Archive for July, 2008

Is Eight Enough?

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

The number of properties with some sort of foreclosure action against them (default notice, auction notice, bank repossession) has consistently risen for the past eight quarters (see chart). While there have been monthly fluctuations up and down during this time period, the quarterly numbers consistently have been up quarter over quarter, and the most recent quarter was no exception, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Market Report released by RealtyTrac today.



And while this upward trend in foreclosure activity is driven largely by a few populous states with volatile housing markets, there’s no doubt the pain is spilling over into many other areas across the country.

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Michigan Goes Hollywood to Help Homeowners

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Lights! Camera! Action!

No it’s not one of the big commercial television networks spending millions of dollars on some game show with a stupid name. Rather, it’s more of a “reality” television show.
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First-Time Buyers Get Help with CA Foreclosure Purchase

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

First-time homebuyers in California are getting help in purchasing their piece of the American Dream thanks to a public-private partnership and $200 million in bond funds allocated to the California Housing Finance Agency (CalFHA)….(read more)

May Home Prices Down 4.8 Percent

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Home prices were down again in May, but a few regions of the country experienced a ever-slight uptick in prices from the previous month, giving officials at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) a chance to be cautiously optimistic in the press release announcing the numbers.


“It is very hard to draw conclusions from a one-month number, especially in these uncertain times; but the numbers in the Pacific, East and West North Central Divisions may be good signs,” said OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart in the release.


Nationwide, the OFHEO report showed home prices in May were&nbspdown 0.3 percent from April and down 4.8 percent from May 2007. The three Census Divisions mentioned by Lockhart were the only ones out a total of nine that did not report a monthly decrease.


The Pacific Division, which includes Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California, reported a 0.3 percent increase in home prices from April to May, although the region documented a 14.5 percent decline in home prices from May 2007. The East North Central Division, which includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, reported a 0.1 percent monthly increase, but still a 3.7 percent year-over-year decrease in home prices. The West North Central Division, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, reported no monthly change in home prices.

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<B>Foreclosure</B>, anyone have any experience?

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Hi. Just curious if anyone is familiar with foreclosure proceedings.
Whisper words of wisdom…

<<< Quote: :
Hi. Just curious if anyone is familiar with foreclosure proceedings…

A conversation with Robert Novak

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Nationally syndicated columnist Robert Novak is widely regarded as the dean of conservative journalists, having covered and commented on national politics for more than half a century. He was in Austin last weekend for the Americans for Prosperity/Right Online “Defending the American Dream Summit,” and we caught up with him to get his thoughts on the state of the conservative movement and the current presidential campaign.

A conversation with Amity Shlaes

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Last week, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University co-hosted Capital Campus Texas, a two-day economics education program for legislative and executive branch staff. This week, we bring you a conversation with the event’s keynote speaker, Amity Shlaes, Senior Fellow in Economic History at the Council on Foreign Relations, columnist for Bloomberg News, and author of The Forgotten Man, the recent best-selling book on the policies and economics of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

Back yard and patio

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Christopher Busta-Peck posted a photo:

Back yard and patio

Roof

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Christopher Busta-Peck posted a photo:

Roof

Shuffleboard room

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Christopher Busta-Peck posted a photo:

Shuffleboard room