Golly, this housing slump sure isn’t much fun (for never-ending appreciation-believers and real estate agents), is it? But hey, at least it’s almost over, right? Wait, what’s that you say? It’s not going to get better soon? Pfft. You’re just some doom-and-gloom blogger, why should we listen to you?
Except, that outlook isn’t coming from the bloggers. It’s coming from our very own Washington Mutual:
Almost the only good news for WaMu shareholders Wednesday was that the company’s bad news wasn’t quite as bad as outlined earlier this month.
More borrowers are falling behind on their payments, foreclosures are rising, home prices are down in much of the country, and the mortgage markets that seized up earlier this summer still are closed to nearly all but the safest loans.
And none of it, WaMu executives say, is likely to get better any time soon.
“This is perhaps the most challenging cycle for housing that we’ve seen in many decades,” WaMu Chief Executive Kerry Killinger said in an interview. He and other WaMu executives said they don’t see any improvement in the near term.
You know what though? If you want to turn a blind eye to reality and believe that the turning of the seasons will wave a magic wand over the housing market and make it all better come spring, you go ahead and believe that. Just try not to read the news or spend any time researching actual facts.
Because it’s easier to believe in what you wish to be true when you don’t bother looking up the facts.
But hey everybody, get out there and buy a home, because there’s never been a better time to buy!
(Drew DeSilver, Seattle Times, 10.18.2007)