The most distressing content most of us have ever seen on Facebook falls within the realm of the overshare: your boss’s Vegas stag party pics, or your new boyfriend’s status change from single to “it’s complicated.” But …
housing
Why Underwater Mortgages Don’t Kill Jobs
If you’re wondering why you can’t find a job, don’t blame your underwater mortgage.
That’s the finding of a new study by economists Colleen Donovan and Calvin Schnure, which attempts to get at the roots of our stubborn joblessness problem. There are a lot of economists speculating that homeowners who can’t afford to pay off their …
How to Fix the Dire Housing Numbers
Time for more housing stimulus. The question is how.
According to numbers released today by the National Association of Realtors, home sales fell 3.8% in May. They were down 15% from a year ago. Home prices were down as well, 5% lower than a year ago. And while 4% might not sound like a big drop for sales, for this time of year it is. …
What Should I Bid on a House?
Let me revisit a classic home buyer's question ("What should I bid on a property?") with some insights for today's modern, love-to-bargain, Internet data-filled world. It's a re-examination of home buying in a Groupon …
3 Hot Real Estate Markets That You’ve Likely Never Heard Of
Rarely does a week go by without someone publishing a list of real estate markets that are recession-proof, or that have recovered already, or that they predict will recover sooner than others.
The Newest Real Estate Trouble: “Flopping”
Real estate markets are somewhat inefficient. This shortcoming allows me to make my living, because as an agent, I can add value with a keen sense of pricing. However, the imperfect market also allows room for scams. Meet the …
Who’s Hiring: Why the Job Market Slowdown Might Not be Temporary
Foreclosure Watch: It’s Not as Bad as You Think
As the U.S.’s foreclosure crisis plays out, homeowners are slowly catching up on paying their mortgages.
Why House Prices are Double Dipping
Welcome back to the sour economy.
It didn’t take long after the Memorial Day break to get the latest signs that the recovery remains in the gutter. The housing market has been looking like it was headed for a double dip for some time. On Tuesday, we got confirmation that it happened. According to the S&P/Case-Shilller housing index, …
Is the Home Foreclosure Crisis Ending?
Foreclosures have been holding back the housing market for some time. It’s one of the reasons housing prices have continued to sag, long after many predicted a rebound. But recently there has been some news that seems to suggest a light at the end of the housing bust tunnel. The number of completed foreclosures has been dropping …
Obama’s New Economic Advisor Defended Subprime Lending
Austan Goolsbee and President Obama (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
It has become taboo to defend anything having to do with subprime lending. Why would you? It’s clear now that banks and mortgage brokers handed out expensive loans to many people who had little ability to make the payments. It’s also clear that the result was not …
The Not-So-Bright Spot in the Gloomy Housing Report
No more need to wait for the double dip in housing. It appears to be here. Earlier today, the National Association of Realtors announced housing market figures for July and the numbers were not nice indeed. Sales of existing homes fell 27% in July from the month before. July was the slowest pace for single family house sales since May of …