Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble?

We are selling our house. We have lived here for 15 years, the longest I have ever lived anywhere; of the places since I left my parents' home I think my previous best was three years. There is a certain comfort to residential stability. I expect I will be filling out change of address forms from when we move through the end of my useful life.

Coincidentally, there were two articles that I have come across since putting up our "For Sale" sign a week ago that address the housing "bubble."

Slate.com's Daniel Gross writes about "Bubble Over Troubled Waters: Why the real estate bubble could be good news for the economy." He refers to "what many are already calling the successor bubble to the dot-com fiasco: the U.S. housing market."

On the positive side, Northern Trust economist Asha Bangalore notes that "the performance of the housing market has played a visible role in payroll growth." Gross adds that "Spending on housing flows into a remarkably wide range of sectors-and the overwhelming majority of the spending is local."

So are these people out of their jobs when the bubble bursts? Gross suggests that it is "possible that housing was the bridge that helped us get over the post-bust job chasm."

In a Greg Thomas article entitled "Up, Up, and Away" in today's New Orleans Times-Picayune (TP), the subtitle reads "N.O.-area home prices keep soaring, leaving some to wonder if a market tumble is on the horizon."

Greg reports that "Sales prices of single-family homes in the metro area continued their skyward trajectory during the first six months of the year, climbing 11 percent compared with the same period in 2004. Some experts say it could be the highest jump in local home prices in at least 50 years."

So I am buying and selling in the bubble. The TP shows that where we are selling, prices are up 34% over last year, while where we are buying they are only up 10%. Could I have timed this transaction just right?

By the way, while this is not meant to be an ad, if you are looking for the nicest house in New Orleans East then check us out at http://house.jbv.com.

I will keep you posted on our adventures as amateur real estate agents. Let me know what is happening in your area.

John B. Vinturella, Ph.D. has almost 40 years experience as a management and strategic consultant, entrepreneur, author, and college professor. For 20 of those years, Dr. Vinturella was owner/president of a distribution company that he founded. He is a principal in business opportunity sites jbv.com and muddledconcept.com, and maintains business and political blogs.

Hermosa Beach was the biggest gainer and Malibu the biggest loser in high-priced ZIP Codes last year. San Marino shows a 7.2% decline in its median home price.

Last year brought a dose of real estate reality to San Marino, which alone among Los Angeles County's wealthy areas had managed to avoid the housing bust. The San Gabriel Valley town endured a 7.2% decline in its median home price, erasing gains of the previous two years.

The National Assn. of Realtors is the largest campaign contributor to members of Congress from California in recent years, according to a watchdog study that depicts the nation as a sort of United States of Special Interests.

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.