John Mulkey, Housing Guru

What if the housing market has already recovered?  What if today’s sluggish market is the rate at which homes will be sold for ten years or longer?  Could it be that the sales levels of the past decade were just an anomaly fueled by loose lending restrictions and the attraction to phantom “invest...

  Sluggish Housing Starts Show Depth of Crisis   Housing starts rose 14.6 percent in June to the highest level since January, coming in at an annualized rate of 629,000.  And while any improvement is better than none, the reality of the numbers demonstrates just how far new home construction has ...

Don’t look now, but the ridiculously stupid debt ceiling debate is entering its final lap.  Spectators are leaning on the rails to see which side will win.  What most fail to realize is that the date touted as the “backs to the wall,” imminent default event beyond which the U.S. credit rating plu...

With almost 25 million unemployed or underemployed and with consumer confidence feeble at best, what’s the significance of predicting a housing bottom?  Will it mean that home prices have stabilized and that the housing crisis and recession are over?  Does calling a bottom mean those who have bee...

Lake Arrowhead Georgia Supports the Wounded Warrior Project As a part of the Independence Day celebrations held in Lake Arrowhead Georgia, the neighborhood sponsored a Salute to our Military on Friday July 1st.   The focus of the event was to honor our men and women in the military and their serv...

Though I am a Georgia native, I have yet to see some of the state’s more unusual points of interest; and a couple of weeks ago I decided to make a short trip to Elberton GA and visit the Georgia Guidestones, one of the state’s lesser known but more controversial attractions.  Often referred to as...

With the economic crisis having decimated the budgets of millions of families, many are wondering if it’s possible to improve your credit report and FICO® score.  And while some have seen their credit scores decline as they fell behind with mortgage payments and credit card bills, the damages ca...

A recent survey reported on RISMedia shows that consumers still see home ownership as essential to the American Dream.  According to the survey, Americans see beyond the housing crisis to the “enduring value of homeownership.”   I agree and have written several posts that support the findings.   ...

John Boehner was recently quoted as being “skeptical” that there is “anything government can do” to bring about a recovery in housing; but will the housing market ever return?  The media love such comments as Speaker Boehner’s, and readily plaster them across TV screens and front pages; however, ...

Coping with the Structural Changes in Housing   I recently received an email from a Twitter follower accusing me of “yellow journalism,” the practice of presenting biased, exaggerated or distorted stories as objective fact with little or no effort to substantiate the claims being made.  The email...