This kept existing home sales elevated, and depressed new home sales since builders couldn't compete with the low prices of all the foreclosed properties.

I would tend to agree with this, but I'm not sure the caveat needs to be on foreclosed properties. There are plenty of deals in the non-foreclosed space.

Hu will pick up the tab on Chinese drywall?

Au contraire, tough to put a download in a stocking...just sayin'

VHS will last about 100 viewing before kids wreck it. A DVD will last about 1-2 dozen viewing until it is wrecked. I say a prayer for my Madden 2009 disc every evening.

energyecon wrote:

Au contraire, tough to put a download in a stocking...just sayin'

Costco sells Itunes gift cards. Its what the kiddies want.

CD's or DVD's, were' trying to get ours 'archived' so that the physical media can be put in the garage. Its a danger with a todler in the house.

On thread, that graph looks like we're reached a new stability (with noise). I respect CR's opinion, but I see no reason would couldn't be at a new stable for 2 to 3 years before returning to the old normal. We went to an extreme of bedrooms per capita. That doesn't disapear overnight.

Got ?
Neil

MaryAnn wrote:

Hu will pick up the tab on Chinese drywall?

The Great Drywall of China (R) is one of most popular attractions in Florida these days.

Yes, two in fact. But I am borderline obsessive/compulsive....I have my entire collection in 12 caftek disc managers hooked up to my a/v pc running movie and music collector software. My kids just use the computer to pick out their movie, and then I put it on for them. They still get to interact, I just make sure to handle the media. The disc libraries are lockable too. But I have then on a high shelf, so I don't have to worry about it. What I am having problems with is speakers. My two year old keeps unplugging my rear towers. I have the front end fenced off, can't really do that with the rear speakers.

Blackhalo (homepage, profile) wrote (in reply to...) on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 12:29 pm

rosethorn wrote:
Disc-based movie distribution is a zombie industry now...
Holidays are great for sneakernet. Nothing like a TB USB drive. Is Blockbuster not dead, YET?

Western Digital Elements 1TB Desktop Hard Drive $59.98 Plus I will use a 10% coupon.

Anyway, also my guess for Retailspin 2010? Sear holdings. Here's why:
KMart 1,321 discount stores, averaging 92,000 square feet
KMart 47 Super Centers, averaging 166,000 square feet
Sears 929 broadline stores averaging 133,000 square feet
Sears Essentials/Grand 73 stores averaging 115,000 square feet
Specialty stores 1,233 averaging 8,700 square feet

Grand total: 272 million square feet of retail space

And finally, double : I put up a post with the Philly Fed Coincident Factors map adjusted for population here.

The gap won't close if the cost of new construction is higher than the buyer can bear. And with commodities costs rising, that could well happen. Meanwhile, existing homes drop in price because asset prices in general are falling. So the cost of existing homes steadily falls while that of new homes steadily rises. The distressing gap could be with us for a long, long time.

Not really OT: I bought the entire set of original Star Trek tv series on VHS for $30. this week. (Another existing asset whose price is falling.)

I noticed that one of the high end builders of 7,000+ sf houses has put his own home up for sale. He has several empty freshly constructed homes in rich areas, and some empty lots looking for homes.

He's not quite two yet, almost... but he is at the age where he understands but still does exactly what he wants to. He is starting to calculate just how much he can get away with, but sometimes his brain kicks in after the crime. But he will come tell me what he has done wrong and how sorry he is before going back and doing it again.

nice map, Dawg - thanks for posting that

Vonbek777 wrote:

But he will come tell me what he has done wrong and how sorry he is before going back and doing it again.

Thanks for the laugh...recognize the MO...

CalculatedRisk wrote:

If Nova is here - thanks for the book!
best to all

CR - haven't seen him around. He put a post up on his blog that said he was signing off for awhile to take care of some stuff in light of some health issues that cropped up.

Vonbek777
the best defense is a good offense, get them one of those inflatable clowns you can knock down that bounces right back, Why You Can’t Knock Down a Clown | A Moment of Science - Indiana Public Media
that's all I've got for now

neil wrote:

Costco sells Itunes gift cards. Its what the kiddies want.

Clearly you don't have a five year old

Et al

My father gave me a great piece of advice when I was 3. "don't have kids"

"They're not mine, they're the wife's" doesn't count?

Disowning them does not work. You married into it.

"The ratio could decline because of an increase in new home sales, or a decrease in existing home sales - I expect a combination of both."

Jobless people buying more new homes...good one CR. Hey, maybe they'll start selling rooms in the empty McMansions. That might uptick this a titch.

sdtfs wrote:

Vonbek777 wrote:
But he will come tell me what he has done wrong and how sorry he is before going back and doing it again.
Which congressional district does he represent?

Now, now. He has the mind of a two year old so I just assumed Senator.

I actually enjoy my kids, and am very happy to be a stay at home dad. I have my days for sure, but all in all it has been a good experience. I think the fact that we waited almost 10 years before kids helped too. It just sort of worked out that way, docs told my wife at one point we couldn't have kids, so we were all set with the no kids lifestyle and then lo and behold we were pregnant with our first. Most of our friends got married and had children within two years of tying the knot. Most of them are divorced or very unhappy now. So far so good for us.

60 inch plasma bought from the proceeds of Cobra figures sold off on ebay. So yes, they were an investment for me.

Some investors suicidal following firm’s default - Lansner on Real Estate : The Orange County Register

REALLY depressing...

Agents duel over condo sale lines - Yourhome.ca

"Competing lines of real estate agents waiting to buy new luxury condos turned ugly on Bloor St. this morning with jabbing, shouts, threats and accusations of queue-jumping.

Some of the agents, who lined both sides of Bloor at Bedford Ave., had been waiting for more than a week to buy units in the X2 development at Jarvis and Charles Sts. Others arrived last night.

By this morning, there were three separate lines of potential buyers, each claiming the right to have first crack at the condos."

Ugh, so much for the real estate bubble bursting in Toronto.

Vonbek777 wrote:

I think the fact that we waited almost 10 years before kids helped too.

Probably, but generalizations about marriages or children are very very,...let's say problematic. Especially when you're talking to someone in either category.

Press Release: IMF Announces Sale of 10 Metric Tons of Gold to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Well, they wanted Gold Eagles, but those were sold out ....

Mr Slippery wrote:

Some investors suicidal following firm’s default - Lansner on Real Estate : The Orange County Register

At least they're not homicidal.

energyecon (homepage, profile) wrote (in reply to...) on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 3:48 pm

Thanks for the laugh...recognize the MO... Laughing out loud
Sounds like there may be politics and/or Wall Street in his future. Well, unless he grows up, of course.

Barbarouspalooza 2009 Tour Tickets

Eagles: Sold Out

Krugerrands: Sold Out

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Barbarouspalooza 2009 Tour Tickets
Eagles: Sold Out
Krugerrands: Sold Out

Just buy some at spot from all those ETFs that hold 1:1 in their vaults. [ducks]

Thankgiving dinner -- Squirrel, or Possum ?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

If anybody got the license number of the steamroller that ran over the dollar today, please report it to the authorities.

Who is going to clean up the mess from those shorts trying to pick up all those nickels?

jimportlandor
lil abner? those schmoos

Schmoos? Kick me.

bearly wrote:

Thankgiving dinner

fresh halibut from Alaska

UPDATE: Conn. Attorney General Plans To Sue Rating Agencies - WSJ.com

Should be interesting when all the cash strapped states and munis realize there is a buck or two to be made off of some of these "record" profits...

It's a shame, really. $1.50 per Euro was so easy to remember.

Blackhalo wrote:

Nemo wrote:
It's a shame, really. $1.50 per Euro was so easy to remember.
The math will be even easier and $2.00...

Fed mission: strong dollar and full employment. How we doin'?

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner to be flyin' at 1/2 mast in front of the Federal Reserve Bldg in DC.

Rob Dawg wrote:

Fed mission: strong dollar and full employment. How we doin'?

Chart of the Day - Gold up -- Dollar down

Spam from Costco: $400 off Samsung TVs and Black Friday starts NOW!

Taking no chances on BBY getting the jump on them, I guess.

Borders is really getting nervous. They are turning into spam maniacs with ever increasing discounts.

CR. No problem. You deserve the thanks.

TVs in the US are already 10% cheaper than Canada

JD - Our delusions of grandeur and dreams of universal empire to the contrary, we're getting it Hu's way.

km4 (profile) wrote on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 4:48 pm

Most Popular Congressional Investments, 2008 | OpenSecrets
What I'd really pay money to see is most popular Congressman investments, preferably with ROI or at least current rate of return, and name of the investing firm.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Eagles: Sold Out

I can still buy maple leafs online.

You guys gotta make a quick trip up to Canada. Gold coming out of our wazoo.

like doomageddon, dude.

The kcci link re H1N1 stopped my computer.

noob goldberg wrote:

Gold coming out of our wazoo.

That's not the preferred delivery mode.

........I have just now climbed up off the floor after laughing my ass off after this gem:

"My two year old keeps unplugging my rear towers."

"Have you tried talking to them about it?"

.....my stomach is killing me..........

" Thankgiving dinner

fresh halibut from Alaska

Roast free range chicken from Pennsylvania.

The kcci link re H1N1 stopped my computer.

....any blood on the motherboard ?

Only 3 hours to the conjure release which will send gold to $2,500 an oz.

If the US loses reserve currency and glod ends up priced in some wacky euro or asian currency then I predict the following:

6,234 posts on glod and "How much is that in real money?"

Credit Default Swaps Are So Huge That They Can't Be Banned

sm_landlord wrote:

With the Loony at right about parity, those look like some hefty premiums.

Well, the bullion is a bit cheaper than the maple leafs, so it would depend one what you bought the loonie at. Assuming a costless purchase, $1300 CAD for bullion is currently about $1243USD, but if you had to pay an extra 4 or 5% on the exchange it would get expensive.

Hey nova, did you see CR's message to you above? (Somebody said that you had stepped away from the terminal, and would need a poke when you got back.)

amazon delivery today left American Apocalypse and Deer Hunting with Jesus on the doorstep. i think ill leave both on the coffee table tomorrow. nice work, nova.

" Pavel,

Put down your mouse and back away from the computer. You have 48 hours, at best, to sanitize your motherboard and take corrective action."

Aerosol transmission I've heard of. Electronic transmission would mean a whole new phylum.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

I remember those McDonald's bags that said "HOW ARE WE DOIN'?" encourage you to call a customer service line with your complaints, and rhetoric to the effect that they value your opinion.

Thus giving rise to a hitherto unimagined literary form....

Boston Review: Letter's to Wendy's

Conceived as a year's worth of daily responses on customer comment cards to the Wendy's restaurant chain's claim that "WE CARE!", the collection is comprised of approximately three hundred epistolary prose poems of one hundred words or fewer in length, detailing the speaker's love of chocolate shakes, plastic seats, bowel movements, fellatio, language, and meat....

I really wish more people in Congress were invested in Google. Actually, it would be nice if they were heavily invested in US firms that export a lot.

Whadya all make of Citizen Rupert trying to make the internet pay it's way?

“The Vancouver housing market continues to roar back in a spectacular way and property prices are now heating up closer and closer to a boil,” the report says. “Resale activity has surged since spring and the rebound has more than fully reversed the dramatic drop that occurred in 2008. The concomitant rise in the number of units available for sale has been more subdued, which has considerably tightened the market. In fact, the ratio of sales to new listings has returned to levels last seen in 2005 and early 2006 when prices were rising at a double-digit annual pace.

a lot of markets have a long way to go, just as a reminder to those in the vanguard states of Florida and Nevada looking for any kind of universal bottom

Nova, I'll be ordering your book, probably this evening.

Pavel

Blackhalo wrote:

Paying for FOX news? That seems... unlikely.

Fox already has a finger in the revenue stream from cable. Are they hoping to charge again on the Intertubes?

Bankruptcy Filings Increase 34 Percent

Pavel,

I tell stories. You create images and tapestries with words. Each poem strung through with the light of belief. You sir, are in a league of your own.

i predict that the shopping season this week will be a success... the rest of the days to christmas... a bust.

Yes.

Here is Comscore's forecast for holiday e-tailing: up 3% YoY
comScore Forecasts 3 Percent Growth for 2009 Holiday E-Commerce Spending - comScore, Inc

“The beginning of the online holiday shopping season has gotten off to a positive start, which is a nice improvement over the slightly negative growth rates we’ve experienced through much of 2009,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni.

Puts the kibosh on the idea that the sales tax falls have been due to a transition of any kind of scale to online purchases...no doubt it is happening, but this would seem to put it on the margins...