Category Archives: Real estate

Asset Prices and Wealth Inequality

How asset prices have driven the evolution of US wealth inequality over the last 70 years.

Bill Black: Pre-Crisis “4506-T Studies” Showed Massive Fraud in Liar’s Loans; Fed Ignored Warning, DoJ Refused to Target Implicated Banksters

Yet another proof that the authorities were given evidence of widespread mortgage fraud before the crisis and chose to do nothing about it.

Bill Black: Mankiw Whiffs on “Learning the Right Lessons from the Financial Crisis”

Bill Black debunks a book that tries to relitigate the crisis by denying that Lehman was insolvent.

Why Are There So Many Unsheltered Homeless People in California?

Try guessing why San Francisco has encampments of homeless people….

How Chinese Investors Inflate Housing Markets in the US, Canada, and Australia, as Governments Try to Stem the Tide

How Chinese money is distorting home prices in major cities around the world, and how local authorities are starting to intervene.

Warren Buffett’s Mortgage Companies Engage in Alleged Discrimination Against Minority Borrowers, Violating Fair Housing Act

An investigative report suggests that Berkshire Hathaway’s mortgage lending operation discriminates against minority borrowers.

Gimme Shelter Q1 2018 Update: Rents and House Prices All at or Near New Extremes

Why buying a house looks to be a better deal than renting, even at today’s nosebleed prices.

Wolf Richter: What Will Rising Mortgage Rates Do to Housing Bubble 2?

Investors have fixated on the rise in Treasury yields. Perhaps they should worry more about what the Fed’s rate increases are doing to mortgage rates.

5 Policies That Could Improve Housing for the Renting Generation

Housing has become a more divisive issue than ever, as rising real estate costs and less job stability make buying a house both harder and more fraught. Renters need better protections, but how to get there?

Wolf Richter: What Will Rising Mortgage Rates Do to Housing Bubble 2?

Rising mortgage rate are about to do some damage to the house party.

Chaos in Catalonia Hits Barcelona Housing Bubble

Barcelona wanted to take some air out of its property bubble. Will it wind up getting more than it bargained for?

Amar Bhide: The Case for Traditional Banking

Amar Bhide gives a clearly-written, compelling argument against a supposed banking “innovation,” securitization.

Thomas Cox: A Sweet Christmas Gift for a Client in Maine

Nationally famed foreclosure defense attorney Tom Cox scores a Maine Supreme Court win that saved a client’s home right before Christmas.

Why Stopping Tax “Reform” Won’t Stop Inequality

Inequality isn’t driven by taxes—it’s driven by the power of capital in relation to workers.