Free Republic

The last time JPMorgan had an investor day, Jamie Dimon explained to Mike Mayo why he is richer than him (and pretty much anyone else). This year, Jamie will be more focused on explaining to 8,000 JPM workers why after firing 16,500 people in consumer and mortgage banking, the bank will now let go another 2K and 6K in those same two groups (which will bring total mortgage and consumer banking headcount reductions between 2013 and 2014 to at least 17K and 7.5K, respectively). This may be tricky especially in the context of, you know, the housing and economic...

Few taxpayers realize it, but some local Michigan assessment departments are taking liberties when they reassess the value of private property. Generally, the practice involves posting a public notice of "canvassing" and sending a worker — in some cases part-time college students — to knock on doors. If no one is home, the assessors measure the house and inspect the yard for structures they suspect are not listed on the assessment card. The only thing that will stop them is a "no trespassing" sign or a verbal rejection from citizens who answer the door. Assessors began this practice after the...

It hasn't been a good week for the housing market. Sales of previously owned homes fell 5.1% in January -- the fifth drop in the past six months -- to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million, the lowest level in a year and a half. New home construction fell 16% in January compared to December -- the biggest percentage drop in almost three years -- and permits slipped by more than 5%. Homebuilders reported a 10-point decline in their confidence index for February to 46 -- below the key 50-point level which separates a growing market from a...

<p>U.S. home resales fell more than expected in January and hit an 18 month-low as the combination of cold weather and a lack of housing stock sidelined potential buyers.</p> <p>The National Association of Realtors said on Friday home sales dropped 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.62 million units, the lowest level since July 2012. December's sales pace was unrevised at 4.87 million.</p>

Online mortgage company HSH.com recently estimated the salaries needed to afford a house in 25 metropolitan areas across the United States. Because, the cost of real estate varies across cities and regions — you need to be making about four times as much money in San Diego as in Cincinnati to afford a house. The map illustrates these differences. The wider the circle over a city, the more you need to make to afford a house there: CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE MAP AND TABLE

The cost of living in America varies wildly. In Cleveland, people need a base salary of at least $19,435 a year to afford the average home, while San Franciscans must make upward of $115,000 annually.HSH.com, an online mortgage and consumer loan information website, figured out how much a person would have to earn to afford a home in 25 of the country's largest metropolitan areas.To do so, HSH looked at the National Association of Realtors’ fourth-quarter data for median home prices and HSH.com’s fourth-quarter average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages to determine how much money homebuyers would need to...

A recent report from the Kent County Land Bank claims the agency's actions resulted in a $16.5 million economic impact in the community at a cost of $364,846. That would be an astonishing return on investment of 4,400 percent. If true, this would be great news for residents. Unfortunately, it is based on a simple analysis that in part is based on estimates and assumptions. That has not stopped the claim from receiving media attention. Land bank officials arrived at their claim by tallying the following: $2,996,783 in sales $225,974 in real estate commissions $367,331 in demolition and clean out...

More African-Americans are being squeezed out of the housing market. Not only are they less likely to apply for a mortgage than any other ethnic group, but African-Americans are also 2.4 times more likely to get denied a mortgage than Whites, a recent study conducted by Zillow and the National Urban League found.

Back in August, when we wrote that "A Stunning 60% Of All Home Purchases Are "Cash Only" - A 200% Jump In Five Years" based on Goldman data, many laughed, unable to fathom that the majority of the US housing market has become a flippers' game played by institutions and the uber wealthy, who don't need a stinking mortgage to buy that South Beach mansion. The implication of course being that housing is not effectively shut for that part of the population - the vast majority - that relies on credit to be able to purchase a home (a finding...

Building a 2,500-square-foot house in less than 20 hours? It sounds like a tall tale, but a professor at the University of Southern California says it is absolutely possible. He would toss out traditional building practices and replace them with a single 3D printer. It's called contour crafting, creator Behrokh Khoshnevis, the director of the manufacturing engineering graduate program USC, tells CBS News. "Construction the way its done today is very wasteful," he explained in a presentation at TEDxOjai. "Our solution benefits from advanced technology...it is essentially a way of streamlining the process of construction by benefiting from the experience...

PHILADELPHIA — Jerry Zeft was so excited to move into his new apartment that he slept on an air mattress for nearly a week while he waited for his bed and other belongings to catch up with him. No matter that he's 70 years old. Zeft had landed a coveted spot in a new affordable housing complex for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. Only two other U.S. cities have similar developments. "I wanted to get into a community that I'm more comfortable in," Zeft said shortly after picking up the keys to his...

Welfare spending in Britain has increased faster than almost any other country in Europe since 2000, new figures show. The cost of unemployment benefits, housing support and pensions as share of the economy has increased by more than a quarter over the past thirteen years – growing at a faster rate than in most of the developed world. Spending has gone up from 18.6 per cent of GDP to 23.7 per cent of GDP – an increase of 27 per cent, according to figures from the OECD, the club of most developed nations. By contrast, the average increase in welfare...

Why Build With Straw Bales? Straw bale construction lends itself well to an owner builder project. Some of the applications well suited for straw bale include: a cottage, office, garage, studio, and an art barn. You don’t have to limit yourself to these smaller projects. Thousands of people have successfully built their own straw bale house. As a world leader in straw bale education we want to help you every step of the way. I’ve created a great introductory video on why to build with straw bales. You can watch that by clicking the play button below. Please read on...

My first job out of college was working for a construction company in Detroit. “We’re an all-black company and I need a clean-cut white boy,” my boss told me over drinks in a downtown bar when he hired me. “Customers in the suburbs don’t want to hire a black man.” When a service call would come in, we would ask, “Does he sound white or black?” If it was the former, I would bid the job. If the latter, my boss would. Detroit is one of the most segregated metro areas in the nation, and for the first time I...

Katrina Victims Say Brad Pitt's Charity Homes Are Already Rotting By Heather Alexander, Houston Chronicle January 2, 2014 Actor Brad Pitt visits the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans during a trip to lobby government officials to increase the speed of re-construction on July 13, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Pitt and Global Green USA created a sustainable design architecture competition to showcase affordable, energy-efficient construction. Actor Brad Pitt visits the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans during a trip to lobby government officials to increase the speed of re-construction on July 13, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Pitt and...

I was perusing online stories about today's release of pending homes sales data from the National Association of Realtors. Here are a few sample headlines. NAR: Pending Home Sales Edge Up in NovemberCNBC: US pending home sales rise 0.2 percentCalculated Risk: Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.2% in NovemberForbes: Pending Home Sales Tick Up In November, First Time In Five MonthsReuters: U.S. pending home sales end slide, hint at stabilizationFox Business News: Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly, Miss Street View One Headline Title Stood Out Zero Hedge: Pending Home Sales Plunge At Fastest Pace Since April 2011 It took about...

What if you could assemble your house like Legos using free modeling software and a 3D printer? That’s the idea behind Eric Schimelpfening‘s WikiHouse – a home designed entirely in SketchUp that can be downloaded by anyone, customized to fit the user’s needs and sent to the 3D printer. The components are then snapped together using less than 100 screws to make rooms that can be rearranged as easily as you would rearrange furniture.The WikiHouse Open Source Construction Kit can be downloaded by anyone interested in building a house. What distinguishes it from the modular houses of the 1950s...

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. To taper or not to taper, that is the question. Hamlet-to-be-or-not-to-be3 Let’s take a look at inflation thus far. Since 1947, there have been only three periods of deflation where the consumer price index (CPI) has fallen for consecutive months: 1949-1950, 1954-1955 and most recently, 2009. inflationcpi121413 Notice that inflation (as defined by year–over-year changes in the consumer price index) has been declining since September 1981 when inflation hit 11%. The latest measure of inflation is 0.9% YoY for October 2013. At the same time, house...

There are two pieces of mortgage application index news today. First, Mel Watt (D-NC) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new FHFA Director by a vote of 57-41. Only two Vichy Republicans, Bob Portman (VR-OH) and Richard Burr (VR-NC) voted for the confirmation of Mel Watt, a person with no regulatory experience and an affordable housing hawk. Watt will now be the “regulator” for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants in conservatorship with the FHFA. Why would President Obama nominate someone (and the Democrats confirm) with NO regulatory experience for perhaps the most important regulatory job...

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top 40% of Americans paid 106.2% of income taxes. How can the top 40% pay MORE than 100% of income taxes? Simple. The bottom 40% of Americans paid -9.1% of income taxes. And they received an average of $18,950 in government transfers. Of course, we know that real median household income has been falling generally since 2000 and especially since 2007. And house prices have been falling, but house prices have changed course and have been rising since 2012. csrealinc Seriously, how can the US have a dynamic housing market with such a...