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By Lee Russ, Section Ranting
Remember that "hot economy/" Remember all those credit accounts funded by equity in the home? Remember today's story from USA Today?
The White House on Tuesday lowered its forecast for economic growth this year and into 2008, reflecting the drag from the housing slump.... Boy, did that housing slump sneak up on you? It did to a lot of people, because until pretty damn recently, the nationwide story tended to be reported only in sources that focus specifically on real estate, and they aren't read by most people, while the mainstream media tend to focus only on the local aspect of the story--housing prices are slipping here, in Shmuckatuck County. But the news about the steep drop in new housing starts hit the headlines a few days ago: Housing construction plunged in October, as builders slashed activity to the lowest level in more than six years. A few weeks before that, there was a national story on housing prices also taking a tumble: After offering incentives ranging from fancy kitchen upgrades to free swimming pools to move a glut of unsold homes, builders decided in September that they needed to cut prices. There's that "first time since the Great Depression" concept again. Boy is that a hot economy. You want to know how widespread this slide-cum-dive really is? Check out these URLs for stories on local areas: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.homebuilders10nov10,0,5635193.story?coll=bal-business-he adlines http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2006/11/06/daily56.html http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1113mr-resales1113-ON.html http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2006/11/06/daily43.html http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/11/06/daily29.html http://www-tech.mit.edu/V126/N52/long3.html http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/11/06/daily12.html http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061107/ZNYT01/611070423/1001/BUSINESS http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/07/business/housing.php http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/11/prweb475128.htm (Luxury homes) http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=108230&ntpid=1 (Dane County Wis; And, of course, what follows a decline in home prices when so many people are covering their debt with home equity? Check out these URLs for stories on the growing rate of home foreclosures: http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2006/11/06/daily45.html (Memphis) http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2006/11/06/daily22.html (Birmingham, AL) http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2006/11/06/daily36.html (Louisville, KY) http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2006/11/06/daily41.html (Orlando) http://www.chieftain.com/business/1163234814/1 (Pueblo, CO) http://washington.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2006/11/06/daily41.html (Jacksonville) http://sev.prnewswire.com/real-estate/20061110/LAF01010112006-1.html (General) http://www.startribune.com/535/story/803317.html (General) Now compare what you're feeling right now with what the government and the propaganda outlets are saying. Could there be any greater disconnect on this issue? |
Related Links+ story from USA Today?+ a few days ago: + story on housing prices also taking a tumble: + http://www .baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.homebuilders10nov10,0,5635193.story?coll=bal-business-he adlines + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2006/11/06/daily56.html + http://www .azcentral.com/news/articles/1113mr-resales1113-ON.html + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2006/11/06/daily43.html + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/11/06/daily29.html + http://www -tech.mit.edu/V126/N52/long3.html + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/11/06/daily12.html + http://www .theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061107/ZNYT01/611070423/1001/BUSINESS + http://www .iht.com/articles/2006/11/07/business/housing.php + http://www .prweb.com/releases/2006/11/prweb475128.htm + http://www .madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=108230&ntpid=1 + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2006/11/06/daily45.html + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2006/11/06/daily22.html + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2006/11/06/daily36.html + http://pho enix.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2006/11/06/daily41.html + http://www .chieftain.com/business/1163234814/1 + http://was hington.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2006/11/06/daily41.html + http://sev .prnewswire.com/real-estate/20061110/LAF01010112006-1.html + http://www .startribune.com/535/story/803317.html + More on News + Also by Lee Russ |