LA home prices down 5.7% in past year

News, notes and headlines:

--L.A. housing prices have dropped 5.7% over the past year, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price index. That's a slightly worse performance than the average for the 10 largest cities -- a 5.0% drop. Reuters headline: "The decline in prices of existing U.S. single-family homes accelerated in August and fell at their fastest pace since 1991, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller national home price index."

--The mortgage crisis today claimed its highest-profile victim: Merrill Lynch CEO Stanly O'Neal resigned.
Don't feel bad for O'Neal: his walking-away money has been estimated at *at least* $159 million.

--Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo continues to blame divorce, job loss and illness -- but not bad underwriting -- for mounting defaults, according to this account in today's LATimes.

Thoughts? Comments? Email story tips to lalandblog@yahoo.com.

Comments

[Cal]

"--Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo continues to blame divorce, job loss and illness -- but not bad underwriting -- for mounting defaults, according to this account in today's LATimes."

He also called for a federal bailout saying the gov't is doing nothing to help these homeowners, i'll try and find the the link (same conference different reporting)

Also:
"Countrywide said last week that under its new, more-conservative lending policies, 89% of the option ARM loans it made last year would no longer pass muster."
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/
SB119370659069275807-lMyQjAxMDE3OTMzMDcz
MDA2Wj.html

89%...

[ace]

what goes up will come down..

trees don't grow to the sky..
especially in S cal with all the Santa Ana Winds and fires.

[crispy&cole]

Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo continues to blame divorce, job loss and illness -- but not bad underwriting

____________________________________________________

Peter-

Why the hell didn't this newspaper call him on that? What is the point of the MSM? Are they simply the parrot of the REIC shills? Why do we even need you guys?

The real estate bloggers have been hammering on the lies by these guys for over 2 years, meanwhile this newspaper continues to report on what these clowns have to say and never questions them or asked them why they said the opposite a year earlier?

The newspaper business will be gone soon due to their own laziness! They have been schooled by a bunch of part time non-journalist.

For christ sakes, hold somebody's feet to the fire when they make such a foolish statement!

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

One day, archaeologists will uncover evidence that bad underwriting actually was the major cause of divorce, job loss and illness in the later part of the first decade of the first century of the third millenium in America.

But they can't figure out what the Pharoah of the Countrywide empire, which controlled the bad underwriting trade, looked like because all his likeness, in a fate eerily recalling that of Akhenaton of the even more ancient Egypt, had been removed, chiesled off from all public and private buildings.

[vultur]

Guys like Mozilla and Stan O'Neal have shown that they will do and say whatever it takes to protect their tushes from harm. They have ZERO credibility, ZERO, ethics, and ZERO accountability.

Once you've clawed your way to the top of a giant Fortune 50 company the golden parachute is the goal, not the consequence.

MoZERO should be hanged in effigy and civil lawsuit-ed for the remainder of his working life. How are his actions any less reprehensible that Bernie Ebbers or Ken Lay? He manipulated a public company for his benefit and recklessly extended credit to the un-creditworthy in a manner similar to feeding a crack addict.

[Reidel]

So has the frequency of divorce, layoffs/firings, and illness increased in the past few years?

[Enlightenment]

---
Everytime Angelo Mozilo covers his a$$, a puppy dies.
---
Any one can combine unrelated things to make a statement.

[Cal]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d4de7b26-8673-
11dc-b00e-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

"Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of Countrywide Financial, on Monday strongly criticised the US government’s response to the collapse of the subprime lending market, saying there had been “zero” effort to tackle the crisis.

“In terms of tangible effort from the federal government...there has been no programme, no federal effort, no legislative assistance – zero,” he said.

He criticised the US government’s refusal to lift caps on the size of loans that can be bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored entities created to promote affordable housing."

[Joe]

"So has the frequency of divorce, layoffs/firings, and illness increased in the past few years?" - Reidel

Yes. "900 more Countrywide Layoffs"
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/
2007/09/900-more-countr.html

[GO browns thanks alot for failure indians]

plus inflation 3.5 + 5.7

[Confused]

Has anyone read the article "CEOs see falling home prices and mounting foreclosures" at the link contained in this article?

I'm wondering why nobody has taken Bill Lockyer to task for his moronic response to an economist's perspective on a potential recession. He stated that there would be no recession because he "believed that economic growth from sources such as emerging alternative energy technologies would buoy California."

I'd like to know what alternative energy revenue streams are going to make up for all of the lost equity, lost construction-real estate-mortgage jobs, etc.

Did the Beverly Hillbillys strike oil again? What a f-ing idiot.

[Politically incoreect]

Confused, you're absolutely right. Between Lockyear, Jerry Brown & Ahnold, they'll save California!! Stand by, my friend...........these two knuckleheads were voted in by.......the Beverly Hillbillys er uh kali-forn-yans.

[BetterVillage]

Notice the context of the Mozilo comments - the "Milken Institute State of the State" meeting. This is also where the participants were polled on the levels to which they thought property values would drop, and in their plutocratic wisdom ventured between 3% to 10%. Did the FEMA pr guy put that show together too??

[Shawn]

Hey everyone,,,ChecK this out

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/
idUSL301269920071030

[Joe Black]

The only concern is that the selling price does not reflect when researching homes for sale. All this information that houses will go down in price does not reflect on personal searches on homes for sale. How can a one income individual be able to afford a home in this age? It is difficult and challenging. The government should assist. A dream is not a dream if one must earn 6 figures to be able to own a home. I guess keep on renting.

[jb]

5.7% aint squat, wake me when we hit 35%

[Stan French]

So realisticly how much can we expect prices on the westside to fall in the next year? 5%, 10%? I know some people say 40%, but that seems really high to me.

[mike rip]

@ Joe Black

I realize home prices are pretty high right now and its a little depressing, but its not your God given right to own a home. Any government "assistance" is coming out of of my pocket and I really don't care to help you buy a home. Sac up and do it yourself. There are already federal programs out there to assist you (FHA loans?). Here's a bit of advice if you're uspet about the current LA real estate situation:

a) Wait it out until prices are lower.
b) Move somewhere else where prices are lower.
c) Find a way to make more money.

[Cal]

The broker boards are reporting that both Chase and Citi are tightening or eliminating their 2nds on purchases in CA.

This puts more pressure on finding a deal at a high CLTV

[Jeremy R]

"So realisticly how much can we expect prices on the westside to fall in the next year? 5%, 10%? I know some people say 40%, but that seems really high to me."

No ones knows. i suspect it will take 3-4 years before a real significant drop like 40% took effect, if it ever does. Houses usually dont fall overnight. If they do, great, but dont hold your breath.

I think some houses will drop 30%.

The hastily built condo with cheesy faux accents, horrible light and flow, on a very busy road in a not so nice part of del rey, mar vista, or eastern venice will fall somewhat fast.

The hyper expensive, super speculative areas of santa monica north of montana might fall drastically from 3.5 million to like 2.9 million or something.

I think moderatley priced homes on quiet streets in livable neighorhoods in cheviot hills, rancho park, venice, marina del rey, and culver city will see modest declines of around 10% but not much more. I just cant see these homes being 500k again. Maybe 700k, but not 500k.

We all have to wait and see. expect condos, very old homes, small homes, and less than ideal locations to see a large drop. I think mid-sized, mid-aged, decent location homes wont drop much below 700k in good locations.

[Brian]

Apparently people who took out mortgages before 2004 are healthy, employed and happily married.