Looking good, Billy Ray! Feeling good, Louis!

From HousingWire:

Americans gain confidence in housing as home prices rise

Americans continue to gain confidence in the housing market, not just despite, but even because of rising home prices, according to the latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index from Fannie Mae.

Over the past year, home prices have continued to rise, threatening affordability, and housing inventory is falling dangerously low. However, despite these setbacks, Americans continue to hold a positive view of the housing economy.

Fannie Mae’s HPSI rose 3.7 points in January to 89.5, reversing the decrease seen the month before and an all-time survey high. This rise is due to increases in five of the six HPSI components.

The share of those who said now is a good time to buy a home increased three percentage points to 27% in January, reversing some of last month’s decline. The share of those who say now is a good time to sell a home also increased, rising four percentage points to 38%.

“Over the past year, continued home price growth has helped spur a sizable increase in the net share of consumers who say it’s a good time to sell a home but also a modest weakening in the net share who say it is a good time to buy,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist.

Americans are increasingly expecting home prices to rise as those who said they expect home prices to go up over the next 12 months increased eight percentage points in January to 52%, a new survey high. But even as they expect home prices to rise, the share of Americans who say mortgage rates will fall in the next 12 months increased two percentage points to -50%.

When it comes to personal finances, the share of Americans who say they are not concerned about losing their job increased five percentage points to 73% and the share who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago remained flat at 16%.

This entry was posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

61 Responses to Looking good, Billy Ray! Feeling good, Louis!

  1. grim says:

    He’s a principal at a small elementary school. School has a faculty of 32 and 381 students.

    So he manages 32 employees, and has 381 regular customers.

    I never understood why when looking at school administration, they lumped the students together with the teachers and staff, and then used the larger number to justify the salary. Seems horribly flawed to me.

  2. grim says:

    Trump wants his infrastructure program to focus on rural America? Seems like an expensive way to buy votes, he might consider spending some time with the democrats to see how it’s done. Shocker, it won’t include funding for the NY/NJ tunnel project. In retrospect, Christie should have taken the money and ran.

  3. grim says:

    From the Star Ledger:

    Phil Murphy and top Dem Sweeney are off to a shaky start. Does it mean trouble ahead?

    At the same time, some lawmakers have privately expressed frustration with how Murphy has spent much of his first few weeks signing executive orders, largely overturning Christie policies or fighting Trump. Some believe the approach is ironically reminiscent of Trump.

  4. Hold my beer says:

    Pumps,

    South Dallas is like east orange or Newark. Lots of crime and about half the school age kids live in poverty. The towns south of Dallas are a mix. Duncanville I don’t like that much. Grand Prairie is huge and has some nice areas. Mansfield is nice but is getting expensive. Arlington had nice areas and areas you wouldn’t want to live in. Midlothian is still very rural. I think midlothian will be the next big thing south of Dallas over the next 5-10 years. An express toll highway is being built in the median of 360 from Arlington to Midlothian. That factored with Arlington built out and Mansfield nearly built out would be my pick for speculating in real estate. The suburbs north of Dallas are nice but are already expensive.

  5. Chi says:

    Grim. Canceling the tunnel was good Christie. We would have been on the hook for the cost overrun. Between the mob , unions , influence peddlers, no bid contract winner , graft. The money would have been mind numbing. Cuomo and De blastoff would have been laughing their a%%es off at us

    grim says:
    February 12, 2018 at 6:10 am
    Trump wants his infrastructure program to focus on rural America? Seems like an expensive way to buy votes, he might consider spending some time with the democrats to see how it’s done. Shocker, it won’t include funding for the NY/NJ tunnel project. In retrospect, Christie should have taken the money and ran.

  6. Very Stable Genius says:

    @Newsweek

    Trump sold a $40 million estate to a Russian oligarch for $100 million—and a senator wants to know why

  7. nwnj says:

    Though it’s entirely predictable, it’s sad to see the politicized cry baby culture has now permeated the Olympics. The team is now a bunch of aggrieved whiners and everyone has been wronged in some way or another. We should pull the plug on the whole thing.

  8. Mostly Gibberish says:

    9:11 no, we double down on the abuse. We all know the path to greatness comes from adversity. Riiiight President Trump…? America’s Most-est Leadership-est President ever.

  9. Juice Box says:

    Newsflash Trump sold a Florida property before Barry was even president. Keep digging eventually you will find the Chinese his real masters.

  10. No One says:

    nwnj,
    Examples? I’m not saying it’s not there, I’m just interested in the actual instances you are referring to.
    Incidentally, I thought the running commentary on the opening ceremonies stunk.
    And the N. Korean propaganda chief sister looks like a spoiled haughty b1tch.

  11. No One says:

    Lead article:
    My summary – people feel good about past asset price gains, even though it makes the asset more expensive and less likely to generate future returns. This is because a lot of people are trend-followers. On the other hand, I assume more people than usual are feeling good about their job security and pay prospects, and their home-buying emotions probably are influenced by their point on the cycle more so than a through-the-economic cycle long-term perspective on their salary prospects. Or perhaps they have more foresight than professional economists who predict a downturn within a few years.

  12. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    “Trump sold a $40 million estate to a Russian oligarch for $100 million—and a senator wants to know why”

    Senator Menendez received $600,000, luxury vacations and lavish gifts from a contributor convicted of illegally collecting 9 million dollars in Medical Fraud. Menendez walks. So does Trump. Blow it out your piehole you shallow-minded dolt.

  13. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    I am boycotting the olympics on the basis that the Russians are competing after being banned for doping. The Olympics are run worse than the NFL and MLB combined. It’s all about the money.

    Did you see the jugs on that 15 year old figure skater last night? There is no way she’s not on something. Those things were like propellers. No wonder she could jump so high.

  14. grim says:

    Sold something worth $40 million to someone for $100 million.

    Don’t understand, you are accusing Trump of? A great deal? He flipped a house for $50 million. He would say it’s evidence of his business acumen. He bought the property in a foreclosure auction for a bargain price. Put some lipstick on a pig, and then sold it to a Russian who buys $100 million dollar houses like they are going out of style (it ain’t his first, or second, or even third). The Russian, who isn’t an idiot by the way, tears the shithole down and splits it into 3 properties. He already sold 1 vacant lot, arguably the least desirable of the 3, for nearly $40 million, near Trump’s purchase price for the whole property.

  15. grim says:

    The Olympics started?

  16. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Judging by Moana’s posts – The Special Olympics run all year round.

  17. Mostly Gibberish says:

    googles 15 year-old figure skater…..

  18. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Russian

  19. leftwing says:

    “ex-Jersey says:
    Leftwing you should change your ID to Wingnut.”

    My post was mocking a simpleton’s intellectually bankrupt ‘analysis’, which analysis if presented to an average NJ fifth grade public school teacher would garner a failing grade.

    Thought the ‘viper squid’ reference was a giveaway……

  20. No One says:

    BRT – interested in your opinion
    http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/02/direct-instruction-half-century-research-shows-superior-results.html
    Apparently, carefully teaching kids how to understand stuff and not letting them go on until they master it works better than just throwing topics out there, barely teaching it, and then letting kids figure it out for themselves or not. Apparently most US govt schools are against the former approach.

    “Direct Instruction was pioneered by Siegfried Engelmann in the 1960s and is a scientific approach to teaching. First, a skill such as reading or subtraction is broken down into simple components, then a method to teach that component is developed and tested in lab and field. The method must be explicitly codified and when used must be free of vagueness so students are reliably led to the correct interpretation. Materials, methods and scripts are then produced for teachers to follow very closely. Students are ability not age-grouped and no student advances before mastery. “

  21. chicagofinance says:

    The male figure skater from PA did a really good job last night. Then they made it a point to talk about some running feud he has with Mike Pence……. my wife asked me what that was all about? I said I had no idea, but I fail to see the reason to mention it other than to purposely try and create acrimony…… I don’t understand how it adds value…..

    nwnj says:
    February 12, 2018 at 9:11 am
    Though it’s entirely predictable, it’s sad to see the politicized cry baby culture has now permeated the Olympics. The team is now a bunch of aggrieved whiners and everyone has been wronged in some way or another. We should pull the plug on the whole thing.

  22. chicagofinance says:

    The brunette who really nailed it is so good looking….exactly my type…..

    Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:
    February 12, 2018 at 9:43 am
    Did you see the jugs on that 15 year old figure skater last night? There is no way she’s not on something. Those things were like propellers. No wonder she could jump so high.

  23. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    The best way to watch the Olympic games is by turning the sound off. Though it takes a lot away from the figure skating when you can’t here the musical accompaniment, the over the top flamboyantly gay announcers and their constant comparisons of their former days in the limelight to the current skaters is akin to waterboarding. Then there is the insatiable need of the announcers to make a reality show out of every damn athlete. It’s like ESPN. The results of the football game take a back seat to who kneeled during the national anthem. It’s twice as bad with the gymnasts during the Summer games. If you do choose to leave the audio on, you can make some simple drinking games up. For example, during any and all snowboarding events, you have to chug every time the announcer says stoked or gnarly.

  24. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    ChiFi…That’s the one. She better get the gold medal soon. It probably won’t be long before she takes her clothes off for Swank.

  25. No One says:

    Ok, thought police will have to take you in for questioning Steamturd.

  26. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    I’m not convinced she’s 15.

  27. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Apparently, carefully teaching kids how to understand stuff and not letting them go on until they master it works better than just throwing topics out there, barely teaching it, and then letting kids figure it out for themselves or not. Apparently most US govt schools are against the former approach.

    “Direct Instruction was pioneered by Siegfried Engelmann in the 1960s and is a scientific approach to teaching. First, a skill such as reading or subtraction is broken down into simple components, then a method to teach that component is developed and tested in lab and field. The method must be explicitly codified and when used must be free of vagueness so students are reliably led to the correct interpretation. Materials, methods and scripts are then produced for teachers to follow very closely. Students are ability not age-grouped and no student advances before mastery. “

    The idea that direct instruction is ineffective is one that has been shoved down everyone’s throat without ever putting forth a real convincing argument. Yeah, they’ve published libraries worth of studies where they take bad data and draw whatever conclusions they want to.

    I’ve asked every group of students I’ve had the past 9 years what they think is the most effective and they all say direct instruction. I introduce concepts with direct instruction and let them build on those ideas or verify them in lab.

    In most cases, unless the activity is carefully crafted, students will not draw the conclusions you hope they would independently. And when they do, it takes more time that it would with direct instruction.

    That being said, this is only true when the person doing the direct instruction is engaging and good at their craft.

  28. nwnj says:

    Exactly. The olympics are irrelevant and full of spoiled nobodies. It’s a sham. Just like the nfl, why fund a platform for all of their grievances? We all know how spoiled these athletes are. I say pull the plug and let these folks get on with their life’s work.

  29. Mostly Gibberish says:

    Let’s put it this way, with the exception of downhill skiing and ice hockey and perhaps the luge, and maybe the snowboard…events everything else is something you would skip over in any other time if they were on TV.

  30. leftwing says:

    30 Year, you out there?

    have a question for you on one of your areas of expertise…….

    TY

  31. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Millennials….

    A couple who sold all of their possessions so they could sail around the world have been left with nothing after their boat sank just two days into their journey.

    Tanner Broadwell and Nikki Walsh began their adventure on a 28-foot sailboat last week, setting off from the marina in Tarpon Springs.

    Two days later, the emergency services were called to reports of a capsized boat in the Gulf of Mexico near Madeira Beach – about 25 miles down the coast.

    While sailing through the popular tourist site, the bottom of their boat struck an unseen object underwater and quickly started to take on water, forcing them to evacuate. They were left with just their two-year-old dog Remy, their social security cards, a mobile phone and some dog food and clothes.

    Speaking after the incident, the couple said they had planned to escape modern life on the sailboat after leaving Breckenridge, Colorado, last year.

    “I sold everything I had to do this,” Mr Broadwell told the Tampa Bay Times. “I lost everything in a matter of 20 minutes.”

    Mr Broadwell, 26, is originally from Florida and worked in marketing for timeshares. He met Ms Walsh, 24, in Philadelphia while there for work, but told the newspaper they both got “tired” of the sales lifestyle, “of doing things to make people do the things they don’t want to do”.

    That’s when they hatched the plan to give it all up and sail round the world. For two years they planned and saved, with Mr Broadwell driving for Uber to make extra money. In April 2017 they sold everything they had, including his SUV, and bought the 1969 boat they named ‘Lagniappe’ (which is Creole for ‘bonus’) for $5,000 (£3,600), spending the same again to restore it.

    Up until that point, the couple had no sailing experience, so they spent the next few months learning from Mr Broadwell’s father. It was only this month that they decided they were ready, and were given a grand send-off by friends in Tarpon Springs.

    Two days later, the Lagniappe had sunk. The boat remains in the water, and the coast guard has told the couple it could cost up to $10,000 to remove and store it. They only have $90.

    They may now move in with Mr Broadwell’s mother and look for work. But they still want to keep their dream alive.

    “I’m not going to give up now,” Mr Broadwell said. “I’m going to get another boat down the road.”

    “We can’t just give up on our dreams,” Ms Walsh said.

  32. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Awesome!

  33. Fast Eddie says:

    “I’m not going to give up now,” Mr Broadwell said. “I’m going to get another boat down the road.”

    I’m told this is the smartest generation.

  34. Very Stable Genius says:

    @kurteichenwald

    With trump pushing for $237 billion in Medicare cuts to pay for rich people’s tax cuts, I’m sure Cult45 won’t mind paying for their parents or their own medical care with their giant, temporary $100 tax cut. Oops..not enough.
    Dig deep in ur pockets.
    You’ve been conned.
    Told ya.

  35. Very Stable Genius says:

    @JesseLehrich

    Trump on:

    – Porter: “Hope he has a wonderful career… says he’s innocent”

    – Lewandowski: “How do you know those bruises weren’t there before?”

    – Roy Moore: “He totally denies it”

    – Roger Ailes: “He helped those women”

    – Bill O’Reilly: “I don’t think Bill did anything wrong”

  36. You didn't build that says:

    “What the liberal mind is passionate about is a world filled with pity, sorrow, neediness, misfortune, poverty, suspicion, mistrust, anger, exploitation, discrimination, victimization, alienation and injustice. Those who occupy this world are “workers,” “minorities,” “the little guy,” “women,” and the “unemployed.” They are poor, weak, sick, wronged, cheated, oppressed, disenfranchised, exploited and victimized.

    They bear no responsibility for their problems. None of their agonies are attributable to faults or failings of their own: not to poor choices, bad habits, faulty judgment, wishful thinking, lack of ambition, low frustration tolerance, mental illness or defects in character. None of the victims’ plight is caused by failure to plan for the future or learn from experience. Instead, the “root causes” of all this pain lie in faulty social conditions: poverty, disease, war, ignorance, unemployment, racial prejudice, ethnic and gender discrimination, modern technology, capitalism, globalization and imperialism.

    In the radical liberal mind, this suffering is inflicted on the innocent by various predators and persecutors: “Big Business,” “Big Corporations,” “greedy capitalists,” U.S. Imperialists,” “the oppressors,” “the rich,” “the wealthy,” “the powerful” and “the selfish.”

  37. grim says:

    Gary – I pissed myself when I read that article this morning.

    Simply does not get better.

  38. Fast Eddie says:

    The upside is they have $90. They should go get some mermaid toast, some playdoh and call it a day.

  39. The Great Pumpkin says:

    2:06

    Is that a quote from Mr. Burns?

  40. The Great Pumpkin says:

    When you are accountable for the performance and discipline of these individuals, are they really customers? Sounds like managing to me.

    Remember, a bad customer you don’t have to serve. Kick them out of your business. This guy must serve all. Easier said than done.

    grim says:
    February 12, 2018 at 5:43 am
    He’s a principal at a small elementary school. School has a faculty of 32 and 381 students.

    So he manages 32 employees, and has 381 regular customers.

    I never understood why when looking at school administration, they lumped the students together with the teachers and staff, and then used the larger number to justify the salary. Seems horribly flawed to me.

  41. 3b says:

    Packing it all in at 26 and 24!!

  42. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Anchor’s Away.

  43. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    I heard their destination was Narragansett Bay.

  44. Xolepa says:

    Pumpkin Pie,
    Do you consider your grandma’s, er, your tenants customers or employee types?

  45. Xolepa says:

    Yes, you certainly manage your tenants.

  46. chicagofinance says:

    Nice up day, but we need another 1.5-2% up, then some give back then up from there……if we go lower from here…….BAD SIGN

  47. grim says:

    I heard their destination was Narragansett Bay.

    They should have just took the Megabus for $1.

  48. No One says:

    Never paid attention to this Kurt Eichenwald, but he appears to be a real piece of crap, not surprising that anon considers him some sort of authority on anything other than attack pieces.
    Combines viciousness with cluelessness.
    http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/kurt-eichenwald

  49. Libturd says:

    Sadly, he looks a lot like me.

  50. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Ruh-Roh!

    Ambassador Rice appears to have used this email to document a January 5, 2017 Oval Office meeting between President Obama, former FBI Director James Comey and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates regarding Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. In particular, Ambassador Rice wrote:

    “President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities ‘by the book’. The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.”

  51. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    House 4 homes down from me was just foreclosed on. Apparently, no payments were made for over 2 years. Never saw it pop up on any of the sites. They had all kinds of dumpsters out there and cleared the place out. Neighbor went in and said it was like an episode of hoarders. She said the place reeked of urine and and cob webs all over the place. Strange because the outside looked fine and no one had a clue. She said the inside is destroyed. Talked to the guy that bought it. He paid $300k and is looking to renovate and flip. The house 3 homes down from that one went for $525k.

  52. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    When you are accountable for the performance and discipline of these individuals, are they really customers? Sounds like managing to me.

    Remember, a bad customer you don’t have to serve. Kick them out of your business. This guy must serve all. Easier said than done.

    Most of these principals are never held accountable. They leave before they get fired or they start applying to assistant super jobs almost immediately. It’s just another step on the ladder. My previous job’s principal was awesome. He was dedicated and worth every penny.

  53. Hold my beer says:

    I bet those millennials that sank their boat become millionaires. They will get a huge following on instagram or YouTube, book deal, maybe their own reality tv show.

  54. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Dear Ambassador Rice:

    The Senate Judiciary Committee has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the FBI and the broader Department of Justice. Part of that duty involves ensuring that law enforcement efforts are conducted without improper political influence. Accordingly, the Committee has been investigating the FBI’s relationship with Christopher Steele during the time his work was funded by Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee, as well as the FBI’s reliance on his unverified third-hand allegations in the Bureau’s representations to courts.

    As part of that effort, the Committee sent a request to the National Archives for records of meetings between President Obama and then-FBI Director Comey regarding the FBI’s investigation of allegations of collusion between associates of Mr. Trump and the Russian government. In response, the Committee received classified and unclassified versions of an email you sent to yourself on January 20, 2017 – President Trump’s inauguration day. If the timestamp is correct, you sent this email to yourself at 12:15pm, presumably a very short time before you departed the White House for the last time.

    In this email to yourself, you purport to document a meeting that had taken place more than two weeks before, on January 5, 2017. You wrote:

    On January 5, following a briefing by IC leadership on Russian hacking during the 2016 Presidential election, President Obama had a brief follow-on conversation with FBI Director Jim Comey and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates in the Oval Office. Vice President Biden and I were also present.
    That meeting reportedly included a discussion of the Steele dossier and the FBI’s investigation of its claims.[1] Your email continued:

    President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities “by the book”. The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.

    From a national security perspective, however, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.

    The next part of your email remains classified. After that, you wrote:

    The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team. Comey said he would.

  55. Mostly Gibberish says:

    Amazon from this guy who F*cks POV….

    It all comes down to two locations: It’s either going to be the metro area of New York or the metro area of DC,” Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University’s business school, says in a new YouTube video.

    Galloway has previously made an accurate prediction about Amazon. In May, he made the call that the e-commerce giant would buy Whole Foods, which it did in June.

    Galloway doesn’t get more specific in his HQ2 prediction, which technically encompasses five of Amazon’s shortlisted locations: New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Washington, DC; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Northern Virginia.

    Why those two regions? Galloway says there are only two items to consider.

    The first is where Amazon can attract the best talent.

    “In the eyes of Amazon, the best talent is a 24-year-old [electrical engineering] grad from MIT,” he said. “This individual isn’t concerned with cost of living — cost of living only matters when you’re in your 30s and you begin collecting dogs and kids.”

    The second, Galloway says, is where Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to spend his time. Galloway points out that Bezos already owns homes in New York and DC.

    Galloway implores Bezos to pick the city now instead of letting the HQ2 bidding process go on any longer. He also calls on mayors and civic leaders to band together and refuse to offer the company financial incentives to locate in their city.

    “Mr. Bezos, come to the light,” Galloway says.

  56. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I’ve stated that from day 1, it was coming here or DC.

    Nice share.

  57. walking bye says:

    Pumkin give it up, it will be Atlanta.

  58. 3b says:

    It won’t be Newark. Atlanta makes sense for a lot of reasons.

  59. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Pumps – been to any class reunions?

    Hahahahahahahahaha

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