• Down in the desert: Dubai, whose potential sovereign-debt default is in today’s news, is messed up, economically and in other ways. Zero Hedge’s Marla Singer, who has spent time there, offers a pretty readable summary. Key takeaway: Dubai’s travails say a lot less about the pitfalls of capitalism than meets the eye.
• Housing-market update: I’m not smart enough to know what to do about this, but more U.S. homes are in delinquency or foreclosure than are for sale.
• The “deadbeat stimulus”: At least $160 billion a year.
• Tim F. observes how the health-care reform bill is being set up to fail.
• Martyrs: The people trying desperately to help Sarah Palin run her life are getting no help at all from the boss. I’m shocked.
• The Obama-Bush Administration: The Obama Justice Department’s arguments against exoneration for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman are being prepared by the very same people involved in the original frame-up — the one in which Karl Rove was involved up to his eyeballs. So spare me all this talk about how much better things are in government now that Obama has replaced Bush.
• So if we fire all the execs who ran the banking system into the ground, the banking system will crash and burn? Well, pardon me for agreeing with a former public official who barebacked a whore, but I’m thinking we should test that hypothesis.
• Apologies are fine, but the Roman Catholic Church needs to take some of the time it’s spending on apologies and spend it on turning the guilty over to police. Also? Any institution with this kind of problem needs to get itself fixed before presuming to comment upon moral issues.
• Relatedly, not only does a 2007 court filing by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, last seen denying communion to Rep. Patrick Kennedy because Kennedy won’t oppose abortion, admit the existence of more than twice as many accused priests as the diocese had admitted just three years earlier, it also cites that high number (~125) as a reason why court-ordered disclosure of documents would be excessively “burdensome.” Awwwww …
• Unproductive speculation: If anyone has any ideas about how to end it other than by taxing financial transactions — an idea devised in 1972 by a Nobel winner, by the way — I’m all ears. But it needs to end.

by Mario Rizzo

Investors’ eagerness to invest in mortgage debt helped drive mortgage rates to all-time lows this week, Freddie Mac said.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 4.78%, the agency said Wednesday, matching a record low set in April. That was down from 4.83% from the previous week and 5.97% a year ago

I am amazed that aggregate-demand economists can look at the housing market and simply wonder how to bring it back to normalcy. Today the Wall Street Journal reports that investors are flocking to invest in mortgage-backed securities now that the Fed has been buying them. Freddie and Fannie are too big to fail, and so forth. The risk premium relative to Treasuries has fallen to the narrowest point this year.

From the investor’s perspective these are relatively safe problem-free investments. On the other hand, from the social perspective these investments delay the necessary adjustment of resources out of housing — remember: the over-expanded bubble sector?

Our aggregate-demanders (aka “Keynesians”) do not need to worry because during recessions the allocation of resources is not important. All that matters is propping up spending and restoring “confidence” in something called “the economy.”

The Lyndhurst pub on Sutton Road, which has more recently been known as The Star Members Club, is being demolished this week as part of the regeneration of the Lyndhurst estate.
The council has already demolished nearly 300  homes on the estate and further demolition is planned for 2 large tower blocks.

The poster boy for the Vancouver RE boom has now come up with a poster that may well end up becoming the ultimate ironic visual anecdote.  Vancouver condo marketer Rennie explains its meaning, and ‘rentah’ comments. This from Bob Rennie, BC Business magazine, 2 Sept 2009 -

“On the exterior walls of my new offices in Chinatown, I’ve installed a 23-metre neon work of art by Britain’s Martin Creed. It reads, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. And it will. Yes, we boomers are on the downward side of our peak earning years. Yes, we’ve experienced the biggest financial collapse in our lifetime. We will have to institute dramatic changes in how we entertain ourselves, where and how we travel, what we drive, where we live and how we ultimately pass on wealth to our children. For the enterprising business person, there are many opportunities out there to capitalize on this new reality. But for those praying for a return to yesterday, forget it. It’s gone.”

This from  rentah, in the comment section of the same article, 11 Sep 2009 18:04

“Interesting. I’d say that Rennie has COMPLETELY misread Martin Creed’s work. He’s purchased it as a giant Hallmark Card, when it’s actually intended as an ironic warning. (Perhaps everything is NOT going to be alright.) Here [follow] some more works by Creed:
Ask yourself… “Is it the artist’s intention for me to take these works literally?”
Then think about what Rennie is doing.”

The majority of data and analysis at Financial Services Briefing is available only to subscribers. Each week, a small share of content from the service is made available to non-subscribers.

Despite dire economic conditions in Mexico—the EIU expects the economy to contract by 7.1% this year—the country’s banks are performing commendably, although some are distinguishing themselves more than others.

Among the country’s five largest lenders, Banamex nearly doubled net profits in the first nine months of 2009. At the other end of the scale, HSBC México saw earnings fall by 60% over the same period. But even the worst-performing big banks in Mexico can take some comfort in capital cushions and loan-loss ratios that would be the envy of most lenders north of the border. And with housing shortages supporting the domestic property market—another major difference to the situation in the US—mortgage lending will provide a welcome source of growth in the years ahead.

Read more at Financial Services Briefing: “A hesitant recovery” (November 25th)

The price per square foot for condominium sales varies and can be skewed by a single project. For example, the bump in price per square foot shown in December 2008 (circled) was due to an investor who bought 9 condos at Vistas on the James in downtown Richmond. Overall, the current price per square foot for condo sales in Richmond is below 2006 levels.

So the decision is in. Or rather, we stumbled across the decision. A small lump sum muscled its way into our bank account unannounced. It was labelled “Deposit Scheme”. And the numbers were wrong. They’d given him half the disputed amount. That’s nearly 500 quid. As far as we can tell, that’s 500 quid for a screw for the oven and some paint.

We rang them, obviously, the deposit people. And they said they “knew nothing”. Of course, why would they? “Ring the agents” they said. And they went back to downloading porn and eating Skips with big clammy fat hands oiled with the hand cream in the toilets paid for my the tax money they are given to do FUCK ALL when asked to adjudicate people’s deposit disputes

It’s no surprise, you know, that the amount is roughly half. They probably think it’s clever. Not enough to piss either person off enough for them to complain. 50:50. That’s fair. Yeah, caus that’s the sort of intelligence we are working with here. The TDS seems to be some sub-species of human intelligence where they think that despite having unarguable documentary proof that we did not owe any money and were due our entire deposit back, a 50:50 arrangement is fair.

It’s not

Because our ex-landlord is a scar along the centre of his head away from being a massive penis. Actually, fuck it, he is still a massive penis, whether he actually resembles one or not (which he sort of does, minus a scar along the centre of his head). HE ignored every rule in the contract and then added some new rules for his own fun. He’s a massive cunt.

But the options, alas, are limited. We are bound by what the half-brains at TDS decided. Of course, there are options…

1 Find the ex-landlord and egg his face. Ok, so we wouldn’t have any money back, but I’d have a massive fucking smile on my face.

2 Complain to the TDS. That would be like asking an X-Factor contestant to quantify there effort in a percentage less than 100%. Pretty fucking pointless.

3 Take them to court. All of them. Well, yes, that would be lovely, but the only winner here would be the lawyers who would be able to buy a nice new merc in which to fuck prostitutes.

4 Cry. And collect the tears to drown the ex-landlord. Tempting, but the saltiness of my tears and proliferation of gusty wind may mean quick evaporation by the time I found him and all I’d have left was some mushy salt crystals. Oh, and men don’t cry innit.

5 Put up with it and get on with my life. Ah the higher ground. So unsatisfying. And not even really higher ground. People are wrong, childish impulsive insults are much more appropriate than a David Mitchell-esque witty comment and a purposeful walk in the opposite direction. Shouting twat and throwing someone the finger is the more adult response. Surely

In the end of course the only thing I am likely to do is live out revenge fantasies on this blog and probably get locked up under some obscure terrorist legislation before being deported to the US of A for some interrogation and jail time. Caus that’s how the world works these days.

The world sucks. And my ex-landlord is the lucky cock it’s sucking.

This at RE Talks 26 Nov 2009 -

pianoexcellence 10:00 pm – “I flipped a presale in Squamish and with 10% down my leveraged ROI was 170% in 8 months. Less opportunity cost and all other fees it was more like 130% Seems great on paper…and don’t get me wrong, I’m pumped to have the cash, but I have a friend who will go bankrupt because he pre-bought in Kelowna at the peak…Leverage is a piledriver on the way down.”

Greenhorn 10:30 pm – “A close friend of mine owns in Woodwards and tells me if he sold today, he would make $60,000. This would be gross and commissions, net GST, PPT, finance fees and legal would come off of this. So what would his net be? $24,000 before tax. Could he claim this income a capital gain or is it business income? So he makes $18,000 after tax. Not really worth it for the risk. He is not selling today because he feels prices will go up. People never want to sell when prices are rising. Weird. He owns a 1 bedroom in the tower that closed first a few months back and he found a tenant very easily.”

A couple of weeks ago, while I was minding my own business online, our broadband access went out. For expats, the internet is akin to a vital  biological function, like breathing. When it disappears inexplicably it is never good.

After much poking at wires and turning off and on of the router, (pretty much the sum total of my technical expertise right there) Mr B, who arrived home in blissful ignorance of this unfolding domestic drama, promptly copped the flak.

It turns out our landline bill has not been paid.

Since we moved in.

In June.

Apparently, even though we’ve never used it and even though ADSL service is part of our rent, a monthly fee has to be paid for a landline in order to keep the ADSL on. After a mercifully short excursion to China Unicom where one employee spoke enough English to help me fill out the myriad forms in Chinese characters, we were told to wait a week and then service would be resumed.

My problem with this is not that we were cut off. That’s normal for non payment of bills. What is totally baffling is that we have not received a single bill, reminder notice, or in fact ANY kind of communication from China Unicom telling us this was coming.

When I mentioned this little episode to one of the very helpful employees in our building, she looked at me as if I came from another planet. Which in many ways I do.

Her response was, “but everybody knows that around 20th of the month bills must be paid!”

“Even though there is no bill sent? No reminders? And there is no mention of this in any of our contracts?”

“Yes, of course. This is China. Everybody knows this is how it works here,” she confirmed.

Everybody except a remedial wife it seems.

]]> http://karmaisking.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/i-vote-deflation/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:05:52 +0000 karmaisking http://karmaisking.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/i-vote-deflation/

I’ve finally gotten around to dragging out some discussion material on the hoary old deflation/inflation debate from the Ozrisk.net website here, where I explained my position.  It will (mainly) be deflation, oscillating violently between the two.  Here is the detailed discussion:

Most people just support their own little position (Rothbardians scream that govt everywhere is evil and must be killed. Some may have supported the repeal of Glass Steagall, as signalling a reduction in govt regulation. Idiots if they did). The real evil is central bank supported FRB. That’s what kills an economy through cancerous malinvestment. Socialism is preferable to fascism, if that’s the choice we have to make.

Similarly, there’s a debate between Keen/Mish debt-deflationists and Gary North/Jim Sinclair hyperinflationists. In a sense they are both right. There is and will continue to be both deflation and inflation – JUST IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY. [I use the terms in the "modern" terminology (not in the old Austrian way - meaning an increase/decrease in the total money supply).]

Let me explain my position because I think this is interesting.

Near hyperinflation DID (already!) occur. For a decade. In HOUSE PRICES. Because housing prices were grossly underweighted in the CPI (housing is essentially a consumption good) this didn’t show up in conventional measures. But I agree with Keen/Mish – credit is money and debt issuance results in “money” (purchasing power) being created when some sucker goes into debt and buys whatever is on offer. What was on offer for the last decade was housing. It had the features of a classic bubble/Ponzi scheme with people looking at returns rather than yield. And because the asset was security for a loan, this could go on for many years longer than consumer credit/debt bubbles, which generally peter out because the issuance of debt “leaks” into consumption goods and doesn’t go back into an asset so doesn’t generate the recursive cycles that asset bubbles generate.

The “winners” in this game (like always) were the recipients of the debt money – property developers like Triguboff who rezoned land from industrial to residential and sold units en masse to the sucker public. They got debt and a 30 year mortgage. He got the debt money into his account. Magic! Where did the hyperinflationary money go? Into the pockets of the FIRST RECIPIENTS of the debt money – mainly residential property developers.

Now that the bubble has burst, the Japan deflation scenario is kicking in, because the main source of fresh debt money into the economy is fresh suckers going into debt to buy housing. The property market is double the value of the stockmarket.

But now that Ponzi scheme is over the Triguboffs are looking for a safe place to stash their cash. They don’t want their bank to blow or the exchange rate to collapse. So they take the money out of circulation (don’t keep developing units) and stash it overseas in gold or buy land and sit on it. Money velocity slows as the beneficiaries of the Ponzi scheme collect their winnings, take the chips off the table and stop paying their contractors and leave for Europe.

OK, that signals DEFLATION. Big DEFLATION. Keen/Mish are right – we’re turning Japanese.

But, hold on, what about North and the Austrians? Base money has exploded. It’s sitting at the banks. The problem is the banks can’t find a credit worthy borrower to “give” the new money to. If they could another bubble would quickly form. Bernanke is also keeping the powder dry by paying interest on the money held with the Fed. Why would a bank lend in this economy (at risk) when he has a risk-free client willing to pay interest income on the money just created? It’s like a mouse trap pulled back, waiting to snap. All that money just sitting there – like a dam waiting to burst into the next asset bubble.

When either (1) interest stops being paid or (2) the banks find a new bubble, then things will get interesting. What is the new bubble? It’s ALREADY HERE!

The new bubble is govt debt. Private clients have proven unexpectedly risky. Businesses and household default rates have spiked. Stuff them. Lend only to the Fed or the central govt (not even States or councils can get comparable rates to the biggies). “At least we’ll get paid back,” say the big gun-shy banks.

So ultimately this new govt debt money is going to govt employees (mainly) and on govt payouts. The size of govt is actually increasing in this recession. Incredible. For the first time a govt employee is paid more in the US that the average private worker.

So there is an “inflationary” bubble RIGHT NOW – in govt employment. These idiots sit around writing reports, writing regulations, filling in non-existent potholes. They exist simply to spend the money back into the economy. They are like zombie-consumers, doing nothing that is actually “needed” by the real economy but existing solely off coercive taxes/debt issuance from the govt. If the govt couldn’t counterfeit the money the whole apparatus of excessive govt employment would collapse and these guys would have to find real jobs.

But what happens when you have a bubble in govt employment? You have skills sucked out of the private economy. What skills are required most (that would be evident if the money supply was stable and govt couldn’t sell bonds to the Fed)? Sustainable technologies, agriculture, farming, etc. Govt sucks the factors of production away from where they are needed to where the money is – WITH PARASITIC GOVTS.

If this continues, who will actually do physical labour? Who will plant the food we rely on to survive? SUCKERS. Stupid people who don’t understand the game. But stupid people are the least qualified to produce sustainable agriculture!

So like the budding nuclear scientist being “sucked” into parasitic banking by the screwed by pricing structure from central bank supported FRB, now budding farmers/labourers are being sucked into the police-force, the local and State govts etc as useless pen pushers.

So it is inevitable that a destruction of our farming industries will occur, with “quantity” adjusting (ie a reduction in the quality and quantity of food) rather than price, because indebted dumb farmers can’t price adjust – they are trapped in debt (as Rowbotham has pointed out). That doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences. It just means quantity/quality adjusts, not price.

So North is wrong to see “hyperinflation” coming up soon. Hyperinflation is here in the West – in the form of zombie govt employees. Deflation for the private economy will continue. Then eventually starvation for low-income countries as oil spikes, food prices spike and availability becomes scarce.

Stepping through the doors of Holyrood, I felt myself overcome with many complex and conflicting emotions almost to difficult to describe. Wait, no. In hindsight it’s actually quite easy- ‘contempt’. Contempt for the building’s hideous and impractical architecture, contempt for it’s inconvenient location, and contempt for the ill deserved estimated costs of £414 million it took to build.

The ‘heated’ political debate I expected sadly dropped it’s pants to reveal itself to be nothing more than the same 4 or 5 points repeated to the point of nausea ie. more than once. The debate never went anywhere. After one msp was finshed speaking the next would stand up, states he agrees, and then regurgitates the same points of arguement what have just been said but with a smug sense of self satisfaction as if he’s actually making a difference. Upon entry of the chamber which is actually quite impressive and even attractive from the inside, through the inane muttering of the men seated behind us we heard the rural housing report read allowed by a committee official.

Evidently, the report itself seemed to have been very thoroughy created, and in a more then proffessional manner. Very pursuading points of arguements were made and yet it never really seemed to have an impact on the 10 or 15 msps that made up the main chamber. A measly number in my opinion which highlighted a question in my mind whether or not what was being said was actually of any importance or value. To be honest I don’t blame the other msps for not showing up. Although, I understand the importance of farming communities in providing food to the citezens of this country, personally I believe the death of rural communtites simply to be social progression. An attempt to keep them alive would be an attempt to hold people back from reaching their full potential that can only be achieved in a place such as a city. It is a shame for the genuine few that want to but can’t afford to stay in their own communities and so I tried to make that the underline theme of my article.

Surprisingly, even with my crippling undermining doubts about whether this was actually news worth or not; I found it quite easy to type up a simple news story describing the events of the debate with a little background knowledge recieved by reading the report myself. I’m not really sure if what I wrote was what was expected of me, but I attempted to lay down a simple narrative with just a couple of references and quotes. If anything, remembering the names of speakers and note taking potentially killer quotes was the most stressfull part of the work. No matter how fast my hand could scrawl it’s way across the page and despite my best efforts, the next point or speaker had already begun and I was left struggling behind, trying to keep up.

It’s soul crushingly boring stuff to write but requires very little skill just to regurgitate the events of a day to the point that it’s actually disturbing. Though I’m sure my article was far from perfect with regard to language used, and traditional, preferred structure; it saddens me to think that this is actually what some people are tasked with doing as their daily work. It’s not an exprience I look forward to repeating but is one I plan to use and grow upon, especially as I expect I will be instructed to go there again in the near future. Political reporting it would seem is a boring yet necesarry part of journalism for without a knowledge of politics, the public would be ill fit to vote- and most of them are already.

Besides having too many flights of stairs (four), there are several other reasons that we are glad that we didn’t buy our current house:

- Pathetic lack of sound dampening, and the neighbors are way too close.  If we open the windows, we can hear our neighbor’s alarm, at 5 AM, 5:09 AM, and 5:18 AM.  Even with the windows closed, the sound of water dripping into the lower gutter of the neighbor’s house is torture.

- No balcony or patio.  I have to grill in the driveway.

- Our “Green Built” home doesn’t even have low E glazing and only has the minimum required insulation.  The temperature in what is supposed to be the master bedroom pretty well tracks the outside temperature rise in the morning.  That isn’t so bad on 70 degree days, but when it’s in the 80s and 90s (and even one day of 103 this year), that pretty much sucks!  (We dragged a mattress to the basement for a couple of nights.)

We are looking for a house to gut and remodel or scrape and start over so that we can have real thermal efficiency and attended a couple of foreclosure auctions.  There are about 1,500 properties scheduled for auction each week in the Seattle area, but the vast majority end up back with the lender (REO).  The few houses with a minimum bid of 75% or less of estimated market value do attract multiple bidders.

While on the way to Seward Park for a jog, we saw an open house sign, and then another, and so on.  We eventually ended up at a $1.6 million house on the water.  While it was clearly out of our price range, we figured that we would take a quick look before heading off to our run.  The exterior roofline was mid century pacific northwest, but there was a line of ornate Greek columns leading to the front door.  The inside was even worse.  The formerly beautiful natural wood ceiling and beams had been painted white, there were more columns everywhere, and marble tiles on the floors and walls.  The complete discord was nauseating.  I looked at the real estate agent, who volunteered that the price was for the lot.

The Scottish parliament is too review legislation regarding taxation on holiday homes in rural Scotland after it was highlighted as both a danger to the survival of Scotland’s rural communities, and a solution with regards to rural project funding.

Last week, a relatively small number of msps gathered in Hollyrood’s main chamber to hear and discuss the committee report. An in depth investigation into issue facing people- especially younger generations- when trying to find residence in rural communities of Scotland. In ay cases, communities in which they grew up in.

Other points of concern highlighted by the report were the availability of land itself, especially land suitable for housing projects; and affordability of housing that is being built in and around rural communities for younger Scots. Landowners and Housing developers came under scrutiny for this as it is believed by those who conducted the report that it is landowners holding onto suitable land with hopes of gaining even larger profits upon selling in the future and housing developers favouring and creating luxurious holiday homes intended for the wealthy and retired whilst ignoring demand for affordable, and even rent controlled housing from younger generations.

According to the committee there is need for a ‘cultural shift’ and a change I attitudes to a very real issue facing many young Scots and the rural communities of Scotland. If rural communities are to survive; ‘fresh blood’ must be able to find find housing ad create homes and pre- mentioned communities, or we as a country risk losing them and part of our heritage and culture, so to speak. For this to happen issues with affordability and all round accessibility must be taken into consideration by the Scottish Parliament whom the committee hold accountable.

However, did hear speculation over whether or not such investigations were necessary and questions were held over whether or not the committee were simply ‘pushing against an open door’. The representative of the SNP made clear that the government understood and were aware of such problems facing rural communities and the accessibility of housing for young people arguing that gears have already been set in motion to aid them.

As part of a ‘revival campaign’ for rural Scotland, the government have been successful in bringing in thirteen thousand new, and affordable homes for rent in a number of Scotland’s rural towns and villages. To date; over one hundred and forty six million has been invested in the campaign, though the government accept that new sources of funding is needed, especially in the current economic climate.

Avrete sicuramente letto, l’ultimo articolo che il team leader degli sviluppatori di Aion ha diffuso sul web. C’è molta carne al fuoco ed un futuro di prospettiva molto…molto interessante. Leggend,o quel lungo intervento, ho pensato che più o meno sono le stesse cose che aspettano da due anni in Korea, terra patria di Aion. DX 10, housing, aree sommerse e nuove quest line. I problemi rimangono, il lungo grinding, il problema del cryengine.dll che fa crashare moltissimi player in possesso di sistemi con più di due giga di ram.  Ma si può essere fiduciosi?, forse se si ignora che il titolo di punta di NcSoft…quello che creò l’impero koreano degli MMO fu Guild Wars. Ci fù perfino una guerra legale con ArenaNet dentrice a suo dire di una parte dei diritti sul titolo. Uscirà entro il 2010 ed è lecito aspettare che questo sarà il titolo di punta, il titolo AAAAA da spremere a fondo…il World of Warcraft asiatico. I più attenti lettori della blogosfera che ruota intorno agli MMORPG non possono aver dimenticato T.E.R.A. il gioco che hanno assemblato in pochissimi mesi alcuni ex componenti del team di sviluppo proprio di Aion. Sarà disponibile tra pochissimo, sembra davvero che sarà proprio Tera (quindi Aion con un nome diverso) a ledere la posizione dominante in oriente di Aion.

This is a report of the Scottish parliament debate on rural housing from Wednesday 7th October.

Parliament Report

Maureen Watt, SNP MSP for North East Scotland, today put forward the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee’s bid to have more affordable housing schemes built in rural Scotland.

In front of the Parliament Mrs Watt began by thanking her colleagues before talking about the “unaffordability and unavailability of rural housing.” Mrs Watt then went on to argue that with the lack of rural housing in Scotland, young families were being forced into moving away from their communities. She said: “Tight-knit rural communities cannot survive in the long term if young people are prevented from building their lives there.”

In highlighting the need for local councils to obtain more land to build houses, Mrs Watt introduced the idea of implementing the rarely used compulsory purchase order. “What is the point of having the power if it is never used—not even, for example, to stop a perfectly habitable building falling into disrepair in an area of high housing need?,” Mrs Watt added.

When asked to speak, Minister for Housing and Communities Alex Neil responded in a positive manner to Mrs Watt’s speech. He said that the Scottish government is “singing from the same hymn sheet in recognising the importance of housing in sustaining our rural communities”, before going on to focus on the work that the Scottish Parliament has already done to improve rural housing. He said: “We are investing £146 million in delivering more than 1,300 new houses in rural communities.”

In response to Mrs Watt’s criticism of the right to buy scheme, Mr Neil revealed that the government is planning on “ending the right to buy for new houses, possibly ending the right to buy for new tenants, and extending the period of suspension of the right to buy in areas of high pressure” in their forthcoming housing bill.

Mr Neil also agreed with Mrs Watt’s views on the constraints of compulsory purchase procedures. The Minister said that he was confident the Scottish Law Commission will agree to his request of reforming compulsory purchase legislation “so as to make procedures much more timeous and much less bureaucratic than they are at present.”

Highlands and Islands MSP Peter peacock gave Labour’s response to the matter and while he agreed with the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee’s report and with Mr Neil’s stance on compulsory purchase, he also attacked the Minister’s retort on pressured area status, labelling it “weak and disappointing.”

Mrs Watt’s motion on rural housing will be decided at decision time at 17:00 and is expected to be agreed to.

This from TJ on greaterfool.ca 26 Nov 2009 12:29 am -

“I live in Vancouver and in my building the 1,040 square footer goes for… standby… $1.13 million. Your monthly maintenance is $550.00 bucks, and Gosh knows what the taxes are – but come on!!! Three up for sale in this building alone, and they aren’t moving.”

U. S. Home prices rose for the fifth consecutive month in September according to a report released on November 24, 2009 By S&P.  

Home prices in September of 2009 rose 0.3% from the prior month according to data released by Standard and Poor’s in its 20-City Composite S&P/ Case-Shiller® Home Price Index.

Home prices have now risen five months in a row for a total of +5.0% for the five months, or an annual rate of increase over the period of +12.0%.

There were monthly increases in 11 of the 20 markets tracked. However, over the last five months the increases have been broad-based: 17 of the 20 were up over that period, one (Seattle) was at breakeven, and two (New York -0.1% and Las Vegas -10.7% were down.

However, because of price declines in the previous 7 months, the price index still fell by 9.4% year-over-year during the 12 months ending in September 2009.

Nonetheless, over the 12-month period, 8 of the 20 markets are now above the prior year. After a few more months, the recent trend of price increases will have substantially wiped out the large price declines reported by this index over the last year for all but a handful of the worst-hit cities.

The index tracks quality-adjusted actual resale home closing prices for thousands of existing single-family homes in 20 metropolitan areas. The index excludes condos, coops, and new construction.

By tracking price changes of specific, individual homes over time, the index attempts to eliminate the problem of unreliable  home price averages caused by the changing mix of homes sold in different time periods. (For example, in weak markets, a greater proportion of small, starter homes are typically sold, reducing average prices even though the prices of specific homes may be unchanged or even increased.)

The dramatic improvement in the S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Index provides more evidence that the housing market is continuing to heal from the worst decline in housing activity in decades.

Furthermore, it suggests that prospective homebuyers waiting for lower prices may be disappointed.

With 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates now under 5% and the supply of homes beginning to dwindle, delaying a home purchase may prove to be an unwise strategy.

See the full release: http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldocumentfile&blobtable=SPComSecureDocument&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3Ddownload.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1245195279567&blobheadervalue3=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobnocache=true

The sharper end of the recession has hit the poorest in society. 90% of households earning less than £20,000 a year or £25,000 in London, claimed they were struggling to stay afloat, up from 56% when the same survey was carried out in 2006.

Four out of 10 people on low incomes said they thought their debts were impacting on their physical and mental wellbeing, rising to 50% among households with children.

The groups also found that 60% of households in receipt of housing benefits or local housing allowance received less than the cost of their rent, with a quarter of these people having to make up a shortfall of more than £49 a week.

Yougov carried out the research  for housing charity Shelter and the Money Advice Trust. They questioned 745 tenants with household incomes of less than £20,000, rising to £25,000 in London, and 440 landlords.

A growing chorus of commentators and analysts argue that home prices are due to fall another 10-20 percent or more.

“Until we start seeing a healthy housing market that can stand on its own, without government props, without distressed properties selling 60% off peak levels – that’s how you know the bottom is in,” says blogger Barry Ritholtz, who believes home prices are “not even close” to the bottom.

Henry Blodget, who blogs at Business Insider, agrees wholeheartedly: “The recovery’s momentum is slowing … and it seems likely that house prices will now resume their fall and drop another 10%-15%.”

In the wake of this week’s Case-Shiller report, many headlines were similarly gloomy about the prospects for continued home price appreciation:

• “Housing prices rise, but not for long”
• “Home prices up – but for how long?”
• “Housing data points to rocky rebound”
• “House of cards: Home prices may be headed back down”
• “Home Prices’ Ascent Slows”
• “Seasonal Bump in Case Shiller Home Price Index Abates”
• “Case-Shiller Home Price Index Up For 5th time, But Cracks Showing”

This follows Meredith Whitney’s prediction last month that U.S. home prices will fall another 25 percent. “There is no doubt that home prices will go down dramatically from here, it’s just a question of when,” she told CNBC.

Granted, the housing market may correct a bit from here, especially in the winter (traditionally a slow period for home sales), but I think the odds of a major retrenchment in prices are very low.

Why?

First, the Case-Shiller index is up five months in a row–a sign of substantial strength.

Second, pending home sales are up eight months in a row–the longest streak since measurement began in 2001.

Third, the inventory of new homes at the current sales rate was 6.7 months in October, the lowest since December 2006. As Mark Perry observes, that’s “just slightly above the average inventory of 6.13 months, based on new home sales data going back to 1963.” Perry provides the following chart:

Fourth, the number of new housing starts is at a 50-year low. (At least. Records don’t go back further than 1959.)

Fifth, mortgage rates are at a 38-year low. (At least. Records don’t go back further than 1971.)

Sixth, exuberant demand and limited supply in many post-bubble cities are leading to bidding wars, especially (but not exclusively) for low-end properties. In San Diego, prices are up 14 percent in the past eight months. In Las Vegas, where bidding wars are the norm, buyers are “going crazy.” Some California cities, like Bakersfield, report unsold inventory of just two months. San Diego reportedly has just a 1.5-month supply of low-end homes, despite a steady stream of foreclosures.

Housing bears response that demand will dry up once federal tax credits expire. Moreover, they argue that supply will surge once the much-discussed “shadow inventory” of foreclosures hits the market.

But homebuyer tax credits aren’t going to expire until June 30, 2010. That’s seven months from now. And, let’s be honest, if the housing market is showing significant signs of distress, Congress will not allow the tax credit to lapse. Not in the middle of an election year.

And there is little empirical evidence to support the notion that a tidal wave of foreclosures is about to hit. “From the things I’m seeing, there’s not going to be a wave [of foreclosures] any time soon,” says Sean O’Toole, president of ForeclosureRadar.  At least one major lender has dramatically reduced the number of  foreclosures it is offering for sale. Fannie Mae has launched a program to rent homes back to borrowers rather than foreclose on them.

Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline — no one disputes that — but these homes will probably hit the market in a steady stream over a period of several years rather than all at once. The process of foreclosure is getting slower, due to clogged courts and borrower-friendly judicial rulings. If demand remains as strong as it has been, expect foreclosures to be promptly snapped up by buyers and prices to continue their upward trajectory.

Update: Welcome Instapundit readers, and thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the Thanksgiving Day link. My co-blogger and I hope new readers will blogroll the site and/or bookmark the main page.  Our Twitter page is here. Please feel free to submit a comment below, but keep in mind that your comment needs to be approved before it will appear. This will likely result in a delay of  several hours.

Kenyataan Media Ahli Parlimen Klang Charles Santiago di Parlimen Pada 26hb Nov 2009

Apabila Kerajaan Negeri Selangor mengumumkan keinginan deklasifikasikan laporan keruntuhan Bukit Antarabangsa, rakyat negara ini sambut dengan baik

Tetapi Kerajaan Persekutuan mencabar keputusan ini dan memberi amaran kepada Selangor jangan deklasifikasikan dokumen tersebut.

Sehingga sekarang, hanya sebahagian laporan boleh didapati kerana tidak ada kelulusan daripda Menteri Kerja Raya. Tiada orang pun tahu bila atau lampu isyarat hijau akan diberikan

Keruntuhan yang serius ini terjadi pada 6hb Dis 2008, lima orang dibunuh, 14 buah bungalows dirosakkan dan jumlah kerosakan melibatkan bermillion ringgit. Kerajaan telah menubuhkan satu jawatankuasa teknikal yang dipimpin oleh jabatan kerja raya bersama dengan 11 agensi lain untuk menyiasat punca-punca keruntuhan.

Orang awam ada hak mengetahui apa sebenarnya telah menyebabkan tragedi ini. Pada hari ahad, Malaysian Insider telah melaporkan bahawa penduduk Bukit Antarabangsa mengalu-alukan tindakan mendedahkan laporan ini.

Tindakan Kerajaan BN menimbulkan soalan : Adakah kerajaan cuba menjaga kepentingan pihak tertentu?

Kerajaan Selangor mesti menunjukkan kepimpinan berbeza dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan.

Dengan ini, saya menyeru Khalid menghormati komitmen beliau iaitu menggubalkan akta kebebasan maklumat dan deklasifikasikan dokumen untuk kepentingan rakyat Selangor yang mengundi kepada pentadbiran baik, ketelusan dan akauntabiliti dalam pilihanraya 2008.

Jika perlu, Khalid harus mengadakan satu mesyuarat dewan undangan negeri tergempar untuk mendapatkan persetujuaan badan legislatif untuk deklasifikasi laporan. Dengan car ini, Kerajaan Selangor Pakatan Rakyat boleh hantar satu isyarat hebat kepada rakyat dan kerajaan persekutuan bahawa ia tidak akan tolak ansur terhadap hak kepada maklumat dan keselamatan awam rakyat.

Tambahan, laporan ini adalah penting untuk menggariskan peraturan-peraturan untuk pembangunan di atas bukit dan menghalang keruntuhan berlaku lagi pada mada depan.

Untuk Pentadbiran Perdana Menteri Najib Tun Razak, ini memang bukan masa untuk mengambil tindakan guaman terhadap Khalid yang dikatakan bercanggah dengan Akta Rahsia Rasmi (OSA) apabila beliau berputus mendedakan laporan tersebut.

Keputusan Menteri Besar juga tidak patut digunakan sebagai alasan mendedahkan Khalid kepada liabiliti jenayah atau merancangkan pengeluaran beliau.

Sebenarnya imej Najib akan dicemarkan sekiranya Kerajaan 1 Malaysia beliau cuba menyembuyikan segala maklumat dan statistik mengenai keruntuhan ini. Ataupun mereka hanya mahu menjaga bisnes dan kontraktor yang terlibat dalam pengedaran dan pengurusan air dalam negeri.

Penduduk Bukit Antarabangsa tidak terkejut paip pecah dan kebocoran paip bekalan air menyebabkan keruntuhan ini kerana tempat luar bandar berhijau ini sering menjadi takungan air walaupun kekurangan hujan.

Pandangan ini telah disetujukan oleh pasukan teknikal Jabatan Kerja Raya bahawa satu paip pecha adalah punca utama keruntuhan.

Jika keruntuhan tersebut benar-benar berpunca daripada kecuaian dan penyelenggaraan paip yang lemah oleh syarikat air, tindakan pantas mesti diambil terhadap bisnes dan kontraktor ini oleh Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) dan Kementerian Tenaga, Air dan Teknologi Hijau.

Saya mencadangkan SPAN dan kementerian mengenal-pastikan syarikat-syarikat ini dengan serta merta, menggantungkan semua kerja berkait dengan air sehingga siasatan lanjutan dilakukan. Jika perlu pemantau air iaitu Kementerian tidak harus teragak-agak untuk membatalkan lesen syarikat tersebut.

Peguam Negara Abdul Gani Patail mesti memulakan siasatan untuk menentukan adakah bisnes berhubung dengan air bercanggah dengan mana satu undang-undang atau kontrak.

Sekarang biar Kerajaan 1Malaysia Najib memberitahu kebenaran kepada rakyat yang telah hilang ahli keluarga tersayang mereka

Charles Santiago

Member of Parliament, Klang

016 626 7797

————————————————————————————————————————-

巴生国会议员查尔斯圣地亚哥文告，2009年11月25日于巴生

国际山庄土崩报告：联邦政府是否保护水务关联公司？

当雪州政府宣布将解密国际山庄的土崩报告，全国人民为之一振。

但如今希望已落空，联邦政府阻止雪州务大臣卡立伊不拉欣解密该份报告。

联邦政府挑战这个决定并警告雪州勿解密该份文件。

现在大众只能得知部分报告详情，解密全份报告还有待工程部长的批准。没人知道什么时候部长才会批准。

这个严重的土崩事件发生在2008年12月5日，五人因此死亡、14座独立式房屋被毁坏及导致数百万令吉的损失，政府成立一支由公共工程局领导的技术小组和11个政府部门调查土崩的真正原因。

公众有权知道这个悲惨的意外如何发生。星期日的大马内幕人报道，国际山庄居民欢迎雪州政府公布报告的决定。

国阵政府迅速阻止雪州政府解密报告的行动，令人怀疑联邦政府是否保护特定的利益集团。

但雪州领导应显示它和联邦政府不同。

因此，我促请卡立身体力行立法保障资讯自由的承诺，为了雪州人民的利益解密该份报告。毕竟雪州人民在2008年大选投选了良好治理、透明化和公信力。

如果需要，卡立可以召开州议会紧急会议，以获得州立法机构的支持解密土崩报告。如此，雪州民联政府将给予雪州子民一个强烈的讯息，州政府将不会妥协人民的知情权和安全。

再者，这份报告是制定山坡发展指南和防止未来土崩的重要资料。

当首相纳吉的政府指责卡立违反官方机密法令及或须负上刑事责任，他们不该策划阴谋推倒卡立。

实际上，纳吉的形象将因一个大马政府隐瞒真相被玷污。或者他们仅仅为了保护涉及州内传输和管理水源的企业和承包商。

据说国际山庄的居民并不惊讶水管爆裂和水源泄漏导致这场严重的意外，这个绿色郊外虽然少雨，却是蓄水之地。

公共工程局的技术小组已确认这个看法，水管破裂是土崩的主要原因。

如果证实土崩的肇因是怠忽职守和水务公司的水管保养不当，国家水务服务委员会和能源、水务和绿色科技部应该马上采取行动。

我建议国家水务服务委员会和能源、水务和绿色科技部马上鉴定该公司，冻结目前的水务关联的建设工作直到进一步调查。在必要的时候，它们该毫不犹豫吊销这些公司的执照。

总检察长阿都干尼必须开始调查这些水务公司是否违反任何法律或合约。

现在，让纳吉的一个大马政府告诉在土崩事件中丧失挚爱的人民什么是真相。

查尔斯圣地亚哥

巴生区国会议员

016 626 7797

Testi a carattere generale

E. Griffini, La costruzione razionale della casa, 1932

K. Teige, The minimum dwelling, ed. or. Praga 1932 – MIT, 2002

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G. Grassi, Das Neue Frankfurt 1926-1931, Editore Dedalo, Bari, 1975

M. Baffa Rivolta, A. Rossari (a cura di), Alexander Klein. Lo studio delle piante e la progettazione degli spazi negli alloggi minimi : scritti e progetti dal 1906 al 1957, Mazzotta, Milano 1975

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B. Miller Lane, Housing and dwelling. Perspective in modern domestic architecture, Routledge, NY 2007

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L. Quaroni, Città e quartiere nella attuale fase critica di cultura, in “La Casa”, n. 3, 1956

B. Zevi, Quartieri coordinati in città disarticolate, in “L’Architettura”, n. 9, 1956

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L. Benevolo, La progettazione dei quartieri INA-casa, in “Centro sociale”, n. 30-31, 1960

L. Beretta Anguissola, I 14 anni del Piano INA-casa, Staderini Editore, Roma 1963

G. Astengo, Documentazione sull’applicazione della 167: Alessandria, Novara, Novate Milanese, Gorganzola, Trieste, Padova, Rovigo, La Spezia, Savona, Piacenza, Arezzo, Prato, Pistoia, Pisa, Perugia, Taranto, in “Urbanistica” n. 41, 1964

AA.VV., La situazione della casa in Italia, Franco Angeli, Milano 1976

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B. Rudofsky, Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture, 1964

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P. Oliver, Dwellings. The Vernacular House World Wide, Phaidon, GB, 2003

M. Andres, Habitar La Cubierta. Dwelling On The Roof, Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona 2005

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Selezione riviste

AA.VV., Lotus International 8,9,44,60,77,94. Electa, Milano

AA.VV., Parametro n. 3-4, 1970 (numero monografico dedicato al problema della casa in Italia e alle forme di intervento pubblico del dopoguerra)

AA.VV., “Casabella”, n. 439, 1978 (numero monografico dedicato al rapporto fra razionalizzazione e qualità edilizia)

AA.VV., “Casabella”, n. 437, 1978 (numero monografico dedicato all’edilizia residenziale pubblica)

AA.VV., “Casabella”, n. 432, 1978 (numero monografico dedicato all’abitazione e all’assetto urbano)

A. Aymonino , La ricerca contemporanea nell’abitazione, Lotus International n° 97, 1997

AA.VV. “Casabella”, n. 459, 1980 (numero monografico dedicato all’abitazione fra norme e progetto)