I want to continue on my thread from yesterday regarding the plight of commercial real estate. Several witnesses at the Joint Economic Committee hearing warned that without more liquidity in commercial lending, the sector would be heading for crisis. In fact, it already is there. There is simply no securitization market for commercial loans right now, and without that, the well is pretty dry.    Read More

I don’t know why all the wires are leading with the quote from Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY today, that “The commercial real estate time bomb is ticking.” I’d venture to say it’s exploding all over the place. She made the comment at a hearing she chaired of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.    Read More

Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe in that whole supply and demand thing; that’s why I’m slightly obsessed with the inventory of existing homes floating around the nation’s local MLS’s and more importantly those not floating around the MLS’s. I’m talking about the inventory of foreclosed properties that banks are holding onto, refusing to unleash onto the sales market.    Read More

China’s stock market closed at its highest levels in about a year on hopes that the downturn has ended.    Read More

If the stock market is in fact the best predictive mechanism we have available, then get ready for one heckuva a recovery over the next six months.    Read More

A lot of folks are parsing the latest S&P Case Shiller home price report out today, and debating whether some month-to-month increases are proof of home price stabilization nationwide. I frankly think it’s impossible to say anything nationwide, because a lot of different markets are reacting very differently. That may seem an incredibly prosaic thing to say, but I think an awful lot of smart folks often lose sight of that.    Read More

An interesting aside in the interview I did today with Michael Barr, the Treasury Department’s Asst. Secretary for Financial Institutions. Barr is the architect of the Administration’s Making Home Affordable program, i.e. the housing bailout, and this was his first on-camera interview since he was sworn in as a Treasury official.    Read More

I received the following email from Jeff in San Diego and was so struck by how reasonable, matter-of-fact and truly troubling it is. I know it's California, but I believe it's an example of a spreading trend nationwide...   Read More

Hundreds of mortgage industry representatives, from small and large shops, sent in stories of botched appraisals, of allegedly negligent appraisal management companies, and of lost deals that are so necessary to recovery in this fragile housing market.    Read More

Many home sales are falling apart at the last minute because "appraisals are coming in unrealistically low,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.   Read More