Breaking Matt Bai Housing Update Just In! @2:30 PM
When Matt Bai, a Times reporter and Yankees fan in his early 40s with two children, wanted to buy a new house, the mortgage brokers laughed at him! But he had perfect credit, and had only bought his last home six years ago! (It was a "center-hall colonial on a corner lot three blocks from the subway and American University.") Then he found out that his nanny had a very bad mortgage on her house, the payments of which were 75% of her income. And so he bought a new house, a "spacious, if deteriorated split-level," even though the counter tops were ugly, with a nice, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. And then he wrote about all of this at work. 10
I Got 99 Problems, But Eminent Domain Ain’t One: White Brooklynites Against Jay-Z @9:50 AM
Jay-Z has been dipping his toes in the political waters of late. First, he and Beyonce showed up at the White House (which was stellar). Then, he surfaced as entrenched in an imbroglio (not so stellar) with the New York Guv, a potential Queens "racino," and Rev. Floyd Flake, the borough’s behemoth ex-Congressman-cum-powerbroker. Then the governor, even while busy swimming in a flood of scandal, killed the deal. And yesterday, Jay-Z appeared standing shoulder-to-shoulder with dozens of New York politicos and dignitaries to take a big step towards building his dream: a stadium for the Brooklyn Nets. And lots of people are peeved about it. READ MORE 11
"But in a market society, since when are people responsible for the economic effects of their actions? " @2:33 PM
I wanted a little bit more reasoning and example on this "THE WAY WE LIVE NOW" piece from this upcoming New York Times mag, which says that people should abandon their underwater mortgages (true!). He writes: "Mortgage holders do sign a promissory note, which is a promise to pay. But the contract explicitly details the penalty for nonpayment — surrender of the property. The borrower isn’t escaping the consequences; he is suffering them." Sure! There is of course often the complication that then, you know, people have to find somewhere else to live. 55
Home Prices Over the Last Ten Years @11:37 AM
So, the recession is over because people are "snapping up" homes, as well all know. (I mean, I SNAPPED UP two myself! Didn't you?) According to mutual-fund-haver and sometime financial columnist Whitney Tilson, graphing the national Case-Shiller Home Price Index has recent trends that show "the start of the seasonal downturn that will take house prices down another 10%-15% by the middle of next year." (The Case-Shiller, which is basically a measure of the price that the same house is sold for over time, showed a long and then fast upturn from the late 90s to 2006, followed by a slight and then dramatic drop-off. Unsurprising!) But that just means more snapping-up, right? Oh and also maybe a new round of mortgages tipping underwater. 4
Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. Mortgages Are Delinquent @11:42 AM
9.12% of U.S. mortgages are delinquent—excluding houses already in foreclosure. (Last December: 7.17%. Last September: 6.41%.) An additional 3.85% of U.S. homes with mortgages are already in foreclosure. 2
Sad Hostels In Brooklyn @10:46 AM
The recession has come to this already: shared rooms, with bunkbeds, available in New York City's lovely Greenpoint. They are called "guesthouses." They cost $225 a week for "nonstudents." They are essentially illegal hostels in failed condo buildings. This is neat. It is sort of like being on one of those be-a-model reality shows: bad housing, scabies, awful roommates. 0
