Archives: September 2008

Whose Home Prices Numbers do you Believe?

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 30

The battle of the home price databases continues. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index out this morning shows a record 16.3% price drop in July from the year-ago period. That was...

Steve Wynn's Plan to Fix America

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 30

Steve Wynn, the billionaire casino mogul had steam coming out of his ears when I spoke to him on the day the big bailout failed. And he wasn't even a...

The Bailout Dies

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 29

It's not often we get to report breaking news on Hot Property, but I see the bailout seems to have died on the floor of Congress. The final vote was...

Citigroup cut a Better Deal

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 29

As my blog colleague Dean Foust lays out in an excellent story on businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/sep2008/db20080929_369126.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis">Businessweek.com, Citigroup could end up getting quite a deal on its $1 a share purchase of...

Builders scale back, but not as fast as buyers dry up

Posted by: Prashant Gopal on September 26

Residential developers, during the boom, built, sold, and then built some more. Now they're taking a welcome breather. The new home inventory is the lowest it has been since August...

Did WaMu's Advertising Tell Us Something?

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 26

Whoo Hoo! That’s what many Washington Mutual customers are saying as several weeks of turmoil at the nation’s largest savings and loan comes to an end. WaMu is being...

What Does the Bailout Mean for Homeowners?

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 25

You have to love those New Yorker cartoons. The kid breaks open his piggy bank and says "Now we just have to sit back and wait for the Fed...

Alternatives to the Big Bailout

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 24

As Congress continues to debate the $700 billion bank bailout plan, I’m hearing much opposition to it from friends and other authorities. There are people like my friend Kim White,...

How Much Should Bank CEOs Earn?

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 23

A movement to include limits on executive pay as a clause in the new bank bailout bill is gaining support from both ends of the political spectrum. House Democrats, including...

Debating the Mortgage Bailout

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 22

President Bush has proposed a massive rescue plan for homeowners, banks and mortgage investors. The government will buy troubled home loans from troubled banks. The plan is audacious in size—at...

The Run On the Banks

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 19

To some long term observers of the mortgage market, the rout on Wall Street isn’t just a shock, it’s absurb. Banks, hedge funds and other investors are dumping mortgage...

Hurricane Ike's devastation might not extend to Houston's housing market

Posted by: Prashant Gopal on September 17

Before Hurricane Ike swept through the Gulf Coast on Saturday, the Houston area’s real estate market was one of the strongest in the country. Home prices were up about 1...

Good News Amidst the Carnage

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 17

People say us reporters never write any good news. Well, there may just be some silver lining amidst all these dark clouds on Wall Street. Gibran Nicholas, who heads...

Wall Street's Worst Week Ever

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 15

Just another manic Monday? No quite. Lehman Brothers is bankrupt. Merrill Lynch is being swallowed by Bank of America. Bear Stearns is already dead. Other major financial institutions such...

Where do artists live in your city?

Posted by: Prashant Gopal on September 11

I need your help. I'm working on a story about up-and-coming neighborhoods in major cities that are attracting young artists. These are places, such as the Bushwick section of Brooklyn,...

Subprime mortgages--good luck getting one

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 11

The Federal Reserve has just released its annual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act report, and you won't be shocked by its conclusion: It has become very, very hard for people with...

Ed McMahon's Home and the Dreaded Short Sale

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 10

The mortgage woes of Ed McMahon may be coming to a head. His six bedroom, 7,000 square foot Beverly Hills home is scheduled to go up for auction on Oct....

A condo buyer who agreed to pay $53.5 million for two New York City penthouse apartments wants his money back

Posted by: Prashant Gopal on September 09

Buying pre-construction comes with risks. For one thing, you're trusting that the finished product will resemble the model on display in the sales office. A Russian tycoon is accusing the...

The truth about pending home sales

Posted by: Prashant Gopal on September 09

Last month’s June pending home sales report showed a surprising 5.3% increase in home-sale contracts signed, giving some analysts reason for hope (The increase was later revised to an even...

Behind Wamu's Stock Plunge

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 08

Normally when an unpopular ceo gets the boot, the company’s share price climbs in a massive sigh of relief. Kerry Killinger, ceo of troubled thrift Washington Mutual, officially got fired...

How to Sell a House Fast!

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 05

Two houses for sale on my block illustrate the importance of getting the price right at the start if you want to sell your home quickly. One house, a...

Steamy Stories From Swamplot

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 02

I wrote an item last week about the still-hot real estate market in Houston, particularly at the high end. For a more gossipy look at real estate in America’s...