We love realtors

Cracking video, first found on housing panic.

US economy

Do you get the feeling that the US economy is going off the rails. This short video will confirm that uneasy feeling.

California nightmare

Find out all you need to know about the collapsing Californian market in just 45 short seconds.

What goes up, must go down

The housing market put to music.....

Northern Rock - the movie

Here is a five minute news clip from the BBC giving background to the collapse of one of the largest mortgage lenders in the UK - Northern Rock Bank.

Cramer on housing

It is a sad fact but today everything is recorded. Here is Jim Cramer's sorry collection of misjudgements on the housing market. A year or so ago, he laughed at the possibility of a housing crash. Then he had a nervous breakdown.....

Smack-down

Housingheads versus the bubbleheads.

Here we have some long-haired realtor type predicting 10 percent house price appreciation in 2007. However, his unbridled optimism about real estate smacks straight into Peter Schiff, who coolly explains why the housing market has a long way to go before it stabilises.

How to prevent the housing bubble from crashing...

Here is another out of touch kooky academic talking rubbish.

More NAR rubbish

Are you missing an opportunity? Call a realtor today. As sales slide, those poor realtors aren't making any money any more. Things are getting desperate.

Do you want to be a millionaire?

Learn the secrets of success from a millionaire. Yes, it is Tom Vu, the Real estate genius. Just take Tom's profit seminar, and you can be just like Tom. Will be be financially independent for the rest of your life. No need to ask your boss for a raise again.

Do you see yourself as a millionaire, then "have some guts", go to one of Tom's seminars.

I wanna be rich for love, peace and happiness (whatever that means).

Realtor or politician? You decide

When I first saw this ad, I thought it was for some local politician running for state office. However, a few seconds further into the clip, it becomes apparent that this is an ad for a realtor.

There is something very odd going on here. We have a realtor, posing as a politician. However, Americans deeply distrust their politicians, and comparing your profession with glad-handing vote snatchers doesn't seem like a convincing sales pitch.

There is only one conclusion that we can reach. Realtors are even more unpopular than politicans. The thought behind this ad that the realtor profession will take a step up on the trustworthiness ladder if it implicitly associates itself with the vote-grabbing promise breakers living in Washington.

Boys making movies

I'm appalled by these do-it-yourself mortgage broker ads. The thought processes are so transparent. Most of these brokers are young men. They seem to think that the key to sales success is linking young partially clothed women with their mortgage products.

They end up producing crude, lewd, and offensive commercials, which are almost certain discourage any female clients. These guys might be mortgage brokers, but I sense they would prefer to be making specialist videos for an exclusively male clientele.

BTW, check out the mixed message at the end of the clip. Spot the family photos on the desk, which happen to be pointing towards the camera and away from the broker.

The future of housing

The future of housing? It has no future.

The lead-hounds

Here is an trade infomercial from Weichert. It explains how the company chases up home buyers for realtors. The key "take-away" from this clip is "don't let them get your phone number". If they do, these lead-hounds will hunt you down and eat you up. There is no escape from the "lead-incubators". You will close with a Weichert agent.

Turn the music down.....

Another wierd realtor ad - here some guy yacking on about working with first time buyers. However, his sales pitch is drowned out by some really irritating muzak.

Anyway this realtor is going to "work your transaction" - what exactly does that mean?

If you wish upon a star....

Things are so bad with the US housing market that sellers have taken to wishing on falling stars.

Where are the ugly people?

Here is one of those foul 30 second condo ads, full of 19 year old gym bunnies and buffed up six-packs. At la Jolla condos, everyone works out and no one touches the burgers.

Just for laughs, I thought it might be interesting to check out some of those clips from real estate investing courses. This one is from flippinghomes.com.

This guy might be talking english, but I don't understand what he is saying. He spouts one useless aphorism after another. One line stands out "making money is about focus". This is about as useful as telling someone, buy high and sell low (or is it the other way round?).

The housing market is now into its second year of collapse. These guys are dinosaurs, stuck in another long gone time.

Housing roller coaster

Here is a very clever visualization of the recent US housing bubble. Using Atari's RollerCoaster Tycoon, it plots US home prices, adjusted for inflation (via Shiller's Irrational Exuberance), as a rollercoaster.

The last part of the journey seems to go on forever. And then, you are left hanging in mid-air. The only way is down.....

Foreclosure in America

There are some people who think that people who end up in foreclosue have only themselves to blame. However, the reality is that losing your home is a personal catastrophe. I don't blame the poor, sometimes misguided homeowners who took on more debt than they should have. I blame the mortgage lenders, the realtors and above all the Fed, who should have been regulating these jokers.

This video is hard to watch. However, it does reflect the reality of the sub prime crisis. Ordinary folks are being hurt.