Congressional Luddites Seek to Dismantle Fannie and Freddie (Part One)

Ludd·ite – noun \ˈlə-ˌdīt\: one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest; broadly : one who is opposed to especially technological change Luddite adjective. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luddite

If the shoe fits…. Hmmm. This sounds vaguely familiar today. As a protest, one destroys the very thing upon which they have come to depend. I note that the dictionary says the term can be used as an adjective. This suggests to me that in today’s parlance, it is primarily descriptive. I sense that calling someone a “Luddite” is not a ringing endorsement of their common sense. Continue reading “Congressional Luddites Seek to Dismantle Fannie and Freddie (Part One)”

Has anyone wondered why it is that politicians are always diving for cover during a crisis, but the first to hold hearings and declare an emergency afterwards? Virtually every major law, from Glass-Steagall after the banks collapsed and the Great Depression, to Dodd-Frank after the financial crisis of 2008/9 and the Great Recession, it seems the pols are always rushing to the fire after it’s been put out. Only then do they enact laws to install fire prevention systems. Yet in reality, as we have all seen in the build-up to the recent collapse of the credit and housing markets, there were plenty of warning signs. Why wasn’t anything done then? The answer is pretty simple – sad, but simple. Like flimsy reeds in a stagnant pond, politicians in D.C. only move with the political winds. Continue reading “Politics: The (Real) Oldest Profession”

As 2013 recedes in the rear-view mirror of memory, I thought it high time to ask what were some of the significant developments of the year, and what do they bode for the real estate industry in 2014? I’ve identified the following five data points I believe are most worthy of discussion. They are arranged in no particular order of importance. ~PCQ

The Portland-Metro Real Estate Market. Unless you’ve been on the Moon for the past 15 months, it’s hard to ignore the pleasant truth – the market is much improved. But by no means is it fully recovered. It’s off life support, but still recuperating. There are certain aspects of today’s real estate market that continue to be in need of improvement. [For rest of article go to link here.]

Who would have thought that the financial crisis brought about by Big Bank Shenanigans would incentivize national and state regulators to impose Draconian rules on the sale of pre-owned manufactured homes? This relatively small industry is the last vestige of affordable housing in this country. This misguided effort is akin to regulating row boats after the Titanic sank. But never fear, the CFPB in Washington D.C. and the DFCS in Salem have seen fit to do so. Why? Because it’s easier to push around Small Business Owners, who can ill-afford to push back, than to cross swords with the real culprits in their ivory towers. I remember bullies like this in grade school, but assumed they grew up and got a life. Seems I was wrong. Unable to get a real job and compete in a real industry, they became regulators, bureaucrats, and politicians, all sucklings on the public teat, telling others how to live their lives. For a summary of the new rules go to this link.

On January 28, 2014, Sergio Ermotti, chief executive of UBS AG, was fed up. While visiting swanky Davos Switzerland [referred to in a New York Magazine article as “…the annual self-congratulatory kaffeeklatsch known as the World Economic Forum”] he vented. Like Howard Bealle in Network, he was ‘mad as hell and not going to take this anymore!’

What was the object of his angst? He felt that his company was being unfairly picked on. According to the article: Continue reading “Big Bank Bashing – Waahhh!”

OK, the numbers are in for calendar year 2013. In 3Q 2012, for the first time in five years, housing prices actually began to improve, month over month. The trend continued for much of 2013, although slowed during 4Q, which we might expect, given the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays [Memo to PC Police: Sorry for using such anachronistic and sappy terms, but I insist on preserving some semblance of our country’s Judeo-Christian heritage. So sue me!] Sorry, I got sidetracked, where was I? Continue reading “The 2013-2014 Portland-Metro Residential Marketplace – How Are We Doing?”

Ever wonder when the foreclosure crisis would wind down? That is an important issue, since “shadow inventory,” i.e. distressed homes not yet in the marketplace, is an important reason why available housing stock or “inventory” is so low. Attached is link to a chart showing Portland Metro quarterly foreclosure filings for calendar year 2013. [It is page 9 in a multi-page set of graphics that are not yet displayed. Once I assimilate all of it, I will display all 11 pages with another post.] Continue reading “2013 Portland Metro Foreclosure Filings By Quarter”

It’s a New Year! Time to look back from whence we came, and look forward to 2014. ~PCQ

From Infant to Toddler. The Q-Law website site is now four years old. While still a toddler, it now has developed the features and personality of its father – satirical, acerbic, outspoken, contentious, caustic, etc., etc. I couldn’t be a prouder parent! Continue reading “Q-Law Mission Statement: 2014”

A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal (Andrew Haldane: The Banker Who Cried ‘Simplicity’) bears reading – and re-reading, and re-reading. It goes directly to the point of my recent rant post titled ‘The Volcker Rule: How Complexity Kills Good Ideas’. Mr. Haldane is the Bank of England’s executive director for financial stability, and a master of the metaphor. As the title of the article implies and the text confirms, Mr. Haldane believes that when it comes to the hopelessly complex rules designed to prevent bank failure and ultimately taxpayer bailouts, such as Basel III[1] and the Volcker Rule[2], less is more. Continue reading “The Dog and the Frisbee: A New Approach To Federal Regulation”

“We supported former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker’s simple idea: Don’t let federally insured banks gamble in the securities markets. Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to stand behind Wall Street trading desks. What we can’t support is the “Volcker Rule” that was first distorted in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and has now been grinded and twisted into 71 pages of text plus 882 more pages of explanation after three years of agency sausage-making.” ~ December 11, 2013 Wall Street Journal Opinion: ‘The Volcker Ambiguity’ Continue reading “The Volcker Rule: How Complexity Kills Good Ideas”