Along with “happy happy joy joy” employment reports, the mainstream media has been vigorously applauding the “recovery” of America’s housing market. Home prices rose 8.1 percent in January, after a 7.3 annualized increase in the fourth quarter of 2012 – the third straight quarter of growth.
Awesome, right?
Wrong. Poking a hole in all of this hot air is Tyler Durden over at Zero Hedge – who reveals some discomforting data which shows the current recovery as a likely “self-destroying bubble” without any real “organic growth.”
“If you dig down just an inch or two into the real data, the housing ‘recovery’ is the little train that isn’t,” Durden notes.
The most troubling stat? The rate of mortgage applications – which remains depressingly stagnant.
Take a look …
Chart: Bloomberg
Meanwhile, as for those rising prices we’re neglecting to consider the impact of inflation.
“When we look at housing prices in real terms, the adjustment will take much longer,” an industry expert told Fox Business recently. “We will see, in many markets, double-digit nominal price increases. This is not necessarily a sign of a boom, but a reversion to normal pricing. We should not forget that if a price declines by 50 (percent), it will then need to increase by 100 (percent) to return to the same price. If we go back to the real or inflation-adjusted price, we can note that 3 (percent) appreciation is required when we have inflation on 3 (percent) to just stay even in real terms.”
Wait … none of you fools took fractions?
Sheesh …
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22 comments
Yet FITS told us there is NO difference in Obama and Romeny…
Obama Screwed up (Stil Screwing Up) the economy.
He has thwarted the Keystone Pipeline and he’s strangling business with regulation. No REAL Good news.
FITS, and the rest of the wannbe-liked libertarians, Bashed Romney (to the benefit of Obama)…but I Garan-D@*n-Tee you, we’d already see a Blistering, and REAL, Recovery if Romney were elected….
As it is: the MISERY will do nothing but continue…and Get WORSE when ObamaCare invades us…
Thanks FITS: You F*%kin clueless Idiot…and now you want us to elect Sanford…
Do you copy and paste this worn out cliché every week? If you want to copy and paste shit, start by citing where I can find why Keystone would benefit the U.S. so we’ll all know why you’re so outraged.
You mean like this: What could go wrong with a pipeline from Canada?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/01/us/arkansas-pipeline-spill/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
Pipelines never leak thousands of barrels of oil! You should let us build one over a very sensitive and large underground source of water tons of people depend on so we can transport it to refine it and sell it overseas, you know, because that helps the country somehow, or something.
Unemployment rate lower than when Bush left office.
Interest rates lower than when Bush left office.
Real Estate prices higher that when Bush left office.
Stock Market much higher than when bush left office.
Annual debt as a percentage of GDP lower than Bush’s last budget year,
Gas prices lower than their highest under Bush.
Monthly US consumer spending higher than when Bush left office.
MISERY INDEX (you like that one) August 2008 – 11.47 February 2013 – 9.68
What measure of the Economy are we using to define screwed up?
The economy is in the prolonged WORST Shape it has been in Since Carter. And you ignorant sons of B!*ches take a downturn month, that was the WORST of 2008, and use it to try to pump up that IDIOT Obama…
Bush had a GREAT ecoomy for most of 8 years….Obama has been a F*#kin’ disaster. And idiots like you are foolish enablers for FAILURE. You are Un-Ameircan…and stupid…
James;
You’re kind of missing the point (not T’s, if he has one). The economy is not getting better. More people are out of work, but unemployment is down. Why? Historically interest rate go up, not down, when the government creates fiat currency. Why? Real Estate prices are higher, but fewer families and individuals own homes. Why?
Respectfully, you sound like a Demlican drone spouting talking points. Do you ever ask questions, wonder why?
Whatever.
Big T, the fact that Bush was able to ride the Clinton Economy for a few years after he was elected, does not change the fact he crashed the economy before he left. Everything is better now than it was during Bush’s last year as President. In eight short years Bush managed to take a vibrant economy and annual tax surplus and crash it into the ground.
Just as Bush benefited from Clinton’s boom, Obama suffered from Bush’s crash. But don’t worry, its getting better now.
Yet FITS told us there is NO difference in Obama and Romeny…
Obama Screwed up (Stil Screwing Up) the economy.
He has thwarted the Keystone Pipeline and he’s strangling business with regulation. No REAL Good news.
FITS, and the rest of the wannbe-liked libertarians, Bashed Romney (to the benefit of Obama)…but I Garan-D@*n-Tee you, we’d already see a Blistering, and REAL, Recovery if Romney were elected….
As it is: the MISERY will do nothing but continue…and Get WORSE when ObamaCare invades us…
Thanks FITS: You F*%kin clueless Idiot…and now you want us to elect Sanford…
Do you copy and paste this worn out cliché every week? If you want to copy and paste shit, start by citing where I can find why Keystone would benefit the U.S. so we’ll all know why you’re so outraged.
You mean like this: What could go wrong with a pipeline from Canada?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/01/us/arkansas-pipeline-spill/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
Pipelines never leak thousands of barrels of oil! You should let us build one over a very sensitive and large underground source of water tons of people depend on so we can transport it to refine it and sell it overseas, you know, because that helps the country somehow, or something.
Unemployment rate lower than when Bush left office.
Interest rates lower than when Bush left office.
Real Estate prices higher that when Bush left office.
Stock Market much higher than when bush left office.
Annual debt as a percentage of GDP lower than Bush’s last budget year,
Gas prices lower than their highest under Bush.
Monthly US consumer spending higher than when Bush left office.
MISERY INDEX (you like that one) August 2008 – 11.47 February 2013 – 9.68
What measure of the Economy are we using to define screwed up?
The economy is in the prolonged WORST Shape it has been in Since Carter. And you ignorant sons of B!*ches take a downturn month, that was the WORST of 2008, and use it to try to pump up that IDIOT Obama…
Bush had a GREAT ecoomy for most of 8 years….Obama has been a F*#kin’ disaster. And idiots like you are foolish enablers for FAILURE. You are Un-Ameircan…and stupid…
James;
You’re kind of missing the point (not T’s, if he has one). The economy is not getting better. More people are out of work, but unemployment is down. Why? Historically interest rate go up, not down, when the government creates fiat currency. Why? Real Estate prices are higher, but fewer families and individuals own homes. Why?
Respectfully, you sound like a Demlican drone spouting talking points. Do you ever ask questions, wonder why?
Whatever.
Big T, the fact that Bush was able to ride the Clinton Economy for a few years after he was elected, does not change the fact he crashed the economy before he left. Everything is better now than it was during Bush’s last year as President. In eight short years Bush managed to take a vibrant economy and annual tax surplus and crash it into the ground.
Just as Bush benefited from Clinton’s boom, Obama suffered from Bush’s crash. But don’t worry, its getting better now.
Another not so well known fact is most of the houses that are being bought are purchased by investors that rent the homes out, or put them back on the market at ridiculously high prices In an effort to prevent the market from collapsing. This will keep the market price of homes, in general, inflated beyond what they are actually worth. Another Obamney love fest with your money.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46892030
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Real-Estate/News/2012/03/30/Investor-Purchases-Soar-65-Percent/9321333117717/
To bad really. I would like to buy a house, but I won’t until the market finishes collapsing. The investors will be running out of cash soon. Then the turds will fly.
Another not so well known fact is most of the houses that are being bought are purchased by investors that rent the homes out, or put them back on the market at ridiculously high prices In an effort to prevent the market from collapsing. This will keep the market price of homes, in general, inflated beyond what they are actually worth. Another Obamney love fest with your money.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46892030
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Real-Estate/News/2012/03/30/Investor-Purchases-Soar-65-Percent/9321333117717/
To bad really. I would like to buy a house, but I won’t until the market finishes collapsing. The investors will be running out of cash soon. Then the turds will fly.
Interesting….I’ll have to let my friend, who processes mortgages and says his bank is slammed with mortgage business, know that he doesn’t really have any work…..
Interesting….I’ll have to let my friend, who processes mortgages and says his bank is slammed with mortgage business, know that he doesn’t really have any work…..