Barney Frank: Hall of Shame...

Behold, one of the idiots in Congress that is bankrupting you, your family and the United States. Are Americans this pathetically stupid? This man enjoys high approval ratings in Massachusetts. By the way, this hypocrite is a renter according to wikipedia.

Miami Real Estate Futures Collapse...

Check out the action today on the CME Real Estate Futures for the Miami November 2009 contract! CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE. What are real estate futures? From the Chicago Mercantile  Exchange website:   “S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price (CSI) Indices futures and options are the first comprehensive...

Seeking a source for an AP news story...

Dear readers, I’d like to assist an Associated Press reporter working on a story relating to condo associations and HOA delinquency rates. How are the new Fannie Mae lending guidelines (which have HOA delinquency rate cut offs for loans) affecting the buildings with high delinquency rates? Common...

Miami Back to Historic Price to Rent Rat...

I’ve received some questions about a chart Calculated Risk recently posted demonstrating that Miami is nearly back to 1999 price to rent ratios. Reproduced here: Convincing evidence that we are reaching a bottom? Think again. Here is the BLS rent index used to make to make the aforementioned...

Closing Rates are Immaterial...

A certain Baghdad Bob of Miami Realtors® just loves to post closing rates for condo buildings every few months. He seems to have it ingrained in his warped mind that hitting the 70% sold mark somehow makes a condo building a safe “investment”. For your consideration, I present Miami Condo...

Dubai Real Estate Crash Reminiscent of M...

Dubai is in the “no bid” stage. We all know that the “any bid” stage soon follows. And thus the collapse begins.

How to Take Advantage of Crashing Rents...

I can’t get this video embedded. Just click here to watch. The very end is the best part.

Real Estate Downfall...

I was just re-watching this clip and it occurred to me that I should post it. It’s a few months old, but still great: Update: I was just thinking about this clip and realized it may be offensive to some people. It has 1.5 million views and 5 stars on youtube so I didn’t think so. But if...

Update: Depression 2009 Futures At 13%...

I guess the GDP numbers convinced traders that this recession won’t be so bad. Even so, it’s still not time to buy a luxury Miami condo with valet, spa, and 3 pools. Miami condo speculators are still fckd.

Wall Street Journal: 17% of Florida Jumb...

So not only does Florida have considerable issues with subprime, Alt-A, and option ARMs, but now our jumbo loans (those above the limit that FNM and FRE will purchase) are imploding. The Wall Street Journal reports that Florida and California, where most jumbo loans were made, are experiencing some major...

As If Things Weren’t Bad Enough Al...

Have you heard about this Chinese drywall controversy? Here’s the link to the already pending class action lawsuit website: Is your new Florida home filled with the odor of rotten eggs? Have you had to pay for frequent repairs on your home’s air conditioning system, wiring or pipes? Have...

Barrage of Condos Coming Online...

These units are either definitely coming online or just recently available. Once these units are purchased by idiot speculators to rent out or directly rented out by the developers, rents should take a nice hit. Miami Miami Beach Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour, North Bay Village

Miami-Dade Population Increase vs. Condo...

Over the last decade there was quite a bit of Realtor® propaganda about the population increase in Miami-Dade driving the condo building craze. For your consideration I’ve made a nice graph of population increase by decade vs. condo units built. The key point is that Miami-Dade population increased...

Kool-Aid Kwuote Flashback...

Source: “Trading Places: Real Estate Instead of Dot-Coms“, New York Times, March 25, 2005 Hat tip - F. Premonitions of a bubble on the verge of popping do not ruffle those who are bullish on real estate. In Miami, Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, predicted that...

Implications of the Pound Sterling Colla...

In my previous entry analyzing the collapse of the pound sterling, I saw the effects that it would have on sales going forward, but failed to realize the even bigger effect on housing already sold. First, check out this article from 2007: Two years ago, while attending the home builders’ annual...

No More British Condo Buyers...

The British pound is getting annihilated. The British banking system is insolvent. Nationalization of British banks is imminent. 8 years of currency gains wiped out in a few months. Got gold? Time for Miamians to invest in London real estate? (Hell no, but it’s smarter than buying Miami...

Ten Museum Park Owners Slammed with 36% ...

It was only a few days ago that I discussed the vicious cycle of condo price decline, and now we already have a real world example. Ten Museum Park owners allegedly had their HOA increase from 0.55¢/sf per month to 0.75¢/sf per month in December. This is an increase of 36.3%, just like that!  As...

Months of Supply Metric is Utter Nonsens...

Many Realtors® use a faulty metric in which they divide the number of properties listed on the MLS by the current sales rate to derive months of supply. Intuitively you should be very suspicious of this number. It fails to take human nature into account. What do sellers do if their property listing...

Say Goodbye to Russian Condo Buyers...

Miami Realtors® love to talk up all the Russian condo buyers stressing that “you’d better buy now before all those rich Russians price you out of the market”.  Well, I call their bullshit. The rouble (ruble) is in free fall: “Russia’s ruble sank the most against the dollar...

Low Interest Rates = Worst Time To Buy...

Here’s a simple exercise that requires a 5th grade level of math understanding… unfortunately most economists and Realtors® won’t get it: Q: Joe Sixpack (the hypothetical average American) can afford a $1,000/month mortgage payment. “How much house” can Joe Sixpack afford...