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| 2008/3/17-21 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:49472 Activity:moderate |
3/16 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23673100 What does this ALL MEAN? Bear Stern + JP Morgan + government interventions. I mean, is the market going to crash or not? When will home prices be available? I have about $200K in CDs and I want to know WHEN is a good time to buy a home. \_ The way things are going, I would worry about my job and my health care before I'd worry about buying a home. \_ "The financial markets are as close to collapse as I've seen in my career" -Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi (3/17/08) \_ Translation: my bonus is looking kind of thin this year, so I am begging for a government handout. \_ If you are trying to time the bottom of the housing market, give up, because that sort of thing is notoriously difficult. If you just want to play it safe, hold on until prices start to go back up again, which should be quite obvious. This might easily take five or six years, though, if the past is any indication. Are you ready to wait that long? \_ It took 7 years last time and that was with a run-up nothing like what occurred this time. I would guess it will be 10 years at least. \_ So wait until the freefall stops, and then buy, so you don't go underwater in the 1st year, which is quite depressing. \_ So wait until the freefall stops, and then buy, so you don't go underwater in the 1st year, which is quite depressing. \_ Buy when you can afford to and don't worry about paper profits and losses. My neighbor bought her house in the 1950s. She could care less that she can sell it for 100X what she paid for it. It's still just her house like it always was. People need to stop treating their primary residence like investment property. \_ How do you know when the end of the freefall is? \_ In the 50s, people keep their jobs for a very long time. In today's world, we don't stay in the same job or location very long. The average length of stay in a house in the US is ~7 years. I for one have had to switch from the east bay to the peninsula and back and finally ended up in Milpitas throughout countless acquisitions, mergers, job changes, and one lay-offs. \_ No one is going to sell/buy a new house because their \_ NO ONE? I know a few. Want to rephrase your statement again? Crossing the bridge is a total pain in the butt, but I suppose it's still a lot better than any LA freeway. \_ "No one who cares about their financial health, because buying/selling a house every year or two is very expensive if it is your primary residence, therefore no one smart would do such a thing, such a person, being smart, would rent". How is that? I meet the correct motd anal retentive standard? I commute to the peninsula from the far east bay every day. BFD. job moved between the east bay and south bay or peninsula. The commute is not that hard. If you need to be that close to work and your work location changes that quickly you should rent. \_ If we knew that we'd all be retired billionaires enjoying our islands, not posting on the motd. \_ The one is not contraindicitive of the other. If I was a retired billionaire with my own island, I might still post to the motd. |
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| www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23673100 WASHINGTON - President Bush, trying to calm turmoil in financial markets after a dramatic weekend, declared Monday that his administration is "on top of the situation" and dealing decisively with the slumping economy. "One thing is for certain, we're in challenging times," Bush said after meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other senior economic advisers. "But another thing is for certain: We've taken strong, decisive action." Bush spoke as the financial markets absorbed the stunning news that 85-year-old Wall Street powerhouse Bear Stearns had agreed to be acquired by rival JPMorgan Chase for the fire-sale price of $2 a share. Bear Stearns, which traded at nearly $160 a share less than a year ago, collapsed after losing billions of dollars on mortgage-backed securities. Bush commended the Federal Reserve for its urgent actions over the weekend, which included guaranteeing financing for the Bear Stearns deal and making available more credit to Wall Street investment banks. Fed policymakers are scheduled to meet again Tuesday and are expected to lower a key short-term interest rate by as much as three-quarters of a percentage point. The White House moved quickly to raise Bush's public profile Monday, and he continued to send an upbeat message, even in acknowledging a downturn that keeps roiling the economy and the country's people as well. Bush said "our financial institutions are strong" and "our capital markets are functioning efficiently and effectively." He praised Paulson for working with the Fed and showing "the country and the world that the United States is on top of the situation." Still, Bush said the administration is monitoring economic developments closely. "When need be, we'll act decisively in a way that continues to bring order to financial markets," Bush said. ComStock He did not indicate any other steps the government might take, or when. "In the long run, our economy is going to be fine," Bush said. Over the weekend the the Fed, which operates independently, approved a cut in its emergency lending rate to financial institutions to 325 percent from 350 percent. White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush had been kept informed of the Fed's intended actions through a variety of people, but that he was not personally involved in making or approving the decision. She defended the dramatic intervention on behalf of the financial markets as necessary, even though Bush himself had warned Friday against excessive government intervention in the housing markets. "The concern about possible future market disruptions is real, and a concern not only just to the president but also to world markets," Perino said. Bear Stearns buyout weighs on Wall Street Paulson says government will stabilize markets Global markets plunged Monday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index off nearly 4 percent and major European indices down about 3 percent. She also said the administration was taking action to help individual homeowners suffering from higher mortgage defaults, and that there is "a responsibility on the part of the media to really explain" that assistance. Later Monday, Bush was to meet with his Working Group on Financial Markets, which includes Paulson, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Schumer: Bush's "head in the sand" March 17: Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York criticizes the Bush administration's response to economic problems in a CNBC interview. |