housing-bubble.xml

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<quotations
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  <title>Housing Bubble Quotations</title>
  <editor>A.M. Kuchling</editor>
  <description>Noteworthy/amusing quotations from the 2002-2006 housing market..</description>
  <quotation id="q1" date="2005-03-25">
    <p>
      "South Florida," he said, "is working off of a totally new
economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past"
according to a realtor who predicted that a land shortage will support
higher prices indefinitely."
    </p>
      <source>"Trading Places: Real Estate Instead of Dot-Coms", in the NYT.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q2" date="2006-02-19">
    <p>
      Within a month of putting her two-bedroom house in San Francisco
on the market recently, homeowner Linda Gao had five offers, each one
above her asking price of $699,000. So before accepting the
most-attractive bid, she threw in an extra condition: If you want to
buy my house, you have to feed the squirrels.
    </p>
    <p>
      Two weeks later, she and the buyer hammered out a contract that
included feeding the backyard wildlife, which Ms. Gao has done three
times a week for the past two years. "I don't think it matters if it's
a buyer's market or a seller's market," Ms. Gao says. "Anyone with a
good heart would feed them."
    </p>
    <p>
      ...
    </p>
    <p>
      Indeed, when Susan Butler was negotiating to buy Ms. Gao's San
Francisco property, she was resigned to the feeding schedule. "At that
point, I said, 'Yeah, what the hell, I'll feed the squirrels,'" she
said. She signed a contract in April, paying $815,000 -- or $116,000
over the asking price. Will Ms. Butler actually feed her new furry
friends? "Probably not," says the college administrator. "I don't want
to encourage other rodents."
    </p>
      <source>"In a Booming Market, Sellers Can Be Choosers" by Amir Efrati, Wall Street Journal</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q3" date="2006-02-19">
    <p>
      I was a brand-new investor. I thought I was doing the right
thing, but it looks like I lost everything. My wife is mad at me.
    </p>
      <source>Massoud Balbas, quoted in the LA Times at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-milehigh19feb19,1,4037969.story?ctrack=1&amp;cset=true</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q4" date="2006-03-07">
    <p>
      I think what may happen -- I don't think you'll see a reduction
in [intangible] value; let's put it that way. Value and price are
different things. You probably won't see a reduction in value, but
maybe in prices, meaning you can pay less but it's worth more.
    </p>
      <source>Realtor Beverly Pindling, quoted in the Orlando Sentinel</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q5" date="2006-07-10">
    <p>
      Having followed this blog a couple weeks now, I think the old
saying should be amended to: "Death, taxes, and Realtors saying
<em>now</em> is the time to buy."
    </p>
      <source>Poster "ex-Californian" on http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=1031</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q6" date="2006-07-07">
    <p>
      I'm so mad at my neighbor. I bought my new home here in Ashburn
last summer and plan to sell it next year (after holding two years to
avoid taxes) to make a nice return on my investment. The problem is my
neighbor is trying to sell his house (very similar to mine) right now
and he keeps lowering his asking price. Each time he lowers his price,
I see my potential profits next year getting squashed. Doesn't he
realize he's hurting the comps for all of his neighbors by doing this?
I don't think he is acting very "neighborly" by doing this. I want to
say something to him and tell him he should stop putting his interests
ahead of his neighbors. It's people like him who are ruining the
market for the rest of us. If he would just refuse to lower his price,
we could maintain our comps and everyone would benefit. What can I do
to stop him?
    </p>
      <source>Question during a real estate chat held by the Washington Post.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q7" date="2006-07-08">
    <p>
      The increase in housing inventory might help push prices higher,
said Marilyn Newell of the Platinum Group Realtors in the Springs and
another Realtors Association board member. A surplus means buyers have
more choices and homes on the market must be well-kept and
competitively priced, she said. "Because we don't have as many
buyers," Newell said, "they have the luxury of going with the home
that is in perfect shape.
    </p>
      <source>"June supply of homes highest in 17 years" by Rich Laden, Colorado Springs Gazette.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q8" date="2006-08-02">
    <p>
      Perth couple Brian and Eileen Bowden are among thousands reaping
the benefits of the state's robust economy as they prepare to extract
a $100,000 profit on their home in just six weeks. "The people who we
bought this house from made $100,000 off us, so it's a non-stop
cycle," Mr Bowden said.
    </p>
      <source>"West shows way but east trembles" by Anthony Klan and Alana Buckley-Carr, The Australian.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q9" date="2006-08-17">
    <p>
      Available listings as of Aug. 1 totaled 9,555, up 68.9 percent
from a year ago. `That's a big number,' said Portland economist Jerry
Johnson.
    </p>
      <source>"Housing boom might be kaput" by Dylan Rivera, <cite>The Oregonian</cite>.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q10" date="2006-09-06">
    <p>
      "In Jackson [Wyoming], the market doesn't really go down," said
(realtor) Linda Walker. Broker Ryan Olsen agrees. "We are immune to
the up and down treads that plague many real estate markets," he says.
"Our real estate market is essentially quite 'bullet proof'!"
    </p>
      <source>"Un-Real Estate" by Jake Nichols, on <cite>Planet Jackson Hole</cite>.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q11" date="2006-09-06">
    <p>
      When buying, Miller also likes to strike quickly and he expects
the same when he's selling. "I don't haggle much over the price," he
admits. "I don't beat the owner up over one of the stove elements or
something when I'm trying to buy a property. I'm trying to sell a
condominium right now that will make me a $200,000 gain in 11 months
and this buyer is dinking me around 'cause he thinks the roof might
have to be replaced in a couple years. So he's gonna lose a fair deal
there in the Village. Do you think I'm gonna replace the roof? If we
were in a depressed market, maybe, but [I'm thinking] 'next!'"
    </p>
      <source>"Un-Real Estate" by Jake Nichols, on <cite>Planet Jackson Hole</cite>.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q12" date="2006-09-10">
    <p>
      Developer Cary Glickstein said last week he has canceled The
Strand condo in downtown Delray Beach and returned $15 million in
deposits. ... Another factor that ended the project: Glickstein's
buyers were tired of the waiting game. The final straw was seeing one
buyer, "near tears," come into the sales office, Glickstein said. The
buyer had used his daughter's college tuition for his down payment.
    </p>
      <source>"Complex owners' dilemma: Condos or apartments?" by Alexandra Clough, in the <cite>Palm Beach Post</cite></source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q13" date="2006-09-12">
    <p>
      Buyers bonuses [sic], price reduced, chance to win $25,000 - are
these signs that Western Washington is becoming a buyer's market? ...
"I would say it is a buyer's market with a very strong seller's
influence," said realtor T.C. Hyatt, John L. Scott Real Estate.
    </p>
      <source>"Home sales slowed, but outlook still good" by Jane McCarthy, KING5 News in Seattle</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q14" date="2006-09-14">
    <p>
      Mozilo reached out to borrowers as part of a "little experiment"
to understand the reasoning behind making only minimum payments on
so-called pay-option loans, a practice that boosts the total amount
due, the 67-year-old CEO told investors Wednesday in New York.
    </p>
    <p>
      "What we're finding out is that they're pretty smart," Mozilo
said. "It's like voters: Individually they're sort of idiots, but
collectively they seem to make the right decisions."
    </p>
      <source>"CEO Makes Call on Pay-Option Loans: It's Risky", from Bloomberg News.</source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q15" date="2006-11-02">
    <p>
      Having depleted their savings to pay for this, they've had to
seriously cut back on spending. They went without air conditioning
this past summer, despite sweltering heat and the fact that Judy was
eight months pregnant.
    </p>
    <p>
      They've also put off fixing the brakes of their second car,
which the mechanic says should be replaced soon. "We don't spend money
on anything that isn't critical," says Judy. "Everything goes toward
the mortgages."
    </p>
      <source>"Slow-market crisis: Stuck with two homes", in <cite>Money</cite></source>
  </quotation>
  <quotation id="q16" date="2006-08-25">
    <p>
      Sara Babylon tried having open houses as a way to sell her
Spanish Springs home for almost three months. But instead of a flood
of interest, she barely had a trickle. `The last open house, not one
person came by and I was like OK, that's it,' said Babylon."
    </p>
    <p>
      "So Babylon decided to offer a free 1992 Jeep Wrangler with
purchase at asking price.
    </p>
      <source>"Spanish Springs residents find creative ways to help sell home" by Annie Flanzraich, Reno Gazette-Journal</source>
  </quotation>
</quotations>