Tuesday, April 28, 2009

HoMe PRYce$ in tHa Rise!1!!

Another idiotic e-mail from ZipRealty:

Dear El Bee,

According to a recent Market Watch [sic] article, the shift in the housing market that we'e [sic] all been expecting has finally happened: home prices are on the rise for the first time in a year.

That means that if you're thinking about buying a home (and I know you are!), it may be better to act sooner, rather than later. There are a lot of fantastic homes in your price range that I'd love to show you - just let me know of a good day and time, and I'll happily set up viewing appointments.

Read the full Market Watch [sic] article here:
http://www.ziprealty.com/EH/8tr843bz/47454/152724/30/146249

Talk to you soon,

[SoCal ZipRealty Agent]

Translation: BUY NOW OR BE PRICED OUT FOREVER!!!

Not only did ZipRealty recently call the bottom, but now they've got the brass balls to actually call the recovery!

The funniest part is, the person who sent this e-mail CLEARLY did not read the very article she was so quick to cite as evidence of the end of the housing downturn.

To wit:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. home prices rose 1.7% in January compared with December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Tuesday. It was the first monthly increase in a year.

...

The "unexpected rise" in January was partially due to stronger sales in some markets [i.e. NOT CALIFORNIA], FHFA said. The FHFA index attempts to control for such changes in sales patterns, but the adjustment is not perfect, the agency said. The agency warned that its estimate was uncertain and subject to large revisions.

December's index, originally reported as a 0.1% increase, was revised down to a 0.2% decline.

"While this is certainly good news, in our view it is too soon to call a turnaround in the cycle," wrote Charmaine Buskas, a senior economist for TD Securities. "We will have to see several consecutive months of improved prices before a true turnaround can be called, and a significant inventory overhang remains."

Prices rose or were flat in eight of nine regions in January; only the Pacific states [LIKE CALI-FUCKING-FORNIA, YOU DOLT!] registered a decline, down 0.9%.

...

In the past year, prices are down in all nine regions, led by the Pacific with a 21.1% decline.

...

The Case-Shiller index, a separate price index that has less geographic reach but better coverage of the bubble mortgages, shows a much larger price decline of 18.6% in 2008 and a drop of 27% from the peak.
(emphasis added)

So, basically, the article completely, and totally discredits ZipRealty's bogus claim that "home prices are on the rise" and therefore it's "better to act sooner, rather than later."

In fact, the very authors of the FHFA report essentially guarantee there will be a large revision downward! Furthermore, the article emphasizes this fractional movement upward in national prices--not California, mind you--should be considered an anomaly until this otherwise useless data is supported by several months of consistency.

I mean, just how stupid do these commission-heads think people are? Judging by this attempt to shine a festering turd of bad news into evidence of a housing recovery, quite stupid indeed.
Do not let them get away with their fear mongering horseshit. And do not be suckered by transparent attempts to call the bottom or insist prices are headed in any direction but straight down.

6 comments:

  1. "...home prices are on the rise for the first time in a year."

    Listing prices, idiot!!!

    L_Thek_Onomics

    ReplyDelete
  2. Have you seen the latest NAR commercials? The Fence Sitters one is particularly repugnant.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6R192JOtGs

    No wonder YouTube disabled comments on it.
    "I want one, mom." "Me too." i.e. buy a house NOW or you don't love your children. Hey Fence Sitter Parent...why not teach your child some basic economics while your at it and explain how you're not going to be suckered into 30 years of debt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jason.

    Um, WOW. Disgusting greed-faced pigs.

    It is truly deplorable what they're doing. I really want to buy a home, but I'm smart enough to understand that buying now is guaranteed to cost me a lot of money. But many people, for whatever reasons, can easily get suckered into overpaying for property--especially when blood suckers are so quick to prey on the desires of fence-sitters and left over insecurities from those who were made to feel like losers for not "owning" during the bubble.

    Tell your kids that if you wait (at least) a year to buy a house, with the extra disposable income you'll be able to buy them a car on their 16th birthday and pay for their college education. See how badly they "want one right now" after that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There are five major reasons home prices can't rise for the while:
    1. Recent record number of foreclosures.
    2. Downward pressure of cracking higher priced markets.
    3. Appraiser rule changes.
    4. High unemployment rate (except realtors :0).
    5. This fantastic spring selling season ends soon. (For realtors, just copy and paste: Fell out of escrow... Back on the market...)

    L_Thek_Onomics

    ReplyDelete
  5. So did Zip Realty send out a blast exclaiming that we are at the bottom, since the CS index for Feb. showed a decline less than the previous month?????

    I mean, we're getting close, right??????

    ReplyDelete
  6. "So did Zip Realty send out a blast exclaiming that we are at the bottom..."

    I think Zip is correct about bottom calling. They're just confused about what is actually at the bottom; realtor morality.

    L_Thek_Onomics

    ReplyDelete