MB Market Update for 8/31/08

Thursday, September 4, 2008

The new MB Market Update spreadsheets are available by clicking here, or at any time by using the link in the upper-right corner of the front page, under MB Market Info & Updates.

The current update covers activity in the second half of August.

A self-indulgent moment first – computer/file problems all but destroyed MBC's data shortly before publication. We blame Microsoft. Data were reconstructed, in part, thanks to free online software. We are grateful to the collective efforts behind OpenOffice.org and NeoOffice.org. Give them a spin.

Back to the meat.

We had 106 active SFRs in our subject region west of Sepulveda as of Aug. 31, down 11 from the end of July. A significant reason – sellers are pulling out rather than adjust their prices (see "Recent Dropouts").

We saw more cancellations in August (16) than sales (new escrows), which totaled 14 for the month. Indeed, cancellations came in at almost 3 times the 2007 rate this Summer. (More on that in a brief story to come.)

There is still plenty to choose from. There were actually slightly more new listings in the second part of August than in the first half (10 vs. 9), with 19 new listings overall for the month. That defies some of the conventional wisdom that late-Summer sellers hold back till after Labor Day.

Among the inventory current as of Aug. 31, there were 18 active SFRs in the Hill Section, 37 in the Sand, and 51 in the Trees.

More detail on all of this in the next few days...

76 comments:

melissa 9/5/08 6:23 AM  

Backups! You need to do periodic backups of your data. External disks are cheap and come with software to automate it. Set it and forget it, until you have a problem.

Anonymous 9/5/08 7:45 AM  

MBW, Can't emphasize enough what Melissa said. Backup, Backup Backup... It's easy and cheap now. Clearly doesn't solve your problem now, but going forward, you'll be glad you did.

Crabman 9/5/08 7:52 AM  

Sorry to hear about the Microsoft problems. Maybe some of these calming teas would help?

melissa 9/5/08 8:23 AM  

I am glad to hear of someone using open office!

What do each of the letters in front of the lines mean.. x, p, w, k, and h (I think that's all of 'em. I can guess most, but a couple weren't obvious to me.

Great information and thank you once again for putting it together. It's nice to see everything in one list!

Off to do her backups!

MBWatcher 9/5/08 8:35 AM  

thanks all

x = expired
k = canceled
w = withdrawn

(3 versions of essentially the same thing)

p = pending/into escrow

h = on hold - a status that is sometimes temporary, sometimes lengthy, sometimes a precursor to cancellation... I consider "hold" listings active for a couple weeks before I drop them from my count of inventory

Anonymous 9/5/08 2:16 PM  

Right on Crabman 7:52!

mookie 9/5/08 7:41 PM  

I can remember only 2 or 3 months ago when Huggy would spout about how inventory in MB was at 4.5 months and that all of us bears were clueless bc inventory was still low and that we were stupid to think things were bad and getting worse. Well well well, here we are at end of summer and now up to 7.5 months and if there weren't cancellations bc homes won't sell, we would be closer to 9 months of inventory. Just another thing our friend has been wrong on. I think all of his "facts at his fingertips" mean that he's now down to his knuckles.

Anonymous 9/5/08 8:18 PM  

Freddie and Fanny going to be taken over by Fed...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080905/mortgage_giants_crisis.html

shoppingaround 9/6/08 5:55 PM  

Some interesting figures I pulled out of MBC's latest update.

HILL: Total Listings YTD: 46
SOLD: 21.73%
MAYbe Sold (including current pending/escrow): 36.9%
Taken Off Market: 21.74%

SAND: Total Listings YTD: 106
SOLD: 32%
MAYbe Sold (including current pending/escrow): 42.4%
Taken Off Market: 23.6%

TREES: Total Listings YTD: 147
SOLD: 41.49%
MAYbe Sold (including current pending/escrow): 48.97%
Taken Off Market: 14.28%

At first glance, it appears that the folks in the Trees are either better at pricing/adjusting prices or there is more demand (more affordable), or maybe a bit of both, as they sell more of their inventory and withdraw less, too.

But if ALL the pendings DO close, then it's getting pretty flat across the three area's SOLD percentages.

Perhaps the SAND and HILL have generally had more of an opinion that since they are "more desirable" their perceptions of their actual worth may have caused them to try to "hold out" on price until the end of summer came swooping upon them.

Like I have said before, MB is a pretty sophisticated market: most buyers and sellers know when they better make a deal....

Huggy 9/6/08 8:19 PM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Huggy 9/6/08 8:23 PM  

Hey, Mook, why so bitter? You lose a good chunk of that downpayment in the market downturn? Or is your wife nagging you because, after peaking in high school, you seem to be living your life through Seinfeld reruns in your crappy rental (landlord ever fix your toilet or did you have to spring for that)?

I can understand, now that you're firmly in the Cult of the Clueless, wanting to distort the wisdom of Huggy - like your clueless brethren, it makes you feel good. But just for everyone else who hasn't been inducted into the Sunshine COTC, I never said that things couldn't get worse (or better, for that matter). As you'll recall, I made no predictions about the housing market going forward (and still don't). Another COTC red herring, this time courtesy of the Mookster.

I merely like to point out that things are never as bad as you and your COTC cohorts claim. For instance, right now total active inventory (SFRs, condos, townhomes) in MB is 192 (source: MRMLS, right at my fingertips). This is below the inventory level at this time two years ago (Source: Trendgraphix, also at my fingertips). And if you take the closed sales in August (32), that translates to 6 months of inventory (a buyer's market, but just barely), not 7.5 as you claim.

Btw, that's a pretty funny joke, your wanting to include non-active former listings in your inventory count. Hell, why not include every home that was ever listed and withdrawn over the past year, then you'll probably have something like a full year's worth of (non)inventory to chortle about.

Mookie, I'm glad you've found a home in the COTC where you can distort facts to make yourself feel better about your rental situation. Why not take it one step further? I hear the latest cult activity is to hallucinate that you already own a home (fully paid for, of course, so you can brag that you're not renting from the bank). I think your clueless friend, RB Dude, is supplying the mushrooms.

mookie 9/6/08 8:53 PM  

Isn't that convenient Costanza, using a wider data set so your arguement sounds a little better. Just yesterday you were spouting off about how rates have taken that huge 1/4 point move to the downside in just one week, but completely ignored the fact that the 30 year fixed jumbo (as well as a few other highly desireable loans) is higher today than where it was a year ago. I guess since you were trying to prove a point you conveniently used a one week comparison. But when I make an arguement that we are up to 7.5 months of inventory for homes West of Sepulveda you once again conveniently broaden your data set to include all of MB. Too much. You would make a great politician.

You can pontificate all you want regarding the strength of MB RE. I have always said it would go down less and recover sooner than other areas, but what I know to be true is that renting over the last 12 months has saved me over $300k off my purchase price, and probably closer to $500k before I finally pull the trigger. In the meantime, my down payment thankfully sits in money market yielding a whopping 2.5% while the S&P has dropped 20%. I'm sure all of those clients you represented on the buy side 12 months ago are happy you insisted MB was different. All they've seen is there equity drop since they moved in. Now go back to studying your dictionary and your freshman French book so you can come back with something real clever.

Anonymous 9/6/08 9:12 PM  

Just curious, do you two know each other? Are you ex-neighbors? This website is pretty cool until one gets to the comments sections. Then it pretty much just drops the luster. Pretty lame.

Anonymous 9/6/08 9:31 PM  

Hey lame-o, 9:12pm, you just committed the same sin.

If I go a few days without reading this blog (rare but it happens) and I have to catch up, I often skip the comments entirely. Enjoy the content and dig into the flame wars only if you're killing time somewhere.

Huggy 9/6/08 10:13 PM  

Bitter, bitter, bitter Mookie. What's going on in your life that's got you so upset? I know you're an emotional guy but your recent tirades are off the charts, noticeably since that plunge in equities on Thursday. Coincidence? I think not.

Gotta love the COTC. You make a general statement about mortgage rates being more rather than less favorable this week versus preceding weeks and the cult's newest pit bull, Mookie, goes off the rails. Say, does that joke work in this context about the difference between Mookie and a pit bull - lipstick? (just wondering).

Mookie, since you brought it up on another thread, 10-Year T Note yields were last at these levels mid-April so I guess we’re talking five months ago instead of six. I suppose if I had known how important a month was to you, I could have gone running for my Yahoo finance tables like you before commenting. However, given the cluelessness of your cult, I wouldn’t complain about being one month off – that’s nothing compared to how far off you and your ilk typically are on things like home values, interest rates, home inventory levels, etc. Hell, most of your cult brethren like RB Dude aren’t even clear on whether they own a house or not so why are you sweating such an insignificant point?

And I guess I need to explain to you and your clueless cohorts that the weekly rate sheets don’t show every rate for every product offered by every lender nor do they make any general statement about mortgage rates nationally. Simply put, the rates sheets will show the best available rate that some lender is offering locally for a given product. Those rates, generally speaking, were lower this past week by about a 1/4 point than they’ve been in recent weeks (for at least one lender per product) - 5.75% for 5/1 jumbo ARM, for example. I never drew any comparisons to rates last year at this time – another of your red herrings.

Mookie, you seem real tense. I'm guessing you got a bunch of calls from upset clients on Friday and your mood has carried over onto this blog. What can I say, Mookster? It's tough all over. At least if your $$ are in money market, you'll do okay.

But what about all your clients you've been steering into equities to earn your fees? And yet you have the cojones to call me out because some of my homebuying clients over the past two years may or may not recover their full downpayment were they to sell today. We'll never know because they're not selling - they were buying homes, not investments, and last I heard they are ecstatic to own in Manhattan Beach (you should try it). Oh, and just so you know, these are sophisticated professional people, much more so than you, so the idea that their realtor pulled the wool over their eyes about home values and how they can be impacted by market cycles is simply another COTC fantasy. Sorry to disappoint.

Serenity now, mookster, serenity now.

redondo_beach_dude 9/6/08 11:36 PM  

huggy

Everyone knows who you are.

You're an easy read.

Your bitterness is so obvious and you don't even realize how enthusiastically you're displaying it.

Subconsciously, you are an extremely angry and scared prepubescent.

Better luck next life.

Anonymous 9/6/08 11:52 PM  

RBLiarDud, aka John, everybody other than the COTC knows who you are. You are an idiot, please rent in San Bernardino.

Anonymous 9/7/08 7:22 AM  

Mookie, I'm glad you are back. You and Huggy have always been my favorites on this site and it is nice to see somebody challenge him with facts rather than name calling. Keep it up.

Anonymous 9/7/08 7:54 AM  

Mookie, your an idiot. Please go back to the hole you crawld out of. This blog is so much better without you. It's bitter enough with the other renters, we don't need your added voice.

Anonymous 9/7/08 8:05 AM  

"5.75% for 5/1 jumbo ARM, for example" That would be up from previous weeks genius.
“Those rates, generally speaking, were lower this past week by about a 1/4 point than they’ve been in recent weeks” Yeah right buddy!
Generally speaking, you have very little knowledge of capital markets and investing. You’re a realtor. Not much different from any other sales person. You claim to have bought a house in the 90s and are now sitting on 7 figures of equity. That fact makes you an idiot. If you believe this is a buyers market, you should refi as much of that equity out as you can and buy something else. Put your money where you mouth is. Oh wait, you can’t get stated income loans anymore. Guess you’re just another bitter owner and king of the clueless.

Huggy 9/7/08 8:27 AM  

RB Dude said "Huggy, subconsciously, you are an extremely angry and scared prepubescent."

The correct response to that statement, according to Eckhart "Pee Wee" Tolle, is "I know you are but what am I?"

RB Dude also said "your bitterness is so obvious and you don't even realize how enthusiastically you're displaying it."

You're right. I'm so bitter I guess I'll have to 'fess up and admit I don't even own a home - I've been faking it all along.

Sound familiar?

8:05 said "You claim to have bought a house in the 90s and are now sitting on 7 figures of equity. That fact makes you an idiot."

Yeah, you're right. I feel like a complete moron. Wish I'd been renting all this time like you savvy capital markets geniuses.

Bitter owners? Is that the new terminology the have-nots are using to refer to the haves on this blog? Whatever happened to "landlord" or just "the man?"

Anonymous 9/7/08 8:32 AM  

More good news...freddie and fannie were on the verge of collapse. Clearly bullish, right huggy?

Anonymous 9/7/08 8:42 AM  

8:05 a.m.

What a load of crap. Huggy is right in what he said about rates. Yes you can get stated income loans, I just got one from the bank I've been with for 35 years. You are a true COTC member.

Huggy 9/7/08 8:49 AM  

But wait, 8:05 is a capital markets genius and a successful investor. He uses Mookie as his investment advisor (that is, until he saw on this blog that the Mookster keeps all his cash in money markets).

redondo_beach_dude 9/7/08 8:58 AM  

8:42 and huggy @ 8:49,

Both huggy, once again.

So transparent.

Realizing he/she/it is on the wrong side of this debate, he/she/it feels the pathetic to support him/her/itself.

Eww, where have your hands been?

One more reason not to shake hands with the realtwhore at the open house.

Timothy617 9/7/08 8:59 AM  

Taking 7 figures of equity out of your home and buying an income property is much smarter than watching it get diluted in this market. Particularly, when debt is this cheap.

Fannie and Freddie were seized by the feds. That's not good news.

Huggy 9/7/08 9:18 AM  

What were you saying about prepubescent, RB Dude? Oh, that's right, I forgot.

That which you see in others, you already embody, else you would not recognize it.

Eckhart "Pee Wee" Tolle (or is it Trolle?)

Timmy, what do you mean about the government takeover of Fannie & Freddie not being good news? Doesn't that essentially guarantee their mortgages which was the biggest concern? They own or guarantee more than $5 trillion of home mortgages. Also, banks and thrifts own about $1 trillion in Fannie & Freddie debt. May not be good for John Q Taxpayer (but what does the COTC care since their barely-above-minimum wage careers don't generate much of a tax liability anyway?) but should be good for the housing market.

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:39 AM  

Fannie and Freddie being "seized" by the fed is great news. This will create confidence in the two institutions because now the federal government is the back-stop where as before it was the perceived backstop. The spread off the t's should decrease thus lowering interest rates. Cost to taxpayers? Probably not much if anything because once the problems reduce the bond values will increase. I thinks the bonds are undervalued anyway but there is no way to know for sure until the foreclosures sell. Exposure to US Taxpayers is about $10 to $15 per year if things don't work out.

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:41 AM  

What I meant was $10 to $15 per year per person in US ($3 to $4.5 billion per year)

Anonymous 9/7/08 10:08 AM  

Huggy, check out this site. I guarantee it will bring you pleasure and put a smile on your face.

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=42498

redondo_beach_dude 9/7/08 1:48 PM  

Whatever happened to "landlord" or just "the man?"

"the man", a term that never has been, nor ever will be ascribed to huggy.

"a little girl in a pink tutu"

Yes, that's it!

Anonymous 9/7/08 1:52 PM  

RBLiarDud, someone suggested you invest in tulips . . . oh, sorry, you've already done that.

Timothy617 9/7/08 1:58 PM  

Oh you're right. The government must be taking them over because they think it is fun, and we'll all be singing kumbaya in a few months.
Are you kidding huggy, this is what everyone said would never happen, and IF it did, watch out!
If Fannie and Freddie couldn't figure it out, what do you think is going to happen to the 90+ banks on the FDIC list?
Are you sure those rose colored glasses you are wearing aren’t actually blinders?

redondo_beach_dude 9/7/08 2:05 PM  

Nope 10:08 not me. More than one redondo beach dude is not hard to imagine, in fact it makes a lot of sense.

Huggy 9/7/08 3:50 PM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
mookie 9/7/08 4:29 PM  

Hold on 9:39am. Let's be clear, Cliff Huggy Clavin says without pause that mortgage rates follow the 10 year Treasury. After all, he's a realtor, knows some big words, and speaks French. For the last few months money has been moving away from GSE debt and into Treasury debt. Now that Fannie and Freddie are backstopped, you should now see money flow away from Treasuries and back into Fannie and Freddie. That means Treasury rates will increase, which then means, according to our PHD realtor, that mortgage rates will increase. Not my logic, but the benevolent one's. That can't be good for housing.

Now that the Feds stepped in, all of our RE problems are gone. Starting tomorrow there will be no more foreclosures, no more write downs, all the banks will open up the lending spiggot, unemployment will start to decline, credit card delinquencies will stop, luxary car dealers will have banner months, our problems are all over. Long live the US Government!

Anonymous 9/7/08 4:35 PM  

jeez, calm down everybody...

huggy is an a-hole.

doesn't everybody know this?

like the man said

stop feeding the troll!

Huggy 9/7/08 5:26 PM  

Ooops, posted this response to Timmy under the Fannie/Freddie thread.

Timmy, you are truly clueless. First, you can't even muster a coherent response to my questions, then you shift to a non-statement (and non sequitur) involving other banks.

"If they (Fannie & Freddie) get bailed out, then mortgages are easier to get than if they go under, and that's what this is all about,"
- David Wessel, Economics Editor, Wall Street Journal

"Although the US Government had made clear that it would stand behind Fannie and Freddie, the markets were so spooked by the companies’ mounting losses that the cost of their borrowing was rising. That in turn was pushing up the cost of US mortgages, more than three quarters of which are being financed by Fannie and Freddie. The US Government’s support for the companies should have an immediate impact on those mortgage rates, which may lessen the risk that US house prices “overshoot” on the way down as they did on the way up."
- David Wighton, Business Editor, Times On Line.

Timmy, I'm beginning to think you're just a no-nothing, bible-thumping boob in the COTC. If I were you, I'd start using that Power of Now by pretending you already own a home like your fellow Tolle cultist RB Dude; you don't have the smarts to own one in real life.

Speaking of a dearth of smarts, Mookie, I know you've gone over the edge but try and gather yourself and read the above quotes for comprehension, s'il vous plait. Jeez, your bitterness is striking. Seriously, the equity market's problems causing you that much angst (I noticed you referred to "our problems" above).

I actually have to laugh a little at your obvious distress because most of my $$ are safely tucked away, just as you claim you've done with your piles of cash (even as you attempt to justify your fees to your clients). However, if you know a good financial advisor who can shed some light on the next profitable move for equities, I'd welcome the referral.

Anonymous 9/7/08 5:52 PM  

Not to mention that Huggy, RB Dude and a few others are all the same person who spends their day arguing with himself.

Timothy617 9/7/08 6:40 PM  

Too hard to keep track of your rants?
You're posting comments from editors. (i.e., people with no skin in the game...today or ever)
I don't thump. I gently caress.
This is a big deal and not a positive event by any account.
We'll see tomorrow. Hold on tight!
BTW,
That other post was right. 7 figures in equity just sitting doing nothing. That's great if you're 65 and retired.

Anonymous 9/7/08 7:39 PM  

Wow. Any reader can tell those that cannot afford to buy here but wish they could. Read the comment by "mookie". There is one bitter person. He missed the market, now he sits here and posts how the world is falling apart. Trust me, junior: it'll fall apart if you let it. If you don't, yours won't.

Hey, junior, not everyone can afford to live here. Get used to it. That is life.

Anonymous 9/7/08 7:46 PM  

Wow, any reader can tell that anon 7:39 is huggy.

Now there is one bitter a-hole.

Anonymous 9/7/08 7:50 PM  

7.39pm

I have no idea who Mookie is or what he stands for, but I can tell you this... he has not missed the market. Anyone who is waiting to buy right now is in the most prime position of their life. This avalanche is just picking up steam and I for one am looking forward to picking up a couple of extra properties for half the price I would have paid two to three years ago. BTW, I'm a multiple home owner and have been for over 26 years.

Anonymous 9/7/08 8:26 PM  

"Anyone who is waiting to buy right now is in the most prime position of their life. This avalanche is just picking up steam and I for one am looking forward to picking up a couple of extra properties for half the price I would have paid two to three years ago."


Ditto.

hermosa beach dude 9/7/08 8:28 PM  

"Anyone who is waiting to buy right now is in the most prime position of their life. This avalanche is just picking up steam and I for one am looking forward to picking up a couple of extra properties for half the price I would have paid two to three years ago."


Ditto.

el porto dude 9/7/08 8:29 PM  

"Anyone who is waiting to buy right now is in the most prime position of their life. This avalanche is just picking up steam and I for one am looking forward to picking up a couple of extra properties for half the price I would have paid two to three years ago."


Ditto.

yes, even manhattan beach dude 9/7/08 8:29 PM  

"Anyone who is waiting to buy right now is in the most prime position of their life. This avalanche is just picking up steam and I for one am looking forward to picking up a couple of extra properties for half the price I would have paid two to three years ago."


Ditto.

MB grim reaper 9/7/08 8:35 PM  

you MB homoaner folks are screwed, and you don't know it.

That's precisely why.

Because you don't know it.

By the time you figure it out...

Too late.

For sale signs sprout up like weeds on front lawns, in immune MB.

But no buyers.

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...............

Anonymous 9/7/08 8:41 PM  

oh, wait, i forgot.

Seek huggy for advice.

He is who to listen to.

I'm coming in at $.50 cents on the dollar.

Don't think so?

Oh, yeah.

Seek huggy for advice, while he's still here... won't be in a year or so, too busy scrambling for change.

sand section dude 9/7/08 8:43 PM  

"Anyone who is waiting to buy right now is in the most prime position of their life. This avalanche is just picking up steam and I for one am looking forward to picking up a couple of extra properties for half the price I would have paid two to three years ago."


Ditto.


...and you folks a still in denial.


LMAO :-)

now doubting huggy after all 9/7/08 8:47 PM  

ohmigod!
vewyvewyscawy.
huggywhatdowedo?

Anonymous 9/7/08 8:49 PM  

8:35 p.m.

You're such a fool. You could not be more wrong. Just another bitter renter wishing for the complete collapse of the market in MB. Never going to happen dude, NEVER.

huggy sheeple 9/7/08 8:50 PM  

huggy help, you're our main ahole!


HEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!

BAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

your superior 9/7/08 8:53 PM  

8:49 your head is pretty far up there.

can you see out of your belly button?


ok, wave byebye!

Huggy 9/7/08 8:55 PM  

7:50, if the "avalanche is just picking up steam," why aren't you selling your multiple properties now so you can buy even more properties cheaper in the future? Or are you a homeowner like RB Dude (purely in your mind's eye)? Always curious why those who are so certain the real estate market is going to crash also claim to be homeowners or multiple property owners, yet they're not selling. There's a basic logical disconnect there. Of course, as was demonstrated explicitly by RB Dude, many of the so-called "homeowners" on this blog who say they want to see the local RE market crash are just liars and bitter renters, not homeowners.

8:35, the voice of the have-not bitter renters on this blog. Anyone who thinks this blog is an objective, unbiased look at the local real estate market rather than a haven for the bitter renter, anti-homeowner crowd needs to re-read his comment (or anything from Mookie, Timmy, MB Ranter, RB Dude, Sold&Waiting To Buy or any of the other COTC loons who flock to their cult master, MBW).

8:47, I would suggest hiding under your bed. You'll have plenty of company with this blog's fan base, many of whom have been under there since the late '90s.

the toaster 9/7/08 9:08 PM  

huggy, you're toast!


LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLMAOLMAOLMAOLMAOLMAOLMAOLMAOLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NITEYNITE!

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:11 PM  

Huggy -

I'll tell you why Fanny and Freddie beong taken over will be a negative on the market in the medium and long run...

Both of the presidential candidates favor a greatly diminsished role for Freddie and Fannie in the future. They will likely either be dismantled or be greatly reduced in size next year, to be replaced by private mortgage lending and loan securitization. Whereas Freddie and Fannie were happy to backstop the securitization of loans that were "wink, wink" underwritten to conforming standards (read as complete crap loans), private entities will most likely enforce much stricter underwriting policies. Mortgages will become even harder to get next year. Anyone wanting a mortgage with less than 20% down will pay up. The overly lax oversight of underwriting that allows private banks to securitize crap loans today will change.

Second, Fannie and Freddie are sitting on a massive pile of bad loans ($300B by some estimates) that are now going to backed by the US Treasury and taxpayer. Propping up Freedy and Fannie will cost tens of billions per year for several years. It will be paid for by (i) higher taxes (unlikely given the campaign promises of both McCain and Obama), (ii) more US government deficit spending and debt (which drives up the overall cost of borrowing), or (iii) the Feds boosting money supply via loans to Freddie and Fannie (inflationary). None of these are good for housing prices or mortgage rates. Higher inflation might be good for some homeowners with market rate salaries and fixed rate mortgages.

Paulson's "stability" comes with a very high long term cost.

MB homoaner 9/7/08 9:11 PM  

I think hugys right.

Real estate can't lose $ in Manhattan Beach.

Why?





I don't know.



I'm so F'd.

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:15 PM  

Data question,

Huggy has been kind enough to provide median sales figures for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Good for discussion.

In addition to the median sales values, i'd be very curious to compare average DOM and CDOM for these same time periods. It would seem to me that DOM and CDOM are likely a leading indicator of where pricing is going in the future. More important in many ways than where its been.

HOLLYWOOD RIVIERA DUDE 9/7/08 9:16 PM  

9:11

Don't try to reason with huggy, he has no intellect.
He can only repeat what he's heard.
No capacity for original thinking.

Get it? Good.

He won't.

Just watch.

Speak huggy, SPEAK!

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:17 PM  

9:15 is huggy asking him/her/itself for information.





God how pathetic.

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:27 PM  

What is the best way to find FSBO properties in MB?

purely facetious 9/7/08 9:29 PM  

ask huggy!

Anonymous 9/7/08 9:29 PM  

Food for thought. I reckon that the more Huggy is spending time posting here, the stronger an indicator it is of a weak local real estate market. If Huggy had legions of buyers making offers on his listings as he claims (all is well...prices are 10% higher than 2005), why in God's name would he be wasting his time on a blog frequented by people he claims to despise? Makes no sense.

For kicks, I went to a few open houses today. The presiding realtors reminded me of the Maytag repairman commercials. Sad, lonely, only one or two names in the sign in sheets. They all threw out the obligatory line about it being a great time to buy in MB...MB real estate never goes down...blah blah blah. When i asked one of the realtors how many CEOs, sports stars or wealthy actors had come to visit THIS particular house today....I drew a blank stare and much stammering.

Anonymous 9/7/08 10:08 PM  

Huggy is one of the very few on the blog with a brain. Most of you are just pissed off that he is always right. You just can't stand it. I think it is very very funny.

All you bitter renters should pool your funds and buy something. You will love lawndale or Hawthorne.

Anonymous 9/7/08 10:50 PM  

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=42498

Anonymous 9/8/08 8:14 AM  

10:08 - Huggy, how many anonymous posts do you make per day on average?

Anonymous 9/8/08 9:52 AM  

Once more, in fact many times more, Huggy posts fact and conjecture relative to those FACTS!

Everyone else just spouts subjective opinions, worthlesss hopes and articles that may or may not have anything to do with the local market.

I especially like the half price guyand his ditto-heads. Fact-based for sure!

Anonymous 9/8/08 10:24 AM  

8:14 a.m

The 10:08 p.m. post is not Huggy I can assure you of that fact. But with your small mind it's hard for you to understand that some of us actually think Huggy is right most of the time. I really don't give a damn if you think I'm Huggy. I would rather be him than you I'll tell you that.

Timothy617 9/8/08 10:34 AM  

Isn't it interesting that only anonymous posters agree and defend huggy, and there are no supporters of huggy with a Google handle or even a non-anonymous identity.

Huggy 9/8/08 11:45 AM  

Timmy, that's because all of those anonymous posts are mine. You see, I realize that, as part of your therapy, you and your fellow cult members need a villain to sustain the cult. I serve that function (no need to thank me).

Counter to that therapy would be the realization that there are in fact many, many Huggy supporters (homeowners and realtors among them) whereas your cult is made up mainly of two groups - bitter renters (of, shall we say, modest means) and 20-something stoners on here just for a goof. In sum, it appears you've thrown in your lot (not a real estate term, btw)with a bunch of beach city losers (if they even live at the beach - I'm thinking Lawndale). Of course, you probably fit in one of those two sub-groups as well (emphasis on sub).

Since I'm big on logic (a term that is anathema to your cult, I know), why do you think that homeowners and other realtors, who know I stand behind them on this blog, would not support the ol' Hugster? Ooops, sorry, I guess that's interfering with your therapy again. You're right, let's throw out logic - it's just me on this blog and all the local homeowners, homesellers and realtors actually support you, MBW and your cult's anti-homeowner, anti-realtor viewpoint.

Feel better?

Anonymous 9/8/08 12:48 PM  

10:34 a.m.

Timmy my boy... I'm a defender of the Hugster most of the time. I will soon add an identity name so you will feel better. For what it's worth, I actually know several posters that agree with Huggy most of the time. Maybe I can get them to add an actual identification. Anything we can to help with your therapy we will galdly do for you. Isn't that what the book you thump tell us to do?

Anonymous 9/8/08 1:53 PM  

Timmy back at makin copies again I see. So you are not anonymous Timmy boy, just like RBDud. How about COTC Hater? That can be my handle. Who cares, as everyone is anonymous on this site anyway.

Anonymous 9/8/08 2:01 PM  

I think Tim's point was that the only people that agree with huggy are actually huggy.
ps,
you're a loser
pps
this might be timmy
ppps
you might be huggy
pppps
you might be me...

TimIsAnIdiot 9/8/08 3:13 PM  

I agree with Huggy on many things. I think RBLiarDud is an idiot. I think Mookie missed the boat. Are you happy now Timmy Boy.

Anonymous 9/8/08 3:26 PM  

Tim- I agree with Huggy on many things. I think the market will be flat or continue to lose momentum and we could have a correction. I don't think Huggy believes that the market will go up over the next year. At least, I never interpret his posts as being a bull, just a little optimistic. And doesn't he have to be since his income relies on people buying/selling.

Signed,

Crabmanisthebiggestidiotofall, with his related party hypothetical 15% losses that he tried to pass off on the COTC.