Rising inventory to deflate prospects of a bubble

From HousingWire:

CoreLogic: Housing recovery is durable, but not bulletproof

The trend of rising home prices continues and is expected to carry on, but don’t expect double-digit gains as a norm, analysts say.

Home prices rose 12.1% in April, making it the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year increases, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index. This is the largest annual gain since February 2006, a clear sign of a market in recovery mode.

However, double-digit gains are also cause for some concern, say experts who recall the unsustainable home price increases before the last housing downturn.

“While our recent projected CoreLogic HPI indicates continued home price gains, bolstered by still-tight supply and strong demand, we expect recent double-digit gains to moderate as markets normalize,” said CoreLogic.

With some early post-recession investors in distressed single-family properties saying the market overheated and they’re pulling back, it appears a sudden shift is taking place in the market.

“Regaining equity creates options for those who might now consider selling their homes because they can close a transaction with enough cash to make a down payment on the next home,” said CoreLogic. “Higher prices also attract the interest of builders who see opportunity in increased demand. In both cases, a broader supply brings inventory more in balance with demand.”

The current January to April year-to-date increase in the supply of existing homes is the third highest in nearly 30 years, indicating a lessening in the inventory crunch.

“The increase in the supply in context of current tight underwriting standards should deflate the risk of any bubbles,” said CoreLogic.

This entry was posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

95 Responses to Rising inventory to deflate prospects of a bubble

  1. grim says:

    From the NY Post:

    Mortgage lenders fall short

    Your mortgage lender is still behaving badly.

    Four of the five banks that agreed last year to correct foreclosure and mortgage modification abuses are still not living up to their word, a report out yesterday found.

    The abuses at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America , in part, centered around the mishandling of loan paperwork, according to the report by Joe Smith, the monitor charged with overseeing the 49-state, $25 billion mortgage abuse settlement deal struck just last year.

    “My testing through the end of last year resulted in three testing fails, and I can disclose five additional fails in 2013,” Smith’s report stated. “These results demonstrate that the settlement is allowing us to uncover areas in which more work needs to be done,” he noted.

    Smith noted failures at JPMorgan Chase tied to the use of so-called force-placed insurance, in which homeowners are forced to take on expensive insurance policies, oftentimes with affiliates of their mortgage lender.

    The four banks, in separate statements, said they are working with the monitor to comply with the mortgage settlement terms.

  2. grim says:

    From the Record:

    Mack-Cali’s new building is sign of recovery in rental housing

    In another sign of recovery in the housing sector — especially the rental market — Mack-Cali Realty Corp.’s Roseland subsidiary has started construction on a 10-story, 280-unit luxury apartment building on the Hudson River in Weehawken.

    The building, called RiverParc, was the first residential project announced by Mack-Cali of Edison, a giant office developer and landlord, since it diversified into housing last October by acquiring Short Hills-based Roseland.

    Roseland is the lead developer of Port Imperial in Weehawken and West New York, a 2 1/2-mile-long redevelopment of old industrial land just across the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan.

    “RiverParc reflects Mack-Cali’s commitment to luxury multifamily communities in prime, transit-oriented locations,” said Mitchell Hersh, CEO of Mack-Cali, in a ceremony Wednesday to introduce the building, which is near the NY Waterway ferry to New York and New Jersey Transit’s Hudson Bergen Light Rail. RiverParc, which is a joint venture with Prudential Insurance Co. of Newark, is expected to open in the third quarter of 2014, the company said.

    Mayor Richard Turner of Weehawken said RiverParc is one of a half-dozen buildings being built in the town, evidence that construction is ramping up in the state after the deepest slump since World War II. Builders are expected to construct more than 20,000 housing units in New Jersey this year. While still below long-term averages above 30,000, that number is well above the 13,000 annual average from 2009 to 2011.

  3. Comrade Nom Deplume, Halfwit dumbass says:

    First!

  4. Comrade Nom Deplume, Halfwit dumbass says:

    Or not.

  5. grim says:

    Good chart from Freddie Mac – Max affordability for the median income by mortgage rate:

    https://twitter.com/FreddieMac/status/347033000355184640/photo/1

  6. grim says:

    Existing home sales due out at 10am

  7. grim says:

    GLD999?

  8. grim says:

    From MarketWatch:

    Gold ‘bloodbath’ post Fed, hits 2 1/2 year lows

    Gold prices plunged below $1,300 an ounce to levels not seen in more than two years on Thursday, with investors stung after the Federal Reserve signaled it may reduce the amount of monetary stimulus it provides as early as this year.

    “As a trader said to me a few minutes ago, it’s a bloodbath at the moment, with most technical support levels being broken, we could still see $1,280, then $1,265 being hit today,” said Austin Kiddle, director at Sharps Pixley, in emailed comments.

    He said that while he thinks gold should consolidate next week and that July possibly could see a turnaround, “calling a bottom would be like trying to catch a knife.”

  9. grim says:

    John McAfee is out of his f*cking MIND, and it’s awesome.

    Not safe for work, don’t even think about clicking it:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKgf5PaBzyg&feature=player_embedded

  10. anon (the good one) says:

    @billmaher: Chemical weapons have killed 150 in Syria; bad, but guns have killed 5,000+ this year in US – how come that’s not “crossing a red line”?

  11. Phoenix says:

    [6] Grim

    I should be on that list. Finally closed this week. Found some things the Uberinspector missed or just did not care to mention. Nothing major on his part. I did not see these things myself. It’s all good. First mission is to find an honest/competent roofer.

  12. JJ says:

    Oddly the best part about me closing last week myself is I had to sell some bonds to do during May and that helped me escape some of bond market blood bath this week. Any buyer of a house last three months who locked in a low rate and sold stocks or bonds to do it won twice. Who cares if home goes up. It is immaterial.

    Phoenix says:
    June 20, 2013 at 8:11 am

    [6] Grim

    I should be on that list. Finally closed this week. Found some things the Uberinspector missed or just did not care to mention. Nothing major on his part. I did not see these things myself. It’s all good. First mission is to find an honest/competent roofer.

  13. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    Anon cars are really f*cking dangerous why don’t we do something about cars

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year#2010_Detailed_Statistics

  14. JJ says:

    Annaly Cuts Payout By 11%

  15. grim says:

    Jobless claims up at 354k

  16. grim says:

    Zombie bubble is bursting, go short zombies.

  17. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    Grim honestly the crap that becomes popular in down economies and I like zombie flicks enjoy the walking dead. But enough is enough. I’m sure there is some PhD researching how the zombie phenomenom is really just a metaphor for the hopeless of modern life.

    Now something that drives me nuts are the authors who take classic novels and massage the language add a plot twist like vampires or zombies then sell it off as new work. See Pride, Predjudice and Zombies as an example. I’m sure Gator in all her editorial goodness would weigh in.

  18. Brian says:

    http://www.worldwarzmovie.com/

    17.grim says:
    June 20, 2013 at 8:53 am
    Zombie bubble is bursting, go short zombies.

  19. JJ says:

    June Swoon!!!

  20. Fabius Maximus says:

    Is it too soon to discuss Italian food for lunch?

  21. Lurker says:

    Since when is a car’s main purpose to kill ala a gun?

    Painhrtz – Disobey! says:
    June 20, 2013 at 8:28 am
    Anon cars are really f*cking dangerous why don’t we do something about cars

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year#2010_Detailed_Statistics

  22. Lurker says:

    I too would love to get a reference for a good roofer in Morris/Essex/Passaic area. Heck I could use a good reference for a siding and window guy too

    Phoenix says:
    June 20, 2013 at 8:11 am
    [6] Grim

    I should be on that list. Finally closed this week. Found some things the Uberinspector missed or just did not care to mention. Nothing major on his part. I did not see these things myself. It’s all good. First mission is to find an honest/competent roofer.

  23. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    I didn’t realize guns had agendas? Anon posts Maher’s ridiculous statements can I not post something equally ridiculous? Bats and hockey sticks can be weapons should we ban those also. You can not legislate safety and separating legal citizens from firearms will no more prevent access or reduce criminal behavior. See Mexico, Camden, Detroit, and Chicago. I can post correlating statistics on veracity of their gun laws against their murder rates if I had time but i don’t so you’ll just have to google it.

  24. Lurker says:

    Bats and sticks? Again you fail to see the difference between a WEAPON and a POTENTIAL weapon with an object who’s main purpose is something OTHER than a weapon!

    and Maher’s statement isn’t ridiculous, you just don’t agree with him. Your statements are the ridiculous and illogical ones

    Painhrtz – Disobey! says:
    June 20, 2013 at 10:36 am
    I didn’t realize guns had agendas? Anon posts Maher’s ridiculous statements can I not post something equally ridiculous? Bats and hockey sticks can be weapons should we ban those also. You can not legislate safety and separating legal citizens from firearms will no more prevent access or reduce criminal behavior. See Mexico, Camden, Detroit, and Chicago. I can post correlating statistics on veracity of their gun laws against their murder rates if I had time but i don’t so you’ll just have to google it.

  25. Lurker says:

    I should add that I agree about the legislation being somewhat ineffective, however that doesn’t make your analogies any more accurate/better

  26. grim says:

    From Reuters:

    Full Steam Ahead: Home Resales Jump, Point to Recovery

    U.S. home resales rose in May to the highest level in 3-1/2 years and prices jumped, a sign the housing sector recovery is gathering steam and could give the economy a significant boost this year.

    The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales advanced 4.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.18 million units, the highest level since November 2009 when a home-buyer tax credit was expiring.

    “Whatever inventory is coming onto the market, buyers are ready to snap it up,” said Lawrence Yun, an economist at the NAR.

    The increase beat expectations for a rise to a 5 million-unit rate last month.

    The housing market is one of the brightest spots in America’s economy and is helping counter Washington’s decision to raise tax rates and cut government spending this year.

  27. joyce says:

    Lurker,

    If one were to say that the main purpose of a gun is not to kill, I’m sure you’d say that is also ridiculous.

  28. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Will this gold shakeout be a good time to buy? You know that Yellen gal is next up for the Fed chair and you know she’s more of a dove than even Benny. So maybe this is Benny’s little way of “saving his reputation” for the history books before he stepss down and Yellen goes the full retard on the USD?

  29. Fabius Maximus says:

    #28 joyce

    The gun has many purposes you can’t define a main one. That said if a person is killed that cannot be called an unintended consequence.

  30. Brian says:

    I also hate it when people quote the number of gun related homicides in order to support the argument that gun ownership should be restricted.

    Their point would be better supported if they could point to an overall reduction in the homicide rate in areas where guns are banned.

    25.Lurker says:
    June 20, 2013 at 10:44 am
    Bats and sticks? Again you fail to see the difference between a WEAPON and a POTENTIAL weapon with an object who’s main purpose is something OTHER than a weapon!

    and Maher’s statement isn’t ridiculous, you just don’t agree with him. Your statements are the ridiculous and illogical ones

  31. Lurker says:

    regardless of who the next Fed chair is I would say yes buy the dip of gold AND silver, if you are buying physical bullion that is. Almost not worth it to buy the ETFs imho, as you carry more counter-party risk as you have to trust those market making financial institutions (like mine) that they have the gold to back up your lot. And after the LIBOR fixing, stupid crises, scandals, and bubbles they (we?) create that’s a big ask, at least for me. It seems like there is too much volume in ETFs vs the actual physical gold supposedly backing them up IMHO, at least partly because I don’t trust the institutions involved

  32. Libtard in Union says:

    I would patiently wait for the 15% -20% market correction and buy some high quality mid or small cap growth stocks with a historically low relative value (P/E). Finding such stocks are easy. Waiting for the pullback? Not so much.

  33. Fast Eddie says:

    Big “T” gets whacked by the guy in the sky. He was iconic in that role; you actually believed it all existed. Hands down, the best drama ever. I feel very sad.

  34. Lurker says:

    We all know the reason they were developed and used in the first place was to kill… to kill animals or people. We all know they have other uses as well from target/skeet shooting at levels up to both Olympics to starting boat races and shooting distress flares, etc. But let’s be honest, the main purpose and reason for the invention was and still is to kill

    A baseball bat was invented for baseball and is meant to be used for playing a game
    A hockey stick was invented for hockey and is meant to be used for playing a game
    A gun was invented for warfare and is meant to be used as a weapon

    joyce says:
    June 20, 2013 at 10:52 am
    Lurker,

    If one were to say that the main purpose of a gun is not to kill, I’m sure you’d say that is also ridiculous.

    Fabius Maximus says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:04 am
    #28 joyce

    The gun has many purposes you can’t define a main one. That said if a person is killed that cannot be called an unintended consequence.

  35. Brian says:

    I think also using the crime rates of the below referenced cities/countries does not truly support your point. I imagine many of the guns used in crimes there are illegal and are stolen from law abiding gun owners or bought through straw purchasers, or purchased illegally at gun shows. It’s fairly easy for crimials in those locations to illegally buy guns without having to travel very far so, banning guns or restricting ownership regionally in a city or statewide is doomed to fail.

    I think You would have to look at a country or region (not in close proximity to the US) where guns were banned overall to prove your point. And, of course, we wouldn’t want to compare the gun-related homicide rate, we’d want to look at the overall homicide rate before and after.

    The question is, if the supply of guns overall is dried up, would that make us safer and more free?

    Painhrtz – Disobey! says:
    June 20, 2013 at 10:36 am
    I didn’t realize guns had agendas? Anon posts Maher’s ridiculous statements can I not post something equally ridiculous? Bats and hockey sticks can be weapons should we ban those also. You can not legislate safety and separating legal citizens from firearms will no more prevent access or reduce criminal behavior. See Mexico, Camden, Detroit, and Chicago. I can post correlating statistics on veracity of their gun laws against their murder rates if I had time but i don’t so you’ll just have to google it.

  36. Brian says:

    Show me someplace on earth, where the supply of legally owned guns were reduced, and the crime and homicide rates were reduced afterward.

    Prove to me that gun control increases my quality of life and I’ll be convinced.

    35.Lurker says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:26 am
    We all know the reason they were developed and used in the first place was to kill… to kill animals or people. We all know they have other uses as well from target/skeet shooting at levels up to both Olympics to starting boat races and shooting distress flares, etc. But let’s be honest, the main purpose and reason for the invention was and still is to kill

    A baseball bat was invented for baseball and is meant to be used for playing a game
    A hockey stick was invented for hockey and is meant to be used for playing a game
    A gun was invented for warfare and is meant to be used as a weapon

  37. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Personally my formula for stocks is little debt; lots of cash; pays a dividend; trading near 52 week low.

  38. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    lurker first weapons were clubs, games were invented as forms of warfare and to hone those skills necessary to succeed on the battle field. I’m just as dangerous with a hockey stick as I am with a gun probably moreso at close range.

    you could also argue that guns were created as a form of defense, from armoured knights who a close range melee weapon was ineffective against by a run of the mill peasent.

    God created all men, but Sam Colt made them equal”

  39. joyce says:

    (30)
    Depends on the situation.

    (35)
    I disagree on many points.
    I guess armed police are nothing but eventual-killers. Why else would they carry weapons?

  40. Juice Box says:

    re # 29 – We should start a petition to give Krugman the job as Fed Reserve Chairman.

  41. Anon E. Moose says:

    Re: [22];

    Since when is a car’s main purpose to kill ala a gun?

    Speak for yourself (and you must have some pretty sinister motives if you plan to kill people with any gun you see). My main motivation to own a gun is to preserve life (mine, my family’s).

  42. Anon E. Moose says:

    Re: [35];

    “It isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.” – Ronald Reagan

  43. Brian says:

    His argument is what the object’s designed purpose is, not the user’s intent.

    42.Anon E. Moose says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:45 am
    Re: [22];

    Since when is a car’s main purpose to kill ala a gun?

    Speak for yourself (and you must have some pretty sinister motives if you plan to kill people with any gun you see). My main motivation to own a gun is to preserve life (mine, my family’s).

  44. chicagofinance says:

    Fabius Maximus says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:04 am
    #28 joyce
    My posts have many purposes you can’t define a main one. That said if a person is chronically agitated that cannot be called an unintended consequence.

  45. pain (18)-

    I’m waiting for zombie p0rn.

    Zombie Does Dallas?

  46. Maybe when they do zombie p0rn, they should toss in a couple of lepers for variety.

  47. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    scrap : ) I’m sure you can find it nothing escapes the creative vortex that is the porn industry.

  48. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    scrap : ) I’m sure you can find it nothing escapes the creative vortex that is the pron industry.

  49. HE (29)-

    Bingo.

    “So maybe this is Benny’s little way of “saving his reputation” for the history books before he stepss down and Yellen goes the full retard on the USD?”

  50. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Inanimate objects never kill people absent an outside force. At least that’s been my experience over 42 years.

  51. lurk (35)-

    The purpose of guns is to scare the m’fer that wants to kill me into finding a softer, easier target…like you.

    And I’m ok with that.

  52. Disarming the population did wonders for Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot.

  53. pain (48)-

    My wife just chimed in that I Am Legend could be considered zombie p0rn.

  54. Lurker says:

    Armored knights in China?

    Painhrtz – Disobey! says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:40 am
    lurker first weapons were clubs, games were invented as forms of warfare and to hone those skills necessary to succeed on the battle field. I’m just as dangerous with a hockey stick as I am with a gun probably moreso at close range.

    you could also argue that guns were created as a form of defense, from armoured knights who a close range melee weapon was ineffective against by a run of the mill peasent.

    God created all men, but Sam Colt made them equal”

  55. joyce says:

    44
    Brian,

    And he and you (i guess?) are wrong on that.

  56. Lurker says:

    Brian’s understanding is correct. And besides I am GOP registerred Libertarian Ron Paul voter (including write-ins) and I already mentioned I don’t think gun control laws are going to be effective anyways. Also I don’t see why banning large magazines, etc is a big deal

    Anon E. Moose says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:52 am
    Re: [35];

    “It isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.” – Ronald Reagan

    Brian says:
    June 20, 2013 at 12:06 pm
    His argument is what the object’s designed purpose is, not the user’s intent.

    42.Anon E. Moose says:
    June 20, 2013 at 11:45 am
    Re: [22];

    Since when is a car’s main purpose to kill ala a gun?

    Speak for yourself (and you must have some pretty sinister motives if you plan to kill people with any gun you see). My main motivation to own a gun is to preserve life (mine, my family’s).

  57. Lurker says:

    How can I be wrong that a gun is meant as a weapon?!? Clearly that’s what it was invented for, no? And even in current use like self defense or with an officer it’s a still weapon! It’s only not a weapon when it’s used in distress flares, Olympic shooting, etc

    Nothing wrong with being a weapon. Weapons are an important and useful tool. But let’s not make it out to be something it’s not… it’s a weapon before it’s anything else

    joyce says:
    June 20, 2013 at 12:31 pm
    44
    Brian,

    And he and you (i guess?) are wrong on that.

  58. joyce says:

    57

    You’re changing your tune now. It is a weapon and is used for defense. That is different than something that’s main purpose is to kill.

  59. Fabius Maximus says:

    #45 ChiFi

    “If you don’t like what I say or don’t agree with where I stand on certain issues, then good. I’m glad we’re in America, and don’t have to oppress each other over it. ”
    Craig Ferguson

  60. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    Lurker while the first firearms were produced in china they were quickly adopted by arabs and europeans. Especially in Europe they were instrumental in dismanltling feudal systems as knights being expensive, difficult to train and armor could now be countered by inexperienced peasents weilding cannons and boom sticks. though armored calvalry would persist until the late 16th century, armoured foot soldiers became a thing of the past.

    Asian cultures most certainly had armor though they preferred leather over steel due to weight, cost, and mobility. And the arabs used their lighter armor (also not fully suited as their European counterparts) to great effect in the crusades against European forces.

    so endeth your history lesson

  61. Lurker says:

    weapon = to kill, injure, maim, etc… no difference. Used for “defense” is only because the offender is scared because of the weapons purpose to kill/injure/maim/whatever you want to call it

    joyce says:
    June 20, 2013 at 12:41 pm
    57

    You’re changing your tune now. It is a weapon and is used for defense. That is different than something that’s main purpose is to kill.

  62. Lurker says:

    Thank you for admitting you were wrong but don’t forget it is you not I who needed the history lesson :-)

    Painhrtz – Disobey! says:
    June 20, 2013 at 12:54 pm
    Lurker while the first firearms were produced in china they were quickly adopted by arabs and europeans. Especially in Europe they were instrumental in dismanltling feudal systems as knights being expensive, difficult to train and armor could now be countered by inexperienced peasents weilding cannons and boom sticks. though armored calvalry would persist until the late 16th century, armoured foot soldiers became a thing of the past.

    Asian cultures most certainly had armor though they preferred leather over steel due to weight, cost, and mobility. And the arabs used their lighter armor (also not fully suited as their European counterparts) to great effect in the crusades against European forces.

    so endeth your history lesson

  63. Lurker says:

    hmm I am not doing a very good at lurking today

  64. Painhrtz - Disobey! says:

    no your not : )

  65. Marilyn says:

    That McAfee video was funny as hell.

  66. Daedalus Mugged says:

    Question, there was a mortgage broker that was pretty well thought of by the host and commentariat here. I know he was referenced several times in comment threads, but after a few minutes of googling I couldn’t bring him up. Two questions, does he do PA (just acress the delaware) and what was his name/contact?

  67. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    BTW, when Bernanke looked into his crystal ball yesterday did he say anything re what he sees for Brad and Angelina in the coming year? Did he mention it at his press conference?

  68. joyce says:

    Not following

    Lurker says:
    June 20, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    Used for “defense” is only because the offender is scared because of the weapons purpose to kill/injure/maim/whatever you want to call it

  69. Lurker says:

    a gun is only useful as a deterrent or defensive weapon because of it’s intended primary use to kill/injure/maim

    joyce says:
    June 20, 2013 at 1:26 pm
    Not following

    Lurker says:
    June 20, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    Used for “defense” is only because the offender is scared because of the weapons purpose to kill/injure/maim/whatever you want to call it

  70. JJ says:

    If interest rates jack up how does that bring more inventory to market. It is more likely to trap folks in their houses. I recall back growing up my Mom locked in a mortgage in 1973 which by late 1970s to early 1980s when interest rates doubled everyone was trapped in their starter homes as you locked in a low rate and the new house your mortgage rate would double.

  71. Brian says:

    America’s Assimilating Hispanics
    The evidence shows they are following the path of earlier immigrants

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324787004578495393859698964.html?dsk=y

    As immigration reform moves through Congress, one claim by opponents is that this time immigration is different because the country’s latest arrivals aren’t assimilating. On the contrary, however, the evidence overwhelmingly shows that today’s immigrants are acculturating and moving up the economic ladder like previous generations.

    The media’s tendency to report “averages” in educational attainment, English-language skills, income and other traditional measures of assimilation can make it difficult to determine whether immigrants are making gains. Since Latino immigration continues, averaging together the poverty rates or homeownership levels of large numbers of people who arrived recently with those who have been here for decades can provide a skewed view of progress.

    Measuring assimilation properly requires following the same immigrants over generations. And the good news is that longitudinal studies that take this approach show that Latino immigrants have made gains similar to other groups who preceded them.

    Consider the claim that Hispanic immigrants are rejecting English in favor of a separate Spanish-speaking culture. Census data from 2005 show that only one-third of immigrants in the country for less than a decade speak English well, but that number climbs to nearly three-quarters for those here for 30 years or more.

    Enlarge Image

    CloseGetty Images
    .A 2007 Pew study of 14,000 Latino adults showed that while just 23% of immigrants report being able to speak English very well, “fully 88% of their U.S.-born adult children report that they speak English very well. Among later generations of Hispanic adults, the figure rises to 94%.”

    All of this follows the traditional three-generation model of linguistic assimilation that characterized European immigrants in the last century. Typically, English is the dominant language of the second generation, and by the fourth generation fewer than a quarter can still speak the immigrant tongue.

    Educational progress among Latino immigrants is also evident, and it too fits a pattern shown by previous ethnic newcomers. Nearly half (47%) of foreign-born Hispanics lack a high-school diploma, but that number falls to 17% among their offspring. And 21% of second-generation Hispanics are college graduates, compared with 11% of foreign-born Hispanics residing in the U.S.

    Related Video
    WSJ Political Diary editor Jason Riley on disputes among Republicans over border security and immigration reform. Plus, the Supreme Court‘s decision to strike down Arizona’s voter registration law. Photos: Getty Images
    .
    .Latino immigrants who have been in the U.S. for three decades or more are also more likely than recent arrivals to own a home, live in a family with an income above the federal poverty line and marry outside of their ethnic group—all common measures of assimilation. According to 2012 Census data, the median household income for second-generation Hispanics is $48,400, versus $34,600 for Hispanic immigrants and $58,200 for all groups.

    A Pew report from February on Hispanic and Asian immigrants—who comprise about 70% of foreign born adults in the U.S.—found that the second generation of both groups is more likely than immigrants to have friends outside of their ethnic or racial group, to say their group gets along well with others and to think of themselves as a “typical American.” Pew also noted that “second-generation Hispanics and Asians place more importance than does the general public on hard work and career success.”

    Like many Mexicans today, Italian immigrants who came in large numbers in the late 1800s and early 1900s valued work over education. Italy had one of the highest illiteracy rates in Europe at the time—62% in 1871—and illiteracy was especially pronounced in southern Italy, where most Italian-Americans trace their ancestry. In 1910, just 31% of Italian immigrants aged 14 to 18 were enrolled in school, compared to 48% of the Irish and 56% of the Jews. Today, Italian-Americans exceed national averages in educational attainment and income.

    Fears that the newest arrivals are overrunning America and changing it for the worse have a long pedigree. “Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs,” wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1751.

    Big Ben wasn’t paranoid, but he was living with a flood of German immigrants into Philadelphia. Street signs were printed in German, and German-language newspapers proliferated. In 18th-century America, you could travel from Pennsylvania to Georgia and speak only German.

    It’s true that many on the left promote a separate Hispanic identity, but their impact is small compared to the great assimilating maelstrom of American culture and economic life. The stultifying attractions of the welfare state are also a barrier to upward mobility, but that is best addressed with reforms, not by limiting immigration. Despite fears and much bad data, immigrants continue to be the American asset they have always been.

    A version of this article appeared June 18, 2013, on page A18 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: America’s Assimilating Hispanics.

  72. Anon E. Moose says:

    JJ [70];

    Isn’t the lesson there that buying a ‘starter’ house is a risky proposition? If you wouldn’t own it for a decade, don’t own it for a minute. Kind of like the exploding 3/27 mortgages where “We’ll refi you before it resets.” What could possibly go wrong?

  73. Anon E. Moose says:

    Re: [69];

    An a knife is only useful because of its primary intended use to slash and separate muscle and other animal tissue. But, I’m sure no one would ever try to ban this common everyday kitchen implement, would they?

    You’d have an easier time defending you position if your fellow travelers weren’t doing their level best as self-parody.

  74. joyce says:

    If it’s useful as a defensive weapon, why do you assume its primary use is to kill? Your logic does not compute.
    I forget the exact number… but what is it like 99.999% of guns/gun owners are not killers; can you think of another object that is hardly ever used for it’s primary purpose?

    Lurker says:
    June 20, 2013 at 3:06 pm
    a gun is only useful as a deterrent or defensive weapon because of it’s intended primary use to kill/injure/maim

  75. AG says:

    Yellen is going to make Bernanke look like a Hasidic Jew at a garage sale. BTFD.

  76. AG says:

    Buy as many weapons as you can. The gun argument is over.

  77. Is Yellen’s degree from Robert Mugabe University?

  78. JJ says:

    No risk, you are just stuck in a starter home. No body needs a trade up home. Only risk is you get kids complaining they are sharing a bedroom. Bigger risk might be stretching your self too far. That worked great from WWII right up to 2001. But since then it has been a noose around the neck of couples.

    Anon E. Moose says:
    June 20, 2013 at 3:57 pm

    JJ [70];

    Isn’t the lesson there that buying a ‘starter’ house is a risky proposition? If you wouldn’t own it for a decade, don’t own it for a minute. Kind of like the exploding 3/27 mortgages where “We’ll refi you before it resets.” What could possibly go wrong?

  79. Owning anything permanently attached to the ground is risky.

  80. Nicholas says:

    Clearly none of you have seen the Simpson’s episode where Homer buys a gun. There are many uses for a firearm, other than killing things, which he clearly demonstrates in the cartoon.

    1. Turning off Lights
    2. Opening Beer Bottles
    3. etc…

    Although comedic, I think that there are definitely alternate uses for gun technology that shouldn’t be overlooked.

  81. You want to be armed. You want to be mobile.

    Mobile, agile, hostile. The three keys to Amerikan success.

  82. JJ says:

    After Sandy I would say it is not safe to assume a house is permanently attached to the ground

    Scrapple n’Ricin says:
    June 20, 2013 at 4:43 pm

    Owning anything permanently attached to the ground is risky.

  83. A.West says:

    The Republicans are scapegoating immigrants. They’re constantly talking about illegals getting welfare. The Republicans don’t have the guts to abandon the welfare state, then blame immigrants for the cost of the welfare state.
    Get rid of the welfare state and most of the “problems” associated with immigrants are gone. The US needs to get everyone working and paying their own way, natives and immigrants. The more people producing economic value, the richer the country becomes.

    This is one of the topics I use to differentiate supporters of liberty from supporters of stale tradition, on the “right.”
    The traditionalists have long been criticizing the WSJ for supporting more open immigration.

  84. Happy Renter says:

    [82] After Sandy, I would affirm Clot’s advice:

    “You want to be armed. You want to be mobile.”

  85. Daedalus Mugged says:

    Or given my challenge in finding the mortgage broker several people thought highly of…any suggested keyword searches? ‘mortgage’ and ‘broker’ are not very useful filters on this site….I went through the first several pages of several search results with a slew of combinations of permutations of keywords….always either 1000 results (with nothing on the first couple of dozen) or zero.

  86. Fabius Maximus says:

    #85 DM

    Bob Farrell http://www.firstvalleyfunding.com/

    seems to be the recommendation of a few in here.

    I’ve used this guy in the past.

    Anthony Cancellieri
    Senior Loan Officer
    American Federal Mortgage Corp.
    One Laurel Drive
    Flanders, NJ 07836
    Office: 888-321-4687 x311
    Fax: 866-237-6956

  87. I think Bear Bryant was the first to say “agile, mobile and hostile”.

  88. Brian says:

    Alternative uses of firearms.

    http://m.youtube.com/#/playlist?list=PLBE4AC0C59947E7A9&desktop_uri=%2Fplaylist%3Flist%3DPLBE4AC0C59947E7A9

    joyce says:
    June 20, 2013 at 4:08 pm
    If it’s useful as a defensive weapon, why do you assume its primary use is to kill? Your logic does not compute.
    I forget the exact number… but what is it like 99.999% of guns/gun owners are not killers; can you think of another object that is hardly ever used for it’s primary purpose?

    Lurker says:
    June 20, 2013 at 3:06 pm
    a gun is only useful as a deterrent or defensive weapon because of it’s intended primary use to kill/injure/maim

  89. Anon E. Moose says:

    DM [85];

    The guy you’re thinking of is Carl Nielsen, Mortgage Master. My experience with his operation was not uniformly positive, but I believe he is a good guy; we got my deal done and I’m very happy with my rate. Like they say: Good, fast, cheap — pick any two.

  90. Libtard at home says:

    Moose. What happened with Carl that was not up to snuff? I’m surprised as everything has gone smoothly with our 6 mortgage closings. I just want to know if I should stop sending people his way.

  91. Anon E. Moose says:

    Lib:

    It might have just been me.

    john_doebinski (at) yahoo (dot) com

  92. McDullard says:

    DM,

    You can go with
    Bob Farrell http://www.firstvalleyfunding.com/ (financed my purchase and then did my first refinance with his company).

    Other option is to go with low closing options — Valley National Bank gave me a $499 refinance at 3.5% rate [the corresponding closing costs for my first refinance were high; title insurance + broker fees, etc.]

    One main advantage with First Valley is that you get a much better response. They helped me close my first house in less than four weeks (from first time phone call to closing — that too no prior experience and some additional minor delays). Second time was a breeze, the title guy came over to my house and got the signatures.

    Valley was a bit of a pain — took over two and a half months for refi, and a lot of phone calls.

  93. CbheRzCV says:

    466485 552225Music started playing when I opened this website, so annoying! 506532

  94. Daedalus Mugged says:

    Thank you to those who responded to me. It was Bob Farrell who I had seen mentioned positively here several times, but I will check out Carl Nielson as well. Thank you again.

Comments are closed.