Market Conditions
Paulson Pushes Bush Plan to Revamp the U.S. Financial Regulatory System
March 31, 2008 by REALonomics · Leave a Comment
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has outlined the Bush blueprint that proposes revamping the regulation of the nations financial oversight. Is this plan beneficial to the real estate, mortgage and title industries? Furthermore, how will this impact Wall Street, if at all?
Is this, as Paulson claims, good for “working Americans?” See our previous REALonomics post.
Watch the Paulson video here.
The National Equity Value Flip
March 7, 2008 by REALonomics · Leave a Comment
This report states that our national equity value has flipped to the negative. For the first time in history we owe more on a national basis than our homes are collectively worth.
Copyright © 2008, MSNBC Nightly News.
REALonomics: Polling Market Trends
March 3, 2008 by REALonomics · Leave a Comment
Polling is an important component of REALonomics. Our last poll asked the question, “Should the U.S. Government Intervene in the Sub-Prime Mortgage Crises?” 71% of respondents said “NO” and 29% said “YES” in this poll.
Without defining what is meant by the use of the word “intervene” it appears to us that there is a strong bias in favor of non-interference. But is it possible for the U.S. government take a position of pure non-interference, given its influence over the money supply, credit conditions and the policies of national mortgage departments such as Freddy Mac?
Our new poll attempts to measure your local market trend in terms of your perception of its sales based upon whatever criteria you chose to use. We hear what the media says and we hear and read the reports that are published by the “authoritative” voices within the industry. But what do you say? What is your market trend?
Brokerage, mortgage and title services may all participate.
Please vote in our REALonomics poll and see the results instantly.
Make comments on the poll by clicking the link below.
About the Recession Door
January 23, 2008 by REALonomics · 2 Comments
REALonomics received positive and negative feedback, online and offline, regarding our PhotoBlog entitled “REALonomics: Recession!” posted yesterday, January 22, 2008. By this PhotoBlog we have proven that a picture is worth MORE than a thousand words!
About six weeks ago, REALonomics came to the conclusion that that we were at the door of recession, the strength of which we were not prepared to estimate. A post was prepared in advance but not published. After watching Washington’s call for stimulation, Chairman Bernanke’s testimony, the global market downturn two days ago and the Federal Reserves mid-night pajama telephone conference to lower the prime by .75, the highest reduction in a quarter century, we felt that our position was confirmed…the door to recession was now open…rather than text posting…be photo-blogged.
For too long, the real estate brokerage, mortgage and title industries have adopted a “let’s not say anything negative” approach to the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. REALonomics thinks this passive position has been a huge mistake on the part of the industry and indeed, may have kept us from aggressively pursuing solutions within our industry.
Our “recession” call is not predicated on the old GDP decline rule (2 down quarters = recession). We believe we have entered a powerful global economy where the connectivity of markets, east and west, have re-written the old assumptions and rules, creating international definitions, rather than just national definitions of recession.
What would you call the following?
- A global financial institution crisis
- Real estate inventories at nearly 20 year highs
- Unprecedented escalation in foreclosures
- Huge market declines in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong & other markets
- Calls for economic “stimulation” with uncharacteristic bi-partisan support
- A .75 cut in the prime by the Federal Reserve in an emergency conference
- Up-ticks in unemployment rates
- Declining consumer confidence and high personal indebtedness
- The weakest dollar value in recent memory…1/14th the value of 50 years ago
- Sell-off of significant percentages of national banks to foreign interests?
- Loss of most of the stock market gains for 2006-2007?
REALonomics believes the door of recession is now open and that we are passing into a zone of real economic challenge. It’s necessary to the clean-up and we cannot expect ‘happy days’ to be here again until we face the music…we won’t heal the industry’s problems until we acknowledge illness and create cures.
Your thoughts are?
REALonomics: Recession!
January 22, 2008 by REALonomics · 3 Comments
