to feel like I'm doing what some crazy guy behind a computer is telling me to do.

Not that you're crazy or anything Keith. Not as far as I know. But you could be. Then again, so could I...

Anonymous said...

C'mon man stay for a while! I still check to site occasionally to see if you would make a showing. Anyways the last line was "most households had thier wealth tied to real estate." I can extend this to most households had thier wealth tied to real estate in florida, cali, phoenix and vegas. Also the banks are holding the inventory to the prices will not crash even further. My hood in south florida is a hell hole! It is still hot in December (global warming!!) and the desparate people are walking around like zombies in the streets. You are either rich or destitute in florida. 5.9 trillion! I remember we would talk about millions! Then the write-downs were in the billions! Now we talk trillions all the time!

rich in fl

vanilla ice said...

"U.S. Homeowners Lost $5.9 Trillion Since 2006 Peak"

Ha ha!

casey said...

My realtor told me that is a sellers market now.The sheeple never learn.Spend 50k extra to get a 8000 tax credit.FHA loans with 3.5% down are doing wonders.Now the USDA has a zero down loan for rural areas.Now the taxpayer is backing all this crap.

blogger said...

Yes, the correct headline would be "banks lost $5.9 trillion", as the homedebtors / quasi renters simply walked away from their mortgages

Anonymous said...

Keith this party is just getting started. One of my online newspapers I follow runs the it's a good time to buy feel good story every once in awhile. Then in the comments section some RE shill pops off about your throwing your money away renting and all the other package and canned lines. But now some people are tearing these people a new a**hole taking apart every point of the good time to buy BS. Keith it's time to make a come back and finish off these RE con man shills.

Angry Leprechaun said...

“A phenomenal amount of wealth has been erased since the housing bust,” Stan Humphries.

It never existed and it still does not. The economy right now is what it is supposed to be, well maybe lower.

Angry Leprechaun said...

Bukko

Keith is fing nuts, he is not even calling his current personality by name anymore.

Anonymous said...

"...the wealth wasn't actually there at all; so what was lost?..."

An enormous, private debt(agreed to by the housing gamblers who bid prices up to insanity) was transferred to us. It is all still owed and clearly cannot be paid from our commerce, so our money will have to be destroyed to reduce it to a sustainable level.

This was no oversight/error. The middle-class' standard of living is what was lost, barring a successful revolution.

That's what the domestic Army deployment and detention centers are all about; the outside chance that we'll wake up and refuse to swallow this shit sandwich.

Lost Cause said...

It seems that a natural disaster would have been cheaper. Perhaps cities should have been bulldozed.

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane,[3][4] as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States.[5] Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall.
[...]
At least 1,836 people lost their lives in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Economist and crisis consultant Randall Bell wrote: "Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the largest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Preliminary damage estimates were well in excess of $100 billion, eclipsing many times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992."[7]

casey said...

yes keith.the banks are the only ones that really lost.Most of the so called homebuyers put nothing down.So when the house goes to foreclosure they lose nothing and get a year of free rent.The taxpayer will be the one picking up the tab as usual.Now the banks are raising credit card rates trying to make up losses.

Looked at e new home development today.All the realtor could preach about was the 3.5% down payment and my monthy payment.Nothing about purchase price. 275/ month for mello roos, cmon dude.She was telling me prices were rising and I better buy now.Same old shit from these tools.

Prisoner No. 6 said...

You f'n tease!

(/fake anger)

Good to see you back - even if it is just to toss a few conversational grenades into the mix, and then retreat quickly to your mountain fastness. With scantily-clad Rhinemaidens dropping peeled grapes into your mouth. Or sumthin'.

So whaddaya think about the coming carnage in commercial real-estate? Here in L.A., there are some serious tremors out in Riverside, San Berdoo & other Redneckistan enclaves...

Anonymous said...

Keith dude you're awesome, love the post... so wish you could personally push the nose of that NAR whore Yun right into this... would buy a ticket to watch

Randy said...

At first I thought - Hacker…
Son of a gun!
Someone hacked S&A

He used to call himself Keith
Now he goes by the name Blogger

Hmmm…

Then I read the content.

*
*
*

Its definitely the same guy.

Welcome to 1939 said...

"A trillion here, a couple trillion there... pretty soon, that can start to add up to some real money." Bwaaaa!!!! Way to go Bushy boys!

-$5,900,000,000,000.00

Now I know why everybody's buying guns and ammo.

WAR TIME IN T said...

Over the next 75-years, or by 2085, the USA's debts, bail-outs, obligations, thefts and war costs is estimated to total -$104 trillion in the red.

Thats: -$104,000,000,000,000.00

Hmmmm...and still no start-up loans to small businesses - the heart of the economy for new job growth and job creation.

Funny, our own government (still) seems to know exactly how to destroy it's own country, and has been doing a heck-uva job doing it.

Congratulations!

The largest crime in world history.

The theft and total destruction of the United States of America.

The USA,
1776-2001

JewBush-Co,
9.11.2001-present

Anonymous said...

All this may well be, but, we can't really know what is going on or going to happen. We are "off the rails" in the twilight zone. By the time it all shakes out, the dollars used to value these properties at the top and the bottom or wherever may not be relevant. That is how deeply fucked things are.

Best guess is a new currency, based on what exactly, not sure. If not, a hyperinflationary nightmare...

Keithwasright said...

Please, please come back Keith.

blogger said...

got that blogger thing fixed...

santa claus rally anyone?

0% interest rates, massive gov't spending, businesses recovering, and the banks hiding the bad stuff...

figure we got a few more months until the sugar high wears off

anyone at the casino?

Boy Scout USA said...

WAR TIME IN T,

What a self-hated loser you are..

Sure things aren’t all rosy here in the US.

But, remind us again what country is smarter and doing better?
That’s where you aught to move and stop the whining.

And what up with this little hate plug?
‘JewBush-Co,
9.11.2001-present’

For the rest of you;
Happy Chanukah!

Enjoy the warmth of the candles and the latkes, for a long long time ago a small courages group of people stood up against all odds and defeated the mighty Greek/Syrian Empire.

Very much like today;
You and your kind appear to me many, lots of boisterous WAR talk, pointing fingers at others for your lack of any meaningful achievement, you can avoid looking in the mirror for soo long, but that mirror has this habit of walking past you and then comes the moment of eye contact.

My recommendation is a half empty glass of Kosher sour pickle juice to start the day.

PS. As your credit card is likely already maxed out then Vinegar would suffice.

casey said...

I am out of the casino.The time to buy was in march.Buy low sell high.The retail investors are back bidding up prices as usual.the dumb asses never learn.Dont get sucked into this crooked rally.

ContraryRiches said...

Keith,
Don't know if the sugar high is gonna last for all that long...the dollar has been rallying of late...oil is almost below 70 bucks...the sweet sugary taste of cheap rates and cheap money is starting to rot our teeth, and the pain of a dental visit is only a few weeks away...perhaps..
InvestorinPA

SeattleMoose said...

I wonder how many people Keith's blog DIRECTLY helped by giving them the scoop on what was really going on? And by doing so, prevented them from losing thousands if not hundreds of thousands in what everyone now knows was the biggest ponzi scheme and mass insanity, in history.

I am guessing...thousands

Tarptalfhamp said...

Santa Claus rally? Nope. The executive bonuses are already buried or pocketed, and the EU Grinch is snooping about with his rucksack of defaults. Santa is buying three month T-bills and heading for the beach.

Andrew from Russia said...


got that blogger thing fixed...
santa claus rally anyone?


How about a Santa Claus rally in... THE DOLLAR? :) I mean, we've already had our "annus mirabilis" in all kinds of assets, and that dollar rally would make a great finale.
(Yes, I'm loaded with greenbacks to the hilt. In "In God we trust" we trust!)

Bukko Boomeranger said...

Hey Angry Leprechaun, I know Keith is crazy. I think of Keith as a mash-up between Mish and "The Dirty" (two of the blogs on his sidebar.) I read Keith for entertainment, not deep economic advice, because he's funny with a semi-serious edge to him. At least he's thinking, as are many of his commenters.

I don't agree with much of Keith's thinking, or a lot of what his commenters say. (Including you, about 75% of the time.) But at least Keith is thinking, as are you and other people here. I'd rather read the opinions of people I disagree with and laught at, than hear from vapid people who are only interested in talking about shopping or meaningless crap like Tiger Woods, the Balloon Boy, White House party crashers, etc.

So rave on, Keith and Honica Jewinsky and you "the moon landing was a fake!" posters. Keith has said to the peanut gallery here "you entertain me." But it's not only a one-way entertainment street, mate!

casey said...

Why loan modifications are failing:

"modifications have proved troublesome because when people have to tell the truth about their income AND provide documentation there is a real problem. No one saw this coming. What a joke."

When are liar loans coming back?

Anonymous said...

Will Banks have to release some of their Shadow Inventories sooner rather then later.

Can the banks handle the new wave of Option ARM loans that are starting to reset, or will the banks allow the Shadow Inventories to get out of control.

Some say that controlling Shadow Inventories is like pouring water in a funnel.

The funnel can only release so much controlled water out of the bottom.

If more water is poured into the funnel then the funnel can handle, then the water will rise to the top of the funnel and spill over.

That example was probably to simple for you so let's put it this way - sometimes a water master has to release water out of a dam, when weather forecasters say a massive rain storm is coming to town.

The water master does this to make room for the new water and to kept the flow of water from spilling over the top of the dam.

The object of releasing the water out before the massive rain storm is to control any unwanted floor.

Anonymous said...

Angry Leprechaun said...
“A phenomenal amount of wealth has been erased since the housing bust,” Stan Humphries.

It never existed and it still does not. The economy right now is what it is supposed to be, well maybe lower.

_____-------------------------------------


Don't tell Goldman Sachs that the wealth never existed. The bonuses tell a different story.

RayNLA

PS. What up Keith? Nice to see you back Bro!

AMIGAUSER said...

HI KEITH

WHEN CAN WE HAVE A CLIMATEGATE POST?

R U GOING TO SAY SOORY FOR CASTING DOUBT ON THE CLIMATE SCEPTICS?

REMEMBER TEMPERATURE HAVE BEEN GOING DOWN FOR THE LAST 9 YEARS, SCIENTIST DO NOT LIE, UNLESS ITS TO GET GRANT MONEY

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Mad As H*** said...

As a banking insider, trust me, the banks ARE hiding a lot and cooking the books. The big push here of late was to pay back the TARP funds and pretty up the books so year-end bonuses would be fat.

The latest fad among banks--- when a request comes in for a modification or short sale they sell off the loan at a steep discount to another bank who is unaware what is going on with the homeowner. Bank #2 thinks they are getting a deal when they are actually getting screwed.

vanilla ice said...

Keith, can you at least tell us where you are now, or where you were? I imagine you drove the car you bought across middle Europe. The car broke down and you managed to get yourself to Kabul because you wanted to see for yourself what Afghanistan is like. Now you are trying planning your way through the rest of Asia to Hong Kong.

vanilla ice said...

"When are liar loans coming back?"

I think they're already here. The only difference is the liar is the US Government. The biggest player in residential real estate currently is the government. If it wasn't for them we would have no real estate market. The subsidies and market manipulation are enormous.

It's one thing for private citizens to gamble in the market, lie about it, and lose money. It's another thing for a government to attempt to keep the whole scam going itself, and by the same means and methods. What's going on right now is even more F'd then the private housing bubble of the last 15 years. What's going on now is government perpetuated extend and pretend of private debt financed through accounting fraud and 'quantitative easing.'

We've solved nothing. We are just making the situation much worse.

Anonymous said...

So happy to see the Pets.com sock puppet again - I love that little guy.

Smug Bastard

Anonymous said...

You know... even if Americans are pushed out of their homes, they're just going to have to live out of their cars. And do you know what they will take with them as they're being evicted?

Their guns.

There might come a time when they won't be able to afford food, but they'll always be able to buy ammo.

Hmmm... 30 million mobile Americans armed to the teeth with nothing left to lose. Now THAT is going to be a sight!

I just hope those banksters realize what that 6 trillion is going to cost em in the long run. Can anyone say blowback?

And then again... is it any wonder that there are so many concentration camps popping up all over the place? The PTB knew what was coming down the pike.

IB

Anonymous said...

At least there is still allot of jobs in Omaha, Neb.

http://kliv.com/Study--San-Jose-
delivers-pretty-weak-bang-
for-your/5845948

Forbes says your dollar will stretch the most in Omaha, Neb., which enjoys affordable housing and the nation's lowest unemployment rate.

Anonymous said...

"...30 million mobile Americans armed to the teeth with nothing left to lose..."

Freedom's just another word...

and a damn cheapened one at that.

Thanks, leaders!

Anonymous said...

Hey Einsteins! Homeowners did NOT loose $$$5.9 trillion since it's peak of 2006.
THEY WERE ALL TOO STUPID TO OVERPAY $5.9 TRILLION FOR MC. MANSIONS WITH THE IDEA TO FLIP THE PROPERTY TO AN EVEN BIGGER SUCKER.
Buyer beware!!!!
Question? WILL the taxpayer BAIL them out with LOAN MODIFICATIONS???????????
Don't blame the NAR who's simply looking for the highest price for their client and SOLD it.....JOB WELL DONE!!!
Look instead to blame el bankster banditos and el politicians of today and yesteryears.

Mike Hunt said...

Where is Andrew Hac?

Ever since Obama took office he cut and run.

How come he isn't pissing on the Americans who voted for Hope and Change and got the Clinton & Bush administration instead?

-Mike

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