CNBC Video Update on the prior month release, November’s prices, and December housing starts:

Courtesy of RealDealNews:

David Crowe, senior staff vice president of the National Association of Homebuilders, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com and CNBC’s Diana Olick discussed home purchase stimulus options on CNBC yesterday, in the wake of new data about the drop in home prices and new home starts in 2008. David Crowe argues that a temporary tax credit for home purchases will help to stimulate the housing market.

Yes, housing values have dropped another 15% …shocker!!..uhm NOT…We knew this was coming..where oh where is our HOLC??..once again declines in housing values outpace expectations for a whopping 15% drop in median home price nationwide year over year…we at MiM have been clanging the alarm bell on housing since 2005…our arms are tired ..where the hexx is the action on mortgage modification and foreclosure mitigation???

when will I–I-I-I- see HOLC…..sing it Linda..

And the beat goes on… Team Obama is pushing energy today…let’s hope this team gets a housing rhythm soon…they are WAAY off target to fix this economy…the list of job losses he read off (CAT-20,000; Home Depot 8,000 etc) will NOT be helped by increasing fuel efficiency standards peeps…

here is a laugh for today, cause we sure as hexx need one if Team Obama is this far off target…(and his energy legislation has daycare in it, earmark? who me earmark? I mean MiM is all for daycare but that is a frakin earmark baby)

I am sure the bankrupt auto makers are simply thrilled with this move coming now..good Gawd…I mean this is nonsensical…do this in a year, not NOW…Oh there ya go, GM announcing another few thousand layoffs in OH and MI and shutting in plants for an additional period…

the ever-brilliant MSM has decided to focus on the ’surprise’ jump in home sales last month..completely missing the enormous JUMP in Deeds in Lieu of Foreclosure that is sweeping the nation..we call it Jingle Mail….CNBC reports:

A real estate group says sales of existing homes rose 6.5 percent from November to December, closing out the worst year for the U.S. real estate market in more than a decade…

But THIS is the real news to follow:

The median sales price plunged to $175,400, down 15.3 percent from $207,000 a year ago.

The price drop represented the largest decline since the NAR started keeping records and probably the largest since the Great Depression, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist told reporters.

That was the lowest price since May 2003 and the biggest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968.

And how do homeowners FEEL about their home values? Cause ‘everybody knows’ that it is that ephemeral FEELING that leads the consumer to spend or not to spend and THAT is the question….CNBC:

The record 61 percent of homeowners saying their home price fell last year suggests the worst housing market since the Great Depression is less likely to rebound before 2010, according to the survey.

Foreclosures will continue to escalate as home equity keeps falling below outstanding mortgage balances, and homeowners will remain intent on rebuilding their savings and reserve funds, the survey said.

But what can we do? PUT A FRAKIN FLOOR IN THE HOUSING MARKETS!!! IT’S TEH HOUSING STOOPID!!

*sigh*

well, the Case-Schiller Index is out this week and should scare the hexx out of everyone so perhaps we will have Geithner in by then and he will make a move…but we are beginning to suspect that Team Obama may have plans to wait…

Here is our worry at MiM, we are concerned that perhaps Obama plans to WAIT for the announcement of TARP 2, which is already funded and which WILL at least partially go to housing..anywho we think he may plan to WAIT to make a move on TARP Deux until AFTER the stimulus plan is passed..that isn’t until the end of FEBRUARY!!!

But, he likely doesn’t want to give the GOP ammo to use on the floor during the debate on the stimulus, ie, wahh wahh we just saw another 350billion in TARP used to no avail wah wah wah…

these are the same yahoos who put NO strings on the first 359 bill which is why NONE of it went to ameliorate the housing CRISIS, yeah its a frakin crisis ‘member?

…good gawd save us from these politicians…

for anyone who missed the carnage, here is the Case-Schiller Index report from December 30, 2008, brutal, just brutal…via CNN Money, the LAST Case Schiller Index was SOOO bad everyone, MiM included, expected ACTION on housing out of the gate from PEBO…

The latest Case-Shiller numbers provide more ammunition to Washington policy makers who want to do more to fix the housing mess, according to Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with the Stanford Group, the policy research firm.

“These data just add to the tremendous pressure on the president-elect and the Democrats to stimulate housing,” he said. “That means more lucrative tax incentives and broad foreclosure prevention. All of this will likely be in the stimulus plan that Congress adopts in January.”

Nicholas Retsinas, Director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, agrees. “Housing problems are at the core of our economic problems,” he said, “yet, of the government interventions made during 2008, few were focused on housing.”..

where is the housing action??

-cricket-

-cricket-

Instead Obama is today announcing he plans to allow each state to set their own emissions standards, so P.S. Gas is going back up peeps, yeah how I wish I could buy it up and store it now…WTH is all this focus on ENERGY right now while housing is falling off a frakin cliff and gas is so low?? THIS is NOT the current crisis!!  FIX THE HOUSING!!!