Free Republic

With millions of adjustable-rate mortgages about to reset this fall, experts expect a wave of foreclosures by Americans in every income bracket. Here's why they could soar in late 2006 and beyond: Those easy-mortgage chickens are coming home to roost. This fall the adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that millions of Americans took out during the recent housing boom will be reset, and many homeowners will see their monthly mortgage payments shoot up by as much as 20%. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, of all mortgages financed in 2005, 36% were ARMs -- the highest ever. This is a matter of...

The November payrolls job report was announced Friday with the usual misleading hype. Spinmeisters made the most out of the 215,000 jobs. Looking beyond the glitter at the real facts, this is what we see. Twenty-one thousand of those jobs were government positions supported by taxpayers. There were only 194,000 new jobs in the private sector. Of those, 37,000 are in construction and only 11,000 are in manufacturing. The bulk of the new jobs – 144,000 – are in domestic services. Wholesale and retail trade account for 20,000. Food services and drinking places (waitresses and bartenders) account for 38,000. Health...

If you are concerned about real estate values and feel that the bubble might burst, I'd suggest that you keep a close eye on long-term interest rates and the unemployment rate. If both of these rates start creeping up, it might be time for you to reconsider your investment in real estate. Lately, so much has been written about ever-increasing real estate prices. Can these prices just go on increasing? Or will they abruptly stop, and then fall precipitously? The experts are divided on whether or not the bubble will burst. However, one thing is certain: the price rise can't...