House Prices Drop US/UK Housing Crash? Subprime Bubble

BBC: House prices ‘fell 15.9% in 2008′ House prices fell by 15.9% last year, according to the latest survey by the Nationwide building society.

Original post by holding out

Lancashire Evening Post: “House values start to rise again” “House prices in parts of Lancashire are on the rise at the start of 2009 - with Preston leading the way. New figures released by the Land Registry, the official government register of all (sic) property sales, has revealed the average cost of a home in Lancashire is £154,922, an increase of 1.3% in three months up to December. In Preston, prices were up 6.1% in the same period……Estate Agents across the county said the prices are signs of the green shoots of recovery for the area’s property market….” Blah, blah, blah. At least they used quotation marks for the headline.

Original post by crashpad4me

Tim Duy says ‘Don’t drink the kool-aid’:
Local pride is an asset, but we should not let cheerleading lead to complacency. Policymakers and the business community need to stop drinking the “Oregon is different” Kool-Aid and recognize that with the national economy heading into what is likely the worst recession since the early 1980s, Oregon almost certainly faces an economic downturn that exceeds that of 2001-2003. The prudent approach in this environment is to plan for the worst, and hope for the best.

Original post by portlandhousing@yahoo.com (Clint8200)

NYTimes.com: Manufacturing Reports Show Depth of Global Downturn From Australia to Asia and Europe to the United States, the message on Wednesday in the latest economic reports was clear: manufacturing continued to slump amid the worst slowdown since the Great Depression.

Original post by v stor

BBC News: Obama ‘planning $800bn stimulus’ US President-elect Barack Obama is meeting Congressional leaders to discuss his plans for a multi-billion dollar stimulus package.
US media reports say the package could be worth more than $800bn (£551bn), including $300bn of tax cuts - which would be higher than had been expected.

Original post by flintster1994

guardian.co.uk: FSA to end short-selling ban on bank shares The Financial Services Authority today defied calls from politicians to maintain the ban on short selling introduced to protect HBOS from speculative attacks at the height of last year’s banking crisis.
The City regulator will no longer prevent traders taking out positions which allow them to profit from falls in share prices but will instead demand that they disclose their positions to the stockmarket.

Original post by plato

FT: There is only one alternative to the dollar The great challenge confronting the foreign exchange market at the start of 2009 is finding a good alternative to the US dollar. One of the ironies of market events during 2008 was that the US financial crisis produced a flight to safety in the dollar. The dollar emerged triumphant from a financial debacle that centred on $1,300bn (€960bn, £890bn) of subprime US mortgage loans. The fallout has triggered a $32,000bn decline in global stock market capitalisation and driven all the Group of Seven leading industrialised countries into recession.

Original post by flintster1994

Daily Mail: Now negative equity stalks CAR owners Thousands of motorists who bought cars on hire purchase are handing them back to finance companies because they face being left in ‘negative equity’.
Experts say the shortfall between what is owed on loans for cars and their value could add up to a staggering £272million across the UK.
The problem is particularly affecting those buyers who have opted to buy their vehicles on personal contract purchase deals, which totalled £2.13bn in 2007. Buyers make regular payments for two years and then a final ‘balloon’ payment based on the estimated value of the car.
But plunging second hand prices mean a two year old Volvo XC90 or BMW750i is worth almost 50% less than the predicted value, leading many buyers to simply hand in the keys.

Original post by little professor

Telegraph.co.uk: US will emerge as undisputed top dog in 2009 Central banks will do whatever it takes to combat debt deflation. Even Frankfurt will join the rush to print money, buying every form of debt from mortgages to corporate bonds.
The Fed will follow the Bank of Japan in propping up stock markets. Puritans will grumble, but the surprise will be how it long takes for this stimulus to gain traction. We will learn the term “pushing on a string”.

Original post by plato

TimesOnline: New housing starts at lowest level since 1924 Homebuilding in Britain has fallen to a 84-year low as falling house prices and dwindling numbers of buyers hit construction firms, a new report shows.

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Original post by v stor