More bad news this week on the real estate and mortgage markets. It looks like sales of homes in California were down 28% in August as compared with August 2006. Not to be outdone, new home sales data shows that sales dropped 8.3% in August from the already depressed July levels, the lowest level of sales in 7 years... well, you get the picture. The news is equally bad in the mortgage markets, where interest rate adjustments on adjustable rate mortgages are creating turmoil. So what do we do about it? We tried lowering rates, but that didn't have the impact we had hoped for. There are all kinds of solutions being floated, like raising the FHA & FNMA loan limits in California to a more realistic level. There is even talk of a federal bail-out of troubled loans.
All of these sound great, but what we really need is action. We need to "take the bull by the horns" and solve this situation before we all go broke. So what can we do? After great deliberation (and a few glasses of Cabernet), I came up with the answer... hold a concert! You know, the big stage, mega-produced, pay per view, live satellite type with huge rock stars playing to audiences across the globe. Hey, it worked for Africa, farmers, AIDS, and global warming! I mean, we have solved all of those problems, haven't we? (Er... on second thought, disregard this last question). Still, it is not important that we solve the problem, only that we get together and feel bad about it.
The possibilities are endless. If you are skeptical, think about the power of massive audiences swaying hand in hand while John Couger Mellencamp belts out "Pink Houses". Or thousands of people across the globe singing with Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young (assuming David Crosby is not in jail) while they run through "Our House". And why stop there... maybe we can get some tie-died 60's holdovers to burn their mortgage statements while shouting "Hey Hey, Ho Ho. Rate Adjustments have got to go!". We could have Al Gore fly to each site in his private plane to show how concerned he is with the real estate slump. We could have Katie Couric report live from the concerts and interview starving Realtors and mortgage brokers, showing great concern and compassion as the interviewee explains that they can't afford the lease on their Mercedes S class anymore. Maybe for a grand finale, we could have Simon & Garfunkle sing "Bridge over Troubled Lenders" while all the rock stars come out on stage.
I think we might have something going here. We could call it "RealAid", or "LoanAid". All of the proceeds could go to help make mortgage payments for dozens of strapped borrowers, or give a little something to the National Association of Realtors. After all, this is America. When the going gets tough, the tough hold a concert
For more insights, commentary, and analysis of the Pleasanton and Dublin Ca real estate markets, go to www.The680Blog.com
Comments(0)