Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide, held a 3 hour conference call today following the mortgage lender's earnings release. I listened to some excepts. Mozilo didn't hold back. He said that the housing market is worse than at any time in history, with the possible except of the Great Depression. Particularly concerning according to Mozilo is a measurable rise in delinquencies on home equity loans, lines of credit and second mortgages to homeowners with good, or prime, credit. Mozilo furthered that there has yet to be any defaults caused by the resetting of adjustable rate mortgages to higher interest rates. “So far what we have seen in delinquency are not resets at all,” Mr. Mozilo said. A friend who is a senior executive at Countrywide told me confidentially that Mozilo wants us to stop talking about the housing collapse in past tense and to understand that we are just at just at the tip of the iceberg.
Comments
Anonymous
July 25, 2007
I think the worst is over. The economy is strengthening and the jobs picture is good. Unless people are thrown out of work they are going to retain their homes. The market won't be as good as it was, but it's a lot of hype to think it's going to crash.
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Anonymous
July 25, 2007
I am not sure that the guy is such a straight shooter. This is the same guy who just a few months ago said that Countrywide would be able to benefit the flushing out of the week players. Now, he is all red-faced.
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Anonymous
July 25, 2007
Real estate values prices everywhere are twice what they were six years ago. The Depression analogy is unwarranted.
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Anonymous
July 27, 2007
Subprime is just a term for predatory lending that is forced on the truly very poor. There are plenty of other people who cannot support the payments for the homes that they buy and Mozilo and his friends have put these people in houses that they could never afford. They sit there are say that it is the American dream. When the dream turns sour, they then shrug their shoulders and lose money for shareholders. Very nice.
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Dont believe the hype
August 17, 2007
the
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DONT BELIVE THE HYPE
August 17, 2007
DONT BELIVE THE HYPE
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iKnOwThEtRuTh
August 23, 2007
The American economy is going to crash. There will be total turmoil and mayhem. The Great Depression of 2008 will arrive. Be prepared. Homes will be worth dollars, gas will be $15 a gallon, Fortune 500 companies will all go bankrupt! Move to another country! Save yourself!
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francisco pizar
February 06, 2008
real estate business vill not crash.Homes purchased for a sound reason and by people who invested for a long term will continue on maintaining/increasing value. The speculators, those investors who borrowed money to purchase real estate thinking that they could flip the units within a few months and make money,well, those investors and the banks will hit the wall and will crash. Fortunately we have more people who invested in real estate for a good reason and who are able to enjoy their home while waiting for a good market to see and enjoy the appreciation of their investment.Stop on generalizing the market as a terrible market just because you see a few rotten apples.
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