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If you came back here, you are definitely crazy.
LOL Indeed! Thanks for the first response, Ceffer. Anything to add to the topic at hand? I am genuinely curious.
Patrick
2016 Apr 30, 11:56am
Houseless but not homeless says
no longer articles related to housing as before. Why is that? Patrick, did you give up?
i don't think there is a systemic national housing bubble like before, at least not nearly to the same degree. the core symptom before was that people were refinancing to pay their mortgages, and that obviously cannot go on forever. it was driven by crazy lending with no standards, which itself was driven by securitization of mortgages. see The Big Short if you haven't yet.
also, i just got tired of looking up and posting housing articles every day. spent several years of my life doing that, and it was kinda fun for a while, but eventually not.
the bay area remains insane, with prices far beyond what is justified by equivalent rent in the nicer areas. proof is that no landlord is about to buy and rent out any house in a pleasant safe neighborhood in the bay area, because it's a losing proposition. doesn't cash flow. if a landlord wouldn't do it, an owner shouldn't either, just by the math. otoh, you might actually find pretty good deals in not-so-great places like oakland, especially because tech companies seem to be moving there, and that will likely drive up prices. so you might get decent cash flow and decent appreciation justified by rising rents.
Hi Patrick! Thanks for answering.
The Big Short if you haven't yet.
Yeah, been wanting to check this out but it's not offered on Netflix. Bummer.
Sorry to hear that you suffered a case of burnout as I used to follow your site pretty religiously, along with Doctor Housing Bubble, and agreed with much, if not all, of your posts. Oakland, eh? Everything I have read or heard about Oakland has been negative. Never been there so I can't opine. Well, if they tech goes there I guess the greed will follow. I just can't understand the allure. Maybe I should start my own tech company in this area (Central Coast wine area) and rake it in. Lot of land and fresher air. Although it won't remain fresh if the techies bring in their Soylent diets. Heh.
In my research I had read that the "housing is your biggest investment" mind set was started in the 70s. I was pretty young back then but I do recall that was when there were significant jumps in prices. Makes a bit of sense as it seems that prior to that it was just considered living space, a roof over your head and a hedge against inflation for a box that warps in the rain. (Did I get that from you?) Would you or anyone else know if there is any validity to this?
Great to "hear" from you!
NDrLoR
2016 Apr 30, 1:08pm
Houseless but not homeless says
in the 70s. I was pretty young back then but I do recall that was when there were significant jumps in prices.
It was called double-digit inflation and it affected everything.
It was called double-digit inflation and it affected everything.
Thank you, P N Dr Lo R, I am quite are of the double digit inflation period as I lived through it. But these jumps in house pricing began prior to that. I can't make any judgement calls regarding other areas as at the time my pond and the world that it existed in was rather small. The perspective of those whom I existed among was that of life ceasing to exist beyond the corner mailbox. Ah, the South Bronx! Funny, new real estate developments are canvasing due to its close proximity to Manhattan and has now made that area more...interesting. Nevertheless I still won't return.
there never was any housing bubble. That was just your usual Orwellian mangling of the language to help keep everyone oblivious to the plundering. There was, however, a Mortgage Paper Bubble. What a mess
Hi Guys!!
It's been a while since I've come around although I pop in from time to time. I've noticed the format has changed and there are no longer articles related to housing as before. Why is that? Patrick, did you give up? Or did you move on to bigger and better things?
Anyway, the reason that I decided to post this thread is the insanity I have come upon in my recent research involving housing in the Bay area. Take a look at this link that I stumbled upon.
http://sfist.com/tags/apartmentsadness
Now at first I thought it was some type of joke, a satire site if you will, yet as I probed deeper I sadly realized it was not.
Renting out a crawlspace? Renting out tents perched in the yard? Landlords remodeling houses to cram people in like sardines for nearly 2K a head per month? And then evicting long time tenants? Young, educated -albeit arrogant and apparently stupid- techies getting six figures a year are actually going for this? Is this what it has come to?
Now I have been to the bay area maybe twice in my lifetime and both times were before the first housing bubble but what has been described is a hellhole of epic proportions in my opinion. How long can something like this last? I have read criticism about how AirBnB and the "sharing economy" takes advantage of certain situation but this shows an alternate view that it's the other way around.
I would like the thoughts and opinions of those that have experienced this first hand and what those of you in the Bay area think. If you are one that has profited in this manner then please, by all means, post.
I guess those dream jobs at those tech companies are not all that cracked up to be. I just can't fathom pulling in that kind of salary and living in the back of a truck in the parking lot. WOW!
BTW is Apocalypse still around? I enthusiastically await his amusing musings.
Thank to all that contribute.