DISQUS

i've tried using CNAME, each time they error out stating "Please enter a valid host name for the Points To field." in regards to the google address.

i've tried using CNAME, each time they error out stating "Please enter a valid host name for the Points To field." in regards to the google address.

I love the shirtless guy in the bathroom window at 2211 <a href="http://2211highland.com/images/guestbath.jpg_Thum..." target="_blank">http://2211highland.com/images/guestbath.jpg_Thum...

Those 30% drops are interesting. I will be following the strand homes to see what happens to them in the future and how the coming credit card defaults will impact the banking and housing industry. As a side note I always kind of liked 3404. I know it’s dated but its kind of funky and I thought someone with the right vision could update it to be a top notch place. I hope it’s not a tear down for another cliché Mediterranean style home.

I don't want to be mean about it but he wasn't really a good actor. Last Dragon was the perfect role for him and he should have probably tried to get into the B-movie scene.

Also: "In early 2007, I was in a state of depression, but I started following the [presidential] campaign and when the announcement was made about [THE LAST DRAGON] remake with Samuel Jackson, I felt like that was an omen. I knew Obama was going to win."

That's kinda weird.

Even the most optimistic MB'er cant say 316 9th is priced right. In person its not even "cute". There are many better lots/homes/locations/prices out there. Will be an interesting property to follow.

Actually a very cute home in person as well. One of the few nice deals out there ATM.

Both have an overly optimistic price (even for 2006) and both realtors are doing a terrible job marketing the homes. As I mentioned in the previous “1800 the strand” post, the photos look like they were taken with a cell phone camera and there is no virtual tour. This is completely unacceptable on a house at this price point. Honestly if a 10 mil commission doesn’t motivate you to hire a professional photographer and get a virtual tour you shouldn’t be a realtor? Hopefully 3516 will get some more conceptual photos up and perhaps a floorplan.

You would think a house at this price point could afford/ would warrant professional photography in the listing.

s&p down toward 675 today. even if you have the cash, why on earth drop it in RE?

brokers are certainly broker than they were

that was deeply profound, and despite the terrible grammar, largely correct. no money, no house, no love indeed my friend.

increasing inventory and decreasing sales numbers. some would call this supply and demand trying to find equilibrium. huggy, what say ye?

that should tell you what the real rate of inflation has been in the last 25 years. it aint 5%.

right, it was REALLY all clintons fault! imagine that...you sound like you have a need for problems to be simplified so that you can blame whoever suits your particular worldview. not that different from those who think every single thing was bush's fault. here is a novel concept: its a problem thats been brewing for a long time, and was precipitated by 25 years of very aggressive lobbying by the banking industry. repealing glass steagall, allowing increased leverage, reducing power of regulators and so on....they really didnt give a crap who was in power, everybody received lots of campaign cash. trying to blame / credit presidents is a pretty silly concept, its for the intellectually weak.

bizarre rant.

as we plumb the depths of s&p 700, one has to scratch their head and wonder who would buy these places? it seems like aggressively priced places are going, others are sitting. lots of new builds way back in the trees at 2.1 or 2.2 that are getting nary a sniff. contrast that with the failed auction house at 1.5 and some others between 1.5 and 2. there is going to be a race to see who can grab the dwindling number of buyers...the winners get deals done, the rest wait through another year.

ahem, just a quick lesson for all the realtors out there: - 3.6% cut is a very small price reduction - 25% cut in 15 days is the s&p 500 just to give you a relative sense of whats happening out there. s&p will be in the 500s, and MB homes will be priced 25k off. not interesting to anyone.

uh oh, multiple punctuation marks. sounds like an angry overly political person. turn off the talk radio and chill out. the worse it gets, the more the voters will want socialism. people dont care about tax cuts when they are losing their jobs, they care about the safety net. the republicans had their 2 terms, it was a total disaster and now we are paying for it. stop rooting against america, thats not very patriotic.

MB W, you missed a couple of realtorisms that i love: - dramatic views. note: views of the eiffel tower are dramatic...the view of downtown LA through the smog out of a 3rd floor window is not dramatic. - ocean peak: its an ocean view or not. standing on your tippy toes to see over the rats nest of utility wires for a scrap of blue aint an ocean view people.

here are some #s to throw out for 2010. these are for turnkey, newer (1995+ and updated) places that are around 3200 square feet. the size a young family would want: trees = 1.2m sand = 1.9m hills = 1.8m i dont think that actually gives us a tremendous amount further to fall from the lowest recent sales. the median, yes. but look at 1.5m being the low water mark for a new trees house and we arent all that far away. all these homes that just popped up on redfin last week looking for 2.1m+ are delusional. thats their prerogative, however. when the stock market drops into the 600s or lower, and people are looking at their investment portfolios down 75%, nobody is going to be snapping up 2m homes because someone cut the price by 25k. the cuts will have to be meaningful, like 100k, to catch anyone's eye.

good call mb watcher. the volume and thoroughness the huggy comments are perplexing. they are repetitive in theme, but its clear he really puts time into crafting how he insults someone here, rips someone there, maybe drops some details about the actual market here etc. its clear he spends hours a day on this site, which is just sad.

that may be true, but people pay less when they are sure that it wont create wealth for them, than when they are certain that it will create wealth for them. the premium over renting should be reasonable...maybe 10 - 20%, at least for non-trophy family places like the tree section (not huge sand or hill estates)? the premium at the peak was probably over 100%, and its still probably close to 50%. once that comes down the market will clear, not before.

is that the same math that AIG used to write insurance contracts? those did a solid job of predicting risk. try again.

I always enjoy Kartik's articles. They're like listing to the drunk guy next to you at a bar while you watch a game. 90% nonsense, but if you focus, you can normally figure out what he's getting at. :)

I think the central points being made are 1) English players aren't getting enough playing time in the Premier League to develop and 2) that England needs to invest in a national training academy. I think they are both good points.

The rest of the article is a mix of nonsense and unsubstantiated assertions. Some personal highlights:
+ "Americans prefer team sports they can dominate or manipulate the rules to their advantage."
(...or, because of its historic geographic isolation, America developed its own unique set of team sports, that remain its most popular)

+ "Moreover in the rugged individualistic culture that is Americana, Tiger Woods is hailed as a national hero while our footballers are anonymous to most."
(...or, Tiger Woods is hailed as a hero because he is, possibly, the best player of all time in a popular sport, compared to American footballers who are above-average in a locally-not-very-popular sport. See Michael Jordan for a counter example)

+"United States who has never accomplished in any internationally competitive team sport what England did".
(...if you selectively choose only internally competitive team sports we haven't accomplished anything in - i.e. soccer, cricket, rugby. I think the point is really that we haven't won the World Cup - and that's the only internationally competitive team sports competition that most people care about)

+ "In addition today’s footballer is mentally weaker than those of the 1966 England team"
(...if you generalize the thousands of footballers, none of whom you've met, into a single caricature)

And my personal favorite, from the subsequent comments:
"They produce real sportsman who understand self sacrifice. Going through what England went through in World War II gives the Anglos a perspective we Americans will never have."
(...eat that France!)