Redefaults

This was an interesting editorial in The Wall Street Journal a few days ago concerning the “redefault” rate:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124338503008056785.html

These statistics are problematical, especially if one believes the economy will stagnate or worsen from this juncture.

It also raises the question as to the effectiveness of intervention measures on default rates and housing prices.  Many of the current interventions are geared toward stemming foreclosures, either directly or indirectly.

For those who have not yet seen it, David H. Smith has put together a Household Initiative Plan, found here:

http://householdinitiativeplan.blogspot.com/

I find it appealing in many regards; perhaps chief among them is that it promotes the idea of having homeowners spend their own money on their own real estate, instead of solely relying on government bailouts and interventions to assist financially troubled homowners. 

In ways it’s akin to the investment idea of investors having “skin in the game.”

I’ll be commenting a lot more on real estate on a going-forward basis, given its importance and that there are a lot of complicated dynamics in that market.