Why North Dakotans pay their mortgage

Mostly, because they have common sense. But there are other factors, too.

North Dakota avoided the entire housing bubble and crash, he explained: “It is difficult for speculation to infect the North Dakota housing market as there are no supply constraints on home builders, who can quickly put up homes if there is any increase in housing demand and prices.”

It’s true there is plenty of open space; the first time my wife, a native of Hong Kong, visited North Dakota, she looked around with complete bafflement and asked why we weren’t doing anything with all that empty prairie. I once calculated that if North Dakota were to match the urban population density of Hong Kong, we would have room for eight billion people. We might even attract a few good Chinese restaurants. As it is, our population is about nine people per square mile; in New Jersey, it’s 1,171, including mobsters.

Another reason we skipped the housing bubble, Mr. Zandi said, is that “subprime lenders probably bypassed North Dakota as the mortgage market is too small to cover the costs of setting up a lending operation,” Mr. Zandi said. OK, maybe that was just our dumb luck. But Mr. Clayburgh added that in North Dakota both home buyers and banks tend to be conservative about mortgage loans.

So I was right after all: We are pretty sensible.

I have long maintained that we should invite the entire population of Israel to North Dakota – we’d solve the Middle East problem and, because of the huge boost to our economy of importing so many brilliant, hard-working people, wipe out our deficit problems at the same time.

I should have bought more ammunition- National Intelligence Director fired by Obama

The world economy is going to hell and will go down the tube tomorrow, and now Obummer’s fired Admiral Blair because of pressure from his political advisors. No economy, no security – you feeling comfortable yet?

That was quick – Scott Brown sells out

Finance “reform” bill gets the required three Republican votes – Maine’s Olympia Snowe was no surprise, but Scott Brown is a disappointment. Oh well, that’s what elections are for – toss the son of a bitch out next time.

I think this will be the biggest news story of our new century

Scientists create first synthetic cell.

Created at a cost of $30 million, this experimental one-cell organism opens the way to the manipulation of life on a previously unattainable scale, several researchers and ethics experts said. Scientists have been altering DNA piecemeal for a generation, producing a menagerie of genetically engineered plants and animals, but the ability to craft an entire organism offers a new power over life, they said.

One more contract

2 Grey Oaks Lane (off of North Street), was a perfectly nice one story house that I thought should be valued at its land cost. It came on two years ago at $4.950, dropped (with a another broker) to $3.850 a few weeks ago and now has a contract. Assessment is $3.715.

 Poor old 5 Dialstone, once-new, now used construction in Riverside, has dropped from $3.995 to $2.875.

Here we go: hang on!

The Dow, after climbing back to “only” 218 down, has fallen 358 points. Bloodbath coming.

Why are prep school kids fixing up Armstrong Court?

Ninety Brunswick seniors descended on one of Greenwich’s public housing complexes, Armstrong Court, and spent two days fixing up the grounds. And that’s grand – nothing wrong with privileged kids expressing gratitude for their good fortune by helping out less fortunate people. But what the hell is wrong with the Armstrong Court residents? There are surely 90 teenagers living there who could do the same thing, and they’d be doing it for their parents and siblings who live there with them. Why not organize them? There’s no question that Greenwich and local area businesses would donate materials, so all it would take is some physical labor.

I’m a curmudgeon, admittedly, but doing things for people who could do the same thing themselves seems to me to be sending a bad message.

When a midget lectures the United States

Mexican President Calderone, speaking to a standing ovation of Demmerkrats, denounces Arizona’s immigration law as a violation of human rights “as your own president has said”. I haven’t tracked down the Wolf Blitzer sound bite yet, but he interviewed this dwarf last night and the man admitted that, in Mexico, all immigrants must be documented, local police check that documentation, and illegals are imprisoned and arrested.

But they don’t have Obummer and the Demmerkrats to help them out down there in Mexico.

Here are the Democrats giving him a blowjob

2 Contracts

1 Butternut Hollow

New construction originally asking $5.895 in 2005, eventually dropped to $3.8. Assessment, $3.561.

This 1750 (or older) Old Greenwich house, neatly brought into this century, was priced at $2.995 twenty days ago and has a contract already. Price it, sell it.

With any luck, today’s crash will solve his problem

Bill Gate’s daddy says the “rich” should pay more taxes. “Rich” , inevitably, means middle-class, and I am so sick of these pukes who can toss off a couple of hundred thousand as pocket change and then turn to us schnooks for an extra ten that, by gosh, I might just join an opposition movement! But if today’s impending disaster holds up, Bill’s dad can relax: there will be no rich.

Got cash? Want to bid on a property? Today, at 4:01 is the day to make an offer.

I think we’re in for a hell of plunge today, and if you will ever find a seller in a rational state of mind, it should be right after the market closes.

Good heavens, I leave you children alone for ten minutes ….

Dow down 250 300 305 – stand back!  and plunging like a rock. May I remind my Wall Street readers that realtors and home sellers need you to have money so we can sell you our dross? Stop fucking around.

One in ten houses will go to foreclosure in the next two years

That’s a lot of distressed inventory.

Blumenthal’s lead evaporates

Latest Rasumussen Poll shows dead heat between Blumenthal and McMahon – lying about his military service cost him 13 points.