Can't Ignore the Rush of News

Let's get outside our comfy confines a moment and see what the rest of the world is saying about real estate.

Countrywide Financial CEO Anthony Mozilo, yesterday:

We are experiencing home price depreciation almost like never before, with the exception of the Great Depression.

Ian Shepherdson, economist for High Frequency Economics, today:

Housing is contracting at an accelerating pace, taking out with a vengeance the brief stabilization at the turn of the year, when mild weather and plunging gas prices supported activity.

Front page of the LA Times today:

Foreclosures [statewide] soared to 17,408 for the three months ended June 30, an increase of 799% from the same period last year. The current rate handily exceeds the previous foreclosure peak set in 1996, when the state was in the final throes of a six-year slump....

Most analysts say the housing market won't stabilize until 2008 or 2009. The so-called soft landing that was much talked about last year is rarely mentioned anymore.

On second thought, let's go to the beach.