Is the housing recovery here? Or is Goldman just trying to dump homebuilders?

From the IB Times:

The US Housing Recovery Is Here: Goldman Sachs

The U.S. housing recovery is here, with an uptick in prices and governmment support and a decrease in unsold-off market homes, known as shadow inventory, according to analysts from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets.

“The super cyclical housing market has turned and a strong recovery in new-home sales is ahead,” wrote Joshua Pollard and Anto Savarirajan of Goldman Sachs in a research note. They upgraded their ratings on three U.S. homebuilders: Denver-based M.D.C. Holdings Inc., Los Angeles-based KB Home and Westlake Village, Calif.-based Ryland Group Inc.

The positive Goldman report follows a 4.7 percent increase in construction of single-family homes in June to an annual pace of 539,000, according to the Commerce Department. Goldman predicts 700,000 sales of new homes by 2014, more than twice the 307,000 new homes sold in 2011, the worst figure on record.

The Goldman analysts cited government efforts to convert single-family homes into rentals through investors, which will help address the supply imbalance between rentals and fore-sale properties. Expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance Program will also allow homeowners to refinance their mortgages, taking advantage of record low interest rates and stabilizing local markets.

Shadow inventory, defined as homes that are expected to be sold but have yet to come on the market, has fallen even in states hit hard by the housing bubble, including Arizona, Nevada and Florida.

“Investors are quickly swallowing new foreclosure supply, limiting shadow inventory and creating a floor for home prices,” Pollard and Savarirajan wrote.

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87 Responses to Is the housing recovery here? Or is Goldman just trying to dump homebuilders?

  1. grim says:

    From the WSJ:

    Never a Dull Moment at Colts Neck Home

    Linda Harris jokingly describes her home in Colts Neck, N.J., as a “resort.” She’s not really kidding. If guests get bored after visiting the barn, horses, riding ring and alpacas or the poolside cabana, water slide, indoor basketball court, theater and three game rooms, they’re likely to find some entertainment in the 8,400-square-foot multifunctional sports facility on the grounds, which houses an ice-skating rink.

    Ms. Harris, 51 years old, a dentist who works under her maiden name, Marroccoli, bought the vacant property with her husband, David Harris, who works in finance, for $550,000 in 1997, according to public records.

    Over the years, buildings were added to cater to the interests of the couple, their three children and their extended family, starting with the house, which was under construction for 2½ years and contains an indoor basketball court for Mr. Harris, 55. The 10-acre piece of land, now with a main residence and three additional buildings, has been put on the market for $13.9 million with broker Claude Ranieri of American Realty Associates.

  2. grim says:

    From the Record:

    State demands towns turn over $161M in housing funds

    Nearly 400 New Jersey towns were told Tuesday that they have less than three weeks to hand over a total of more than $161 million in unspent affordable housing funds to the state.

    Letters were sent to 372 towns asking officials to certify their account balances and write a check to the state’s Council on Affordable Housing by Aug. 13. The demand for cash follows a July 13 appellate court ruling that said the state could claim the unspent funds, so long as it gave each town sufficient notice and a chance to contest the transfer. Thirty-three towns in Bergen County and five in Passaic County have funds remaining, according to the state.

    “What we did was we put an envelope in there with a stamp and told them to send the money back,” Governor Christie said. “That’s the way we expect to deal with it. The court sustained the position that I took in presenting my budget and the position that the Legislature took in passing the budget.”

    The money, collected from local developers, was intended to help towns build affordable housing as required by the Fair Housing Act of 1985. A 2008 amendment requires the funds to be spent within four years of their collection.

    But some towns said the state’s figures do not reflect pending affordable housing plans — some of which have been submitted to the state, but for which towns never received a response. Many towns are expected to contest the seizure of funds, which Christie has included in the $31.7 billion state budget, though it was not immediately clear how the state will review these responses.

  3. 1987 Condo buyer says:

    Sandy Weill- “break up the banks” now on CNBC…duh…thanks after you destroy the system you realize that we should never had changed from the model 25 years ago…..

  4. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [3] 1987,

    My fingerprints are on a lot of that buildup. And Sandy was a prick to work for. Chuck Prince was pretty decent when he was GC and would temper a lot of Weills bile before it got to our level.

  5. grim says:

    From CNBC:

    US Mortgage Applications Rose Last Week: MBA

    Applications for U.S. home mortgages increased l ast week as record-low interest rates spurred demand for refinancing, although loans for purchases slipped, an industry group said on Wednesday.

    The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, ro se 0 .9 pe rcent in the week end ed Jul y 20.

    The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications rose 1.8 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 2.8 percent.

  6. grim says:

    From Bloomberg:

    TARP Funds for Housing Relief 90 Percent Unspent, Auditor Says

    Distressed homeowners have received only 10 percent of nearly $46 billion in federal aid since the money was allocated in 2009 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a U.S. auditor’s report said today.

    Spending on one of President Obama’s main efforts to avert foreclosures, the Home Affordable Modification Program, totaled $3 billion — about 10 percent of the $22.7 billion originally obligated at the end of June, the Special Inspector General for the TARP program said in a quarterly report to Congress. HAMP pays lenders to restructure loans so borrowers can afford them.

    The report criticized the Treasury Department’s reaction to an audit of a $7.6 billion aid program for families in states with the largest home-price declines. Of that amount, only $351 million had been spent to assist 43,580 homeowners by the end of June, the report said.

    “Taxpayers that fund this program have an absolute right to know what the government’s expectations and goals are for using $7.6 billion in TARP funds,” the report said. “By refusing to set any goals for the programs, Treasury is subject to criticism that it is attempting to avoid accountability.”

    One program, which allocates $2.7 billion in TARP funds to encourage lenders to write down or eliminate second liens when refinancing properties insured by the Federal Housing Administration, has not resulted in any removals of second liens, the report said.

    The Treasury Department has allocated $8.1 billion for a program to allow borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth to refinance into loans insured by the FHA. Of that, $6.6 million has gone for administrative expenses, and 1,437 borrowers have benefited, the report said.

  7. raging bull jj says:

    A moment of silence please, us Bank of America Trup Holders got paid on our called bonds today. Anyone have any investment grade bonds trading at par with a 8.25% coupon I can buy!!

    07/25/2012 REDEMPTION PAYOUT
    55263BAA9 MBNA CAP A CAP SECS-A 8.27800% 12/01/2026
    07/25/2012 REDEMPTION PAYOUT
    066048AA7 BANKAMERICA CAP II INCME PFD 8.00000% 12/15/2026
    07/25/2012 REDEMPTION PAYOUT
    62874HAA3 NB CAP TR IV CAP SECS 8.25000% 04/15/2027

  8. Painhrtz - Yossarian says:

    Grim but I’m sure that money got spent somewhere. robbin and stealin, allybaba and the 40 theives, allybaba and the 40 thieves

  9. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [1] grim – Colt’s Neck mansion – If you watch the video you get to see several shots of Mrs. Harris’ expansive back yard. She should get taxed on that acreage, and I’m not talking about RE either;-)

  10. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [1] Colt’s Neck – Only $117.00 property tax on the 9 Acre alpaca “farm”, but they’re still paying $57K in property taxes on the house. Address is 8 Wyndcrest Court. How much you want to bet her husband stays over a lot of nights in the city?

  11. All Hype says:

    RIP Sherman Hemsley. No more movin’ up to the East Side to a delux apartment in the sky.

    Long live Abe Vigoda!

  12. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [11] Sherman Hemsley – Charlie Rose and whoever his side skirt is were mispronouncing his last name all morning. Anybody watch Sandy Weill on Squawk Box this morning? He pretty much floored Becky and Sorkin when he came out calling for Banks and Investment banks to be split up and all Derivatives to be traded transparently and everything marked to market. Yeah, the same guy who got Rubin & pals to legislate what he needed to build Citi into the financial supermarket now says we need to go exactly other way. I guess he’s looking to strike big again tearing it all down.

  13. raging bull jj says:

    Even worse a radio station in error announced George Jetson died (He left behind a daughter judy, a son elroy, Jane his wife and his dog Elroy)

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    July 25, 2012 at 9:08 am

    [11] Sherman Hemsley – Charlie Rose and whoever his side skirt is were mispronouncing his last name all morning. Anybody watch Sandy Weill on Squawk Box this morning? He pretty much floored Becky and Sorkin when he came out calling for Banks and Investment banks to be split up and all Derivatives to be traded transparently and everything marked to market. Yeah, the same guy who got Rubin & pals to legislate what he needed to build Citi into the financial supermarket now says we need to go exactly other way. I guess he’s looking to strike big again tearing it all dow

  14. chicagofinance says:

    That place is right around the corner from me….had no clue there was such a bizarre compound over there….

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    July 25, 2012 at 8:38 am
    [1] grim – Colt’s Neck mansion – If you watch the video you get to see several shots of Mrs. Harris’ expansive back yard. She should get taxed on that acreage, and I’m not talking about RE either;-)

  15. chicagofinance says:

    BTW – what stupid indulgent idiots….shows you what happens when people inherit money and don’t have the sweat equity built into it, they just piss it away on a whimsical crap…..now they expect someone to come and pay up……..hopelessly lost….

  16. Libtard at home says:

    “now they expect someone to come and pay up”

    So are you going to put in an offer?

    In other news, playing hooky today to watch the Mets blow it against Strasburg. Beautiful weather for another loss.

  17. Painhrtz - Yossarian says:

    Lib buddy who is a Yankees fan states to me at the end of May Mets look good, my retort the all star break isn’t here yet

  18. raging bull jj says:

    Funny Mrs. Harris said the same about your house.

    chicagofinance says:
    July 25, 2012 at 9:33 am

    That place is right around the corner from me….had no clue there was such a bizarre compound over there….

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    July 25, 2012 at 8:38 am
    [1] grim – Colt’s Neck mansion – If you watch the video you get to see several shots of Mrs. Harris’ expansive back yard. She should get taxed on that acreage, and I’m not talking about RE either;-)

  19. Richard says:

    So if you have 2 alpacas on a $13.9M property its a farm? Whats the taxes on that?

    Maybe I should get a chicken at the end of my garden to become a farm too. What are the rules?

    >>The children help to take care of their two horses as well as the alpacas. The alpacas are sheared and their wool is sold once a year, qualifying the house for a property assessment as a farm.

  20. condo (3)-

    Sandy Weill should be executed well before Geethner and Bernank.

  21. Juice Box says:

    #1 – Somebody went after them for their “farm”.

    http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/rtfprogram/conflictres/formal/orgo.pdf

  22. Let’s go steal those alpacas and have some alpaca steaks.

  23. voyance says:

    Thanks for share this information with us, I always come across this amazing post.

  24. That is quite surprising… I have never heard of that before reading your post!
    It makes me quite puzzled and angry too!

  25. Bklynhawk says:

    NJ Parents, some interesting and good news about raising your children here…

    N.J. rated fourth best state in country to raise kids, survey says
    Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 6:20 AM
    Susan K. Livio The Star-Ledger

    TRENTON — New Jersey is the fourth best state in the nation to raise children, inching up one spot from last year because of its successes in the classroom, according to the latest Kids Count report evaluating family health, economic stability and educational achievement.

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/nj_places_fourth_as_best_state.html

  26. raging bull jj says:

    More impressive, it is the best state to raise alpacas

    Bklynhawk says:
    July 25, 2012 at 11:26 am

    NJ Parents, some interesting and good news about raising your children here…

    N.J. rated fourth best state in country to raise kids, survey says
    Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 6:20 AM
    Susan K. Livio The Star-Ledger

  27. Ben says:

    “It’s who I am, it’s who my husband is,” she says. “We’re just very average, normal people; we just happen to live in an outstanding house.”

    Yeah, “we’re just average normal people, who built a movie theater, volley ball court, basketball court, driving range, and hockey rink on our property rather than telling our kids to go out and have fun” I love when the rich folk try to convince everyone they live like everyone else. A normal person would have not gone to the trouble to get themselves an article profiling their home and lifestyle in the Wall Street Journal. My 8th grade science teacher was a normal rich guy. He won 20 million in the lottery. He kept teaching and lived in a small house. He taught until he was 68 and couldn’t walk anymore.

  28. Statler Waldorf says:

    “He won 20 million in the lottery. He kept teaching and lived in a small house.”

    Doesn’t sound very normal!

  29. raging bull jj says:

    Maybe he just like being around 8th grade boys all day, did he go to Penn State?

    Ben says:
    July 25, 2012 at 11:34 am

    “It’s who I am, it’s who my husband is,” she says. “We’re just very average, normal people; we just happen to live in an outstanding house.”

    Yeah, “we’re just average normal people, who built a movie theater, volley ball court, basketball court, driving range, and hockey rink on our property rather than telling our kids to go out and have fun” I love when the rich folk try to convince everyone they live like everyone else. A normal person would have not gone to the trouble to get themselves an article profiling their home and lifestyle in the Wall Street Journal. My 8th grade science teacher was a normal rich guy. He won 20 million in the lottery. He kept teaching and lived in a small house. He taught until he was 68 and couldn’t walk anymore.

  30. Sterling Grey Matters says:

    Juice – #22

    It seems that the Harris family filed the complaints against their neighbors. They had also opposed the application for a variance with the local zoning board when the next door neighbors were first building.

    http://www.colts-neck.nj.us/town/zboa/min/zboamin0809.pdf

    Juice Box says:
    July 25, 2012 at 10:10 am
    #1 – Somebody went after them for their “farm”.

    http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/rtfprogram/conflictres/formal/orgo.pdf

  31. Fast Eddie says:

    Reporting from my private sector job during lunch: no one gets a pony here unless you absolutely add value to the company. Dear Mr. Oblama, that means you gotta earn it first.

  32. Bystander says:

    New home sales in Northeast down 60% for June according to cnbc. Ouch. I think the fall is going to be interesting. How many want to hold their home for another winter..or more. Come to papa, bagholders.

  33. My alpaca is smarter than your honor student.

  34. bystander (35)-

    Only growth category in housing in my neck of the woods is in walkaways.

  35. alpaca = 16th century lawnmower

  36. raging bull jj says:

    I like the show on TV this week where girl gave a guy a mongramed pen with intials, YCOMT, and everyone knew what it stood for.

  37. Ben says:

    Actually, jj, he had a hot wife well before he won the lottery. He was just good at his job and had no idea what to do with the money cuz he never needed it in the first place. He never even bought himself a new car. I think the only thing that changed was he bought more lottery tickets each week.

  38. Juice Box says:

    re# 35 – didn’t some 27 year old Analyst at GS just yesterday put out a buy on Home Builders?

    His google plus account says “worked at GS”

    https://plus.google.com/117366983673913359673/posts

    His linked in says he has been at it since 2007.

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/anto-savarirajan/14/741/3b4

    Did they really publish that story yesterday from an analyst they laid off?

  39. Juice Box says:

    Here is the other GS analyst on that GS story that housing starts would go up to 700,000 by 2014.He must be a Steelers fan.

    http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mdg45gdhk/joshua-pollard-vice-president-goldman-sachs-27/

  40. Anon E. Moose says:

    Ben [30];

    Its a sales piece for the property, and appropriately targeted if its in the WSJ. I wonder if the listing agent’s knees or back feel worse after getting that piece placed.

    Lots of “look at these beautiful homes right in your backyard!” pieces on the proliferate the 5:00 news the past few years… funny how every one of them just happens to be up for sale. Amazing coincidence that very private rich people chose this moment in time to open their lives and homes to news cameras, just to share their little piece of heaven.

  41. raging bull jj says:

    But what did he do with the money?

    Ben says:
    July 25, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    Actually, jj, he had a hot wife well before he won the lottery. He was just good at his job and had no idea what to do with the money cuz he never needed it in the first place. He never even bought himself a new car. I think the only thing that changed was he bought more lottery tickets each week.

  42. Ben says:

    He never did anything with it. He retired and died 3 years later.

  43. Confused in NJ says:

    20.New Improved Meat says:
    July 25, 2012 at 10:08 am
    condo (3)-

    Sandy Weill should be executed well before Geethner and Bernank

    How about Clinton for eliminating Glass-Steagle, and Obama for not reinstating it. Or, how about a President who knows more then a Homeless Sot on the Bowery! Or maybe they did, and it’s simply a case of Economic Treason. How about asking them under Oath, are you a Criminal, or are you just Stupid.

  44. raging bull jj says:

    Janney’s basic portfolio model now calls for the following allocations:

    27% muni bonds (22% high grade and 5% high yield)
    25% corporate bonds (15% high grade and 10% high yield)
    20% MBS
    10% foreign global bonds
    5% TIPS
    5% agencies
    5% emerging markets
    3% ABS/CMBS

  45. raging bull jj says:

    Well who did he will it to? Did he have kids?

    Ben says:
    July 25, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    He never did anything with it. He retired and died 3 years later.

  46. My portfolio model:

    50% shiny
    50% munitions

  47. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [37] JJ – I guess that would be past tense? Otherwise it would be YCCOMT, right? I used to get gifts monogrammed IWHYDT.

    I like the show on TV this week where girl gave a guy a mongramed pen with intials, YCOMT, and everyone knew what it stood for.

  48. raging bull jj says:

    I met girls in Penn, although I did not live across street. It is a lot lot harder than it used to be to meet girls in public. With Iphones, Ipods, Cell Phones, Headphones, most girls are hard to talk to, Motor Vehicles used to be my favorite, just hang out for like ten or 15 minutes till a hot girl got on line and get behind her.

    I also liked when a jerk was hitting on a girl I would pretend I was meeting her and was her BF.

    Also backward divide and conquer was an odd strategy that worked, hot girl with so so girl, go to so so girl first and hit on her, at first hot girl is happy but 15 minutes later her fangs come out to steal you away.

    Richard says:
    July 25, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    lol JJ you post on dealbreaker? http://darcibastiaan.tumblr.com/post/4007167691/dealbraker-or-how-to-own-a-message-board

  49. Essex says:

    49. there’s a grandeur and a sadness to that post.

  50. Essex says:

    Though the part about the whale on the shirt makes me wonder if the poster himself has dabbled in “dick”…a little.

  51. Richard says:

    Thanks JJ I learnt something useful today.

  52. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [50] JJ – We used to do a pack version of that, particularly on road trips where we didn’t know anybody. You need a crowded club where your group can’t really be seen clearly together from afar. Same deal, but never go for the hot chick, wait for her to steal you. Even better with one hottie and 2 so-so’s. Two of us would go up at a time and talk/dance with the 2 so-so’s, ignoring the hot one, then excuse ourselves, say we’ll be back in a few minutes, then the next pair does the same thing. Hot girl gets pissed by the second squad in a row ignoring her and picks off one of them.

    Also backward divide and conquer was an odd strategy that worked, hot girl with so so girl, go to so so girl first and hit on her, at first hot girl is happy but 15 minutes later her fangs come out to steal you away.

  53. reinvestor101 says:

    >>>From the WSJ:

    Never a Dull Moment at Colts Neck Home

    Linda Harris jokingly describes her home in Colts Neck, N.J., as a “resort.” She’s not really kidding. If guests get bored after visiting the barn, horses, riding ring and alpacas or the poolside cabana, water slide, indoor basketball court, theater and three game rooms, they’re likely to find some entertainment in the 8,400-square-foot multifunctional sports facility on the grounds, which houses an ice-skating rink.

    Ms. Harris, 51 years old, a dentist who works under her maiden name, Marroccoli, bought the vacant property with her husband, David Harris, who works in finance, for $550,000 in 1997, according to public records.

    Over the years, buildings were added to cater to the interests of the couple, their three children and their extended family, starting with the house, which was under construction for 2½ years and contains an indoor basketball court for Mr. Harris, 55. The 10-acre piece of land, now with a main residence and three additional buildings, has been put on the market for $13.9 million with broker Claude Ranieri of American Realty Associates.<<<<

    I know these damn people through some business dealings.

    That damn house needs to be flipped.

  54. reinvestor101 says:

    >>>Sterling Grey Matters says:
    July 25, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    Juice – #22

    It seems that the Harris family filed the complaints against their neighbors. They had also opposed the application for a variance with the local zoning board when the next door neighbors were first building.

    http://www.colts-neck.nj.us/town/zboa/min/zboamin0809.pdf

    Juice Box says:
    July 25, 2012 at 10:10 am
    #1 – Somebody went after them for their “farm”.

    http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/rtfprogram/conflictres/formal/orgo.pdf<<&lt;

    WTF? I think it's outrageous that someone would put these people's business in the damn street like that. LEAVE THEM ALONE AND STOP BEING JEALOUS. There's nothing wrong with having some damn money and a mansion.

  55. Ben says:

    Well who did he will it to? Did he have kids?

    I have no idea who it went to. I assume his wife & kids.

  56. Confused in NJ says:

    Barack Obama: Our First Gay-Female-Hispanic-Asian-Jewish President

  57. Ben says:

    chifi, you live in Colt’s Neck? Heh, did you ever buy raspberry jam from me at Eastmont?

  58. chicagofinance says:

    No, although we went apple picking there maybe 2 years ago with my son. What is Laird’s Apple Jack?

    Ben says:
    July 25, 2012 at 4:42 pm
    chifi, you live in Colt’s Neck? Heh, did you ever buy raspberry jam from me at Eastmont?

  59. chicagofinance says:

    I guess you learn something new every day…..is this good?

    http://www.lairdandcompany.com/products_applejack.htm

  60. Ben says:

    I dunno, but I put Delicious Orchards Apple Cider into a Snapple Bottle once and it became sparkling hard cider. That was pretty good.

  61. relo says:

    54: “Ignoring” them once gotten home also seemed to short circuit them a bit as they then needed to have some further “reassurance” of their hotness. Never failed. I’m sure many a fine lass wondered “wait, what the hell just happened?” the next morning.

  62. In the post-apocalypse Amerika, all powerful men will have at least eight girlfriends.

  63. relo says:

    64:

    Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

  64. chicagofinance says:

    I wonder whether they are considered HCE’s or NHCE’s?

    reinvestor101 says:
    July 25, 2012 at 3:23 pm
    There’s nothing wrong with having some damn money and a mansion.

  65. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    “Methinks he doth protest too much” Shakespeare

    “Nothing indicts like denial” Lyndon Johnson

    http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-says-romney-camp-over-edge-didn-t-142552558.html

  66. Bystander says:

    Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill overwhelmingly passes House. Harry Reid has already indicated he won’t put it to Senate for vote. Time to pressure Reid. Every one wants it even Romney.

  67. Audit the Fed, shut it down, brink up the Bernank on articles of treason, try him, find him guilty, put him in front of a firing squad and shoot him.

  68. Confused in NJ says:

    69.New Improved Meat says:
    July 25, 2012 at 7:35 pm
    Audit the Fed, shut it down, brink up the Bernank on articles of treason, try him, find him guilty, put him in front of a firing squad and shoot him

    Better use Silver Bullets dipped in Holy Water too, wooden stake wouldn’t hurt either, to keep him from coming back. On a lighter note tommorrow’s weather forecast is talking severe storms with possible Derecho’s, like hit south jersey awhile back. Batten down the hatches.

  69. It is the end of days.

  70. Essex says:

    That’s what Stifler’s Mom said.

  71. Shore Guy says:

    One more reason taxes are going to rise:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/us/rise-in-weather-extremes-threatens-infrastructure.html

    snip

    In general, nobody in charge of anything made of steel and concrete can plan based on past trends, said Vicki Arroyo, who heads the Georgetown Climate Center at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, a clearinghouse on climate-change adaptation strategies.

    Highways, Mr. Scullion noted, are designed for the local climate, taking into account things like temperature and rainfall. “When you get outside of those things, man, all bets are off.” As weather patterns shift, he said, “we could have some very dramatic failures of highway systems.”

    Adaptation efforts are taking place nationwide. Some are as huge as the multibillion-dollar effort to increase the height of levees and flood walls in New Orleans because of projections of rising sea levels and stronger storms to come; others as mundane as resizing drainage culverts in Vermont, where Hurricane Irene damaged about 2,000 culverts. “They just got blown out,” said Sue Minter, the Irene recovery officer for the state.

    In Washington, the subway system, which opened in 1976, has revised its operating procedures. Authorities will now watch the rail temperature and order trains to slow down if it gets too hot. When railroads install tracks in cold weather, they heat the metal to a “neutral” temperature so it reaches a moderate length, and will withstand the shrinkage and growth typical for that climate. But if the heat historically seen in the South becomes normal farther north, the rails will be too long for that weather, and will have an increased tendency to kink. So railroad officials say they will begin to undertake much more frequent inspection.

    Some utilities are re-examining long-held views on the economics of protecting against the weather. Pepco, the utility serving the area around Washington, has repeatedly studied the idea of burying more power lines, and the company and its regulators have always decided that the cost outweighed the benefit. But the company has had five storms in the last two and a half years for which recovery took at least five days, and after the derecho last month, the consensus has changed. Both the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, Md., have held hearings to discuss the option — though in the District alone, the cost would be $1.1 billion to $5.8 billion, depending on how many of the power lines were put underground.

    Even without storms, heat waves are changing the pattern of electricity use, raising peak demand higher than ever. That implies the need for new investment in generating stations, transmission lines and local distribution lines that will be used at full capacity for only a few hundred hours a year. “We build the system for the 10 percent of the time we need it,” said Mark Gabriel, a senior vice president of Black & Veatch, an engineering firm. And that 10 percent is “getting more extreme.”

    snip

  72. A.West says:

    Meat,
    I see in my Costco flyer that they are selling 1 year of freeze dried food, 30,144 total servings, for $3,670. Who is buying that? Emergency shelters or survivalists?
    They also have 576 servings of freeze-dried chicken for $330.
    Are there that many people preparing for long term chaos?

  73. Shore Guy says:

    Trenton? Trenton is one of the best places to raise a family?! Are the folks at Kiplinger out of their minds?

    http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/best-cities-families-kpfm/4.html#top

  74. Ben says:

    I like how they wrote “Trenton/Ewing” and then went on and on about Princeton. Honestly, I laugh that they referred to West Windsor as affordable. The school system attracts all these families that pay through the nose for homes that are disgusting.

  75. Brian in Seaside says:

    Speaking of homebuildrs and dumps…Thankfully, homebuilder/contractors helped me put in an addition with a second bathroom so I have a second place to take a dump.

  76. chicagofinance says:

    West Windsor High School’s most famous graduates are responsible for the death of Tyler Clementi….

    Ben says:
    July 25, 2012 at 10:33 pm
    I like how they wrote “Trenton/Ewing” and then went on and on about Princeton. Honestly, I laugh that they referred to West Windsor as affordable. The school system attracts all these families that pay through the nose for homes that are disgusting.

  77. Ben says:

    West Windsor South’s high school looks like its going to cave in. The building looks like a bad construction from the 70s.

  78. Juice Box says:

    Seems the ghost of Action Park in Vernon was busy.

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