patrick.net

There are tons and tons of wealthy people! And foreigners too! And the Marina is the only place they want to live in the entire world!

It’s going to get very crowded.

The place will sink under its own weight.
But wait, they could use a new sales angle:
Marina: Venice of the Future!â„¢

No offense, but Venice is not exactly a nice place to live. Water quality is often less than ideal...

More from Ben's blog:

"The FHLB of Pittsburgh said on Thursday it will restate over four years of financial results, mainly due to derivatives accounting errors."

"Half of the 12 FHLB regional member banks are now restating earnings for similar reasons." There was a time when talk of derivatives problems was taken more seriously. Any one of these banks could be a bigger mess than Enron.

Will there be OTC derivatives meltdown in October?

I think the potential for liquefaction in the Marina has been greatly overstated here. New Marina homedebtors can simply reinforce thier foundations using the tons of cash they've all made from the perpetually rising equity of their homes. It's a well known fact that fresh crisp new $100 bills can stop liquefaction dead in its tracks. Nuff said... :-P

Harm,

You are TOO much! LOL!

BayQT

It’s a well known fact that fresh crisp new $100 bills can stop liquefaction dead in its tracks. Nuff said…

Handy tip.

Any other handy around the home uses for cash.
Are they any good for cleaning ovens? or maybe mulching in the garden?

Rick,

In AZ water = real estate

Maybe this is an oppurtunity for a forward thinking person to utilise eco friendly technologies in developments of unique properties. Sounds good.

Another article I notice on the Arizona Republic home page today is how Phoenix rents are going up thanks to their 45% increase in real estate just in the last 12 months alone.

Another article I notice on the Arizona Republic home page today is how Phoenix rents are going up thanks to their 45% increase in real estate just in the last 12 months alone.

Renters will be doomed. DIE RENTERS DIE :evil:

I must have been possessed by Bull$hitter.

I must have been possessed by Bull$hitter.

Yeah, Peter! Snap out of it already!

BayQT~

If the US housing market bubble bursts, how much impact will be felt there?

Not sure. But they are smart enough to realize their own housing bubbles and are taking steps to contain them. Me think that they are aware of the US situation and are positioning themselves to bebefit from the bust.

Will the Chinese get bit by American greed? Or is there a more sinister plan in China’s hands to somehow economically destabilize America?

Huh?

I Think the American's will be hit by their own greed.
GREED IS BAD, should use that line in a movie someday.

The Chinese will probably be fine, as they have worked hard, and have not been greedy. (mmmm not totally sure on that one though).
After all, the new bankruptcy laws will probably protect them.

Renters will be doomed. DIE RENTERS DIE :devil:

Peter P,
What are you thinking. Not good for business.

Renters will be doomed. BLEED RENTERS BLEED. :devil:

Will the Chinese get bit by American greed? Or is there a more sinister plan in China’s hands to somehow economically destabilize America?

Well, in the past few years, China has enjoyed a huge windfall from American consumption. I don't have precise figures on hand, but what do the produce that we consume? Electronics, furniture, home improvement stuff, etc. If America slows down their consumption binge, I think China will feel it. Haven't they also made us a few loans?

Rick,
they have better policy in tucson. you arent allowed certain plants, water usage limits, etc. the problem is the kinds of people in tucson allow for this( there arent so many big biz types ), phoenix people are a different story… most of them dont really know anything about living in the desert.

Maybe somebody has to step up and be a leader by example. After all, you can regulate till the cows come home but people will lose interest that way.
If you lead by example then people will probably try to duplicate what is done if it is successfull. It also becomes a marketing advantage because customers will like to feel as if they are doing the right thing.

@AntiTroll,

Any other handy around the home uses for cash.
Are they any good for cleaning ovens? or maybe mulching in the garden?

Intriguing suggestions. Not sure about oven cleaning, but I bet you can use it to grow cabbage & lettuce.

The Sydney Olympic stadium was built on landfill, it had sunk enough before the start of the 2000 games where the top seats in the stadium had the view blocked from the stadium roof overhang. Fun stuff.

One thing I did notice after being away from looking at RE for 4 weeks was that the prices had dropped in the areas we had been tracking - the peninsula to the Sth Bay.

Also - MP has to be a realtor, the way he talks about the market is way too realtor like...

Intriguing suggestions. Not sure about oven cleaning, but I bet you can use it to grow cabbage & lettuce.

I actually sleep better at night, when I snuggle under my dooner full of $100 bills.

Nice quote on people living in the Marina from this article:
http://tinyurl.com/7sxlz

Reality suggests that the only people qualified to live in the Marina are Olympic swimmers -- those capable of treading back to shore after the geologic forces turn the faux neighborhood to its original watery state.

Also - MP has to be a realtor, the way he talks about the market is way too realtor like…

Poser is more like it. Uh, oh --did I just violate my own standard about not getting personal? 8-O Me SO sorry....

I could never live in an area that had little or no relationship to the outdoors. I need a tree at LEAST once in awhile! Other than the houses with bay views on the main drag across from the water, the place is wall to wall cement. Quite generic and character-less.

Jack-
Sounds like you're in a Primeâ„¢ location--at least for the likes of you and me.

Interesting historical trivia - at least I'd not heard this:

A couple of miles northwest along the city’s shore, the Marina District is also partly built on landfill—of a somewhat different kind. After the massive 1906 earthquake destroyed most of the city, developers needed someplace to dump all the rubble from the downtown area. They used the crumbled remains of buildings to extend yet another portion of the city out into the water, helping to create the site of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal in 1915.

The truth of the matter is people just don't care,'' said Aldo Congi, vice president of McGuire Real Estate. ``Those that want to live in the Marina are willing to take the chance. There is so much confidence among consumers now that nothing seems to matter -- and that includes earthquakes.''

MP,
It would appear that consumers of RE in Marina appear to have high confidence and tend not to care about risks?
Could it be they have been a little too easy with their spending?
Just like everybody else I bet.

I actually sleep better at night, when I snuggle under my dooner full of $100 bills.

The aroma of a fresh $100 stack is one of the most wonderful, almost as wonderful as the smell of BBQ lobster.

The aroma of a fresh $100 stack is one of the most wonderful, almost as wonderful as the smell of BBQ lobster.

Haven't tried sleeping with BBQ lobster.

How about barbequed 100 dollar bills you sick-o’s….

But... but you can neither eat them nor spend them...

But… but you can neither eat them nor spend them…

But you can sleep with them apparently. :mrgreen:

How about barbequed 100 dollar bills you sick-o’s….

But… but you can neither eat them nor spend them…

Ahhhhhhhhh!

Got a love those intangibles.

BTW, AntiTroll, do you call them spiny lobsters or crayfishes down there?

It sounds weird to some people probably, but I actually care more about having outside space (tree cover, yard, decks, views, greenbelt, etc) than I do about inside space. I would not give away too much of my yard for more square footage

Jack-
That's what's so Primeâ„¢ about our nabes. Even if our places are on the small side, our backyards are awesome! It's very cool to feel part of nature, vs. living in some gated, Orwellian community that strives to subdue it.

Just as an example:
http://tinyurl.com/9tnrz

Nature is Primeâ„¢

As Farrah Fawcett so eloquently said in Cannonball run "I love tree's!"

Trees are Prime.

Peter P,

Generally, (in my humble experience) we have:-
Lobsters,
Balmain Bugs,
Yabbies,
Prawns,

Man, now i'm feeling hungry and it's only 10 in the morning.

As Farrah Fawcett so eloquently said in Cannonball run “I love tree’s!”

Back then, I would have liked to been a tree.

Man, now i’m feeling hungry and it’s only 10 in the morning.

Time for a cold lobster. ;)

Kurt S, that is a nice view. Perhaps I should move to the Marin county.

People from New Zealand call them crayfish.

On today's subject ... I wrote about the bankruptcy bill a bit today - figured it was one of many factors that may conspire to shake people up later this year, the others are:

Derivatives
Rising Home Inventory and Stalling Home Prices
Rising Oil and Gas Prices
Politics and War
Higher Short Term Rates
Greenspan Retirement

The excerpt:

The recent rise in bankruptcy filings and the potential for a mad rush to file for bankruptcy in October could have a chilling effect on the confidence that many people have in managing their debt. Many of the provisions of the new law take effect on October 17th and in the coming months there will be a stepped up campaign by bankruptcy professionals on afternoon television and radio to compel individuals to take advantage of this last opportunity to clean up their balance sheet without the pain that will be involved after October 17th.

The post:
When Confidence Fails

Cheers!

OT: Toll’s great earnings did not help their stock much. When people sell on good news, they are expecting worse news.

Interesting how contrary the movements can be.
Maybe people are selling because they bought expecting the news.

Buy on rumour sell on fact.

NICE view...That is your dock and or view, right? Now THAT’s prime!

Yeah--the views are incredible. Tam, clouds, sunsets--dramatic changes over a few minutes!
Nope, that's the neighbor's dock, which they never use. The birds love it though!
Ours dock is half the size of that, but I use it almost every day! For the record, our home is quite modest (2 BR condo). But, we love it here--and that's what matters.

"“Some gated, Orwellian community”. I would love to live THERE someday! "

Just you wait: courtesy of "Homeland Security"