The Great Real Estate Bubble Quiz

You hear it asked on the radio, in the newspapers and on TV.

"Are we experiencing a value bubble in real estate and is it

ready to burst?"

Do you have an answer for that question? Do you have a guess?

Yes, I know the so called experts are lining up on both sides of the question. But what about you? You're living right in the middle of the action. You can judge what's happening in your city - your neighborhood.

Are property owners going to be safe or sorry?

To help you form an opinion of the current state of the real estate market we have created the...

GREAT REAL ESTATE BUBBLE QUIZ...

Everyone gets a passing grade and no homework is required,so put your thinking cap on and jump in...

True False Question

___ ___ Boston Real Estate values are up 90% in the last six years?

___ ___ San Francisco real estate values are up 90% in the last six years?

___ ___ Denver real estate values are up 90% in the last six years?

___ ___ The price of the average home in New York was $50,000 in 1975 and is $325,000 today..a gain of 550%?

___ ___ The average home price in Los Angeles was $50,000 in 1975. After a gain of 500% it sells today for $300,000?

___ ___ A 6,000 sq ft home in Greenwich, CT. worth $500,000 in 1987 sells today for $4-million?

___ ___ Fannie Mae, the largest buyer of mortgages in the US, issued a report warning that the probability of a housing bust has risen sharply in certain parts of the country.

I bet you scored 100% and earned your "Doctorate of Bubblology".

OK, why is Fannie Mae so glum? They point to loose (Wewould say CRAZY) lending practices, like interest onlyloans and the increase in loan approvals that are notbacked by full documentation of the borrower's income andassets.

We imagine a borrower's conversation with a lender today goes something like this:

Borrower: "Will you give me a quarter of a million

dollar mortgage loan."
Lender: "Can you pay it back?"
Borrower: "Probably."
Lender: "Loan approved!"

Now you may be thinking that skyrocketing values arein an isolated number of big cities, right? That'strue, but those cities are our major commerce centers.When things go bad there the negative effect ripplesacross the country.

Here's the bottom line: Our economy is always blowingbubbles. Some burst and some don't.

Only time will tell about this one.

Mark Walters is an investor-entrepreneur helping other investors from his Web pages at http://www.Lease-Option-Sub2.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.