Will Inflation Save RE? >Calling Urbandigs<

I have my opinions on what forms inflation might show up in as unintended consequences of policy actions taken to stem a debt deflationary period. I think you will see it in all the forms that hurt margins, and squeeze consumers wallets: higher food other commodities 9seeing it already and the social effects of this), higher energy, higher taxes, higher health care costs (my god is this happening), etc..Usually we think of these things rising as a result and in relation to rising wage inflation, strong jobs, and rising issued credit and M1 multiplier (velocity of money - which happens to be starting a comeback).

The hyperinflationists worry now is the money printing and the hoarding of cash by banks in excess reserves, to the tune of $1trln or so now. But we must keep in mind the destruction of shadow banking system and destruction of wealth due to this crisis was in the trillions, plural. So there is alot of healing yet to do and extend and pretend is in full effect for many more years to come. But the point is the worry is this money will be LENT OUT and multiplied by our fractional reserve system and you may see credit growth and the multiplier go nuts again, and bad inflation results.

I dont think that will happen, and I think the fed has been sterilizing this so far by paying interest on those reserves for one, and if it does happen I think the fed will drain liquidity from the system by raising rates and if necessary, selling assets to primary dealers via POMO draining reserves.

And I certainly dont see strong labor market or wages spiraling upwards. So I think the forms of inflation that will hit will come with a very weakened consumer, in a tough UE environment, without a surge in credit or wages. Then you got the issue of how people perceive housing as an asset class - think of how deep the pain has been for millions and millions of people. Its not the same. Then the elimination of exotic lending products and much tighter underwriting these days and in near future. Add em up and I dont see the normal hedge for real estate as one would think in inflationary times.

i hate repeating this over and over, and I hope Im wrong!

What do you think of this graph? It shows each boom with prices peaking then returning to pre-boom levels, except for the post WWII boom, which was driven by (I believe) a population explosion.

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/08/26/weekinreview/27leon_graph2.html?scp=2&sq=historical%20housing%20prices%20index%20graph&st=cse

It also shows what you are saying about inflation and that home prices plummeted during the hyperinflation period of the late 70's early 80's.

Wait, sorry, I looked at it incorrectly. The inflation of the late 70's dragged housing up. Only to see the decline again when inflation was tempered.

What is your opinion?

Is the fed prolonging the housing crisis by artificially keeping down inflation?

needsadvice, the fed is trying to raise core inflation.

what about inflationary pressure on carrying costs - maintenance, utilities, taxes, fees, etc.??

keeping down inflation? not at all. inflation is now and always a monetary phenomenon (friedman). may I suggest that real inflation as of today is north of 8%. today.
the average inflation in the 70's was 7.8%. so we're there already. there are 2 type of inflation : the "pull type" from a booming economy and the "cost push"type from a stealth devaluation of the currency. no need to debate which we're dealing with.
rising gold is telling us real interest rates are negative. negative. as of today.
As for the fed draining liquidity by selling to the dealers: selling what? unvaluable derivatives that have NO market? please. the fed balance sheet is growing by the day, accumulating trash.
And I may add that the trash is what backs the "feral reserve notes" called USD.The fed last week change another accounting rule to hide their insolvency.QE is growing without limits (draining liquidity?)
No need to hype "hyperinflationists" as a way to dismiss the analysis.Or to quote Buffet (2009):"you can bet on inflation"

i agree with pretty much everything nicercatch is saying...older methodology of measuring inflation, and its a different ballgame. OER is artificially crushing numbers today. def agree with fed taking on the junk..i never disagreed with this. i know what gold is saying and I agree with the cost push form of inflation..But the fed has 1.1trln or so of treasuries, and another few 100bln left to buy..selling assets, that is years and years and years away. But when it comes time, the fed has more tools than just selling recently bought US treasury assets (plus the 1.1trln they still have) to drain reserves (forget the junk for now) - again years away, something that seems stupid to consider now since they are at the other end of play right now. They can replace reserves with repos and term deposits. As for rates, they can raise the rate they put on reserve balances. All would make rates surge, again, something that is counterproductive when looking at the current fed strategy of recapitalize, restructure, reflate and the street riding the wave. But they have real tools to drain liquidity, the question is how do they use them when/if the time comes.

UD: are you still advising ppl to buy solid gold coins? I am having a very hard time figuring out what to buy as inflation hedge.

Im not a financial adviser so no...Ill explain why I liked gold since early/mid 2007 when this whole crisis started to take shape, but I wont tell anyone to go out and buy. Thats their call.

With that said, I think gold is going to have another shakeout before it has its silly, stupid move. I think its yet to do its parabolic thing. Who knows what sparks that, cant time it. But you'll know when its happening. Then it goes to 1900-2000..who knows where. Then, it gets crushed. Lets revist this in a few years and see how that very general prediction goes

>UD: are you still advising ppl to buy solid gold coins? I am having a very hard time figuring out what to buy as inflation hedge.

Buy productive, risk assets.

urbandigs: you are certainly not alone in that call for gold. when people as diverse as john paulson, dennis gartman, david einhorn, marc faber, jim kramer, jim rogers, weiss report etc are calling for the same parabolic rise, it gets kind of scary. they all seem to agree on little else.

Yes, I agree that the inflation figures are tied to nothing more than a single can of beans in a small store in Duluth at this point. When they added in cell phone "prices" and substituted store brand products, it became apparent that the figures were irrelevant. The government has too much money at stake (TIPS, Social Security) to allow the real figures to be used.

If we go back to the graph link above, it does imply that home prices should go up with inflation, correct?

So, should I hold on to a property (in another state) that I'm trying to sell, or listen to the broker, and lower the price $50K for a quick sale? Carrying costs are minimal, so I could hold if necessary. Real estate is like poker now . . .

As for gold, I would think an ETF is a better bet than actual gold, since it's almost impossible to get coins and ingots right now. At least that's my understanding, that the treasury has no more coins to sell to people.

But what about cash? If inflation starts to actually show, then the banks and the Fed should start raising rates on CD's and other cash instruments, right?

There is so much cash on the sidelines, where is it going to go? I think that's the real reason the stock market is inflated, there's no where else to invest.

As for housing's double dip, I think the last blip up was caused by suppressed consumer demand more than the tax credit. People have got to move, sell and buy houses, and frankly I think everyone is tired of waiting. I think the latest down blip was caused by simple stuff: weather, loan difficulties, some job uncertainty (but I think it's less of a factor than people think), and the market's rise. I don't think it would take much encouragement to make the mob move toward buying houses again. We are at a tipping point, in my opinion.

There's a whole lot of questions in this post, everyone feel free to pick out and respond to what they like.

"...As for gold, I would think an ETF is a better bet than actual gold, since it's almost impossible to get coins and ingots right now..."
I use Bullionvault.com for my investments in physical gold. They keep your gold in their own vault for a minimal fee. It's a great place.

Needs--

With regards to the property in another state and whether or not to sell, there are questions you need to ask yourself. How long ago did you purchase? If recently, you will likely lose money on resale. If you've owned the place for 10 years or more, that is a different story. Is the property in a state/region that is continuing to see massive home price declines? If so, are you comfortable waiting it out or do you feel an urgent need to pull the ripcord now? Research what's going on locally so you can make a sound, educated decision. Don't blindly listen to your broker.

Regarding the investment question, interestingly the art market has been picking up steam of late, after dropping significantly and then remaining pretty flat post-Lehman. Higher end objects are again starting to fetch record numbers (though middling and lower-end objects are still pretty ripe for the picking). Art is definitely something to consider as a way to diversify your investments. The key is to seek out sectors that are still lagging a bit but have good potential for improvement.

Bramstar
I've held the property for 12 years, so profit is still there even with the cut. I'm debating wether it is more likely that I will wish (a year from now) I had sold, or wish I hadn't sold.

Interesting on the art market. I think that's true of all "collectibles' though; top of the market stays top, low to middle falls fastest. I'm not comfortable with contemporary art though, because it has become very speculative over the last 25 years, IMO. It's hard to predict the flavor of the month there and lately it changes from one Biennial to the next. The only print I personally would buy is a monotype, the only painting I would consider is an original oil or acrylic, all limited productions obviously.

I've noticed that in the diamond market, prices are up from 2009, BTW.

Gold, real estate, art. Sigh ... So many choices with such an abundance of wealth. You guys are really providing fodder for the pitchfork brigade. It is tacky to talk about how much money one has? Certainly. Is it heartless to do so in a recession/depression? Yep.

Yep, top does generally stay top, though trends do come and go. Some with more staying power than others (the current interest in folk art has been strong for quite some time now and doesn't show signs of weakening, for example).

I do agree on your take re: modern art--it's not my niche, though, so I'm not the best person to render an opinion there.

Yes, the jewelry market in general has been strengthening again (don't know that it every got very weak to begin with). Estate jewelry from well-known houses (Cartier, Asprey, etc) has been doing gangbusters at auction of late.

Needsadvice - Or maybe you are reading that chart incorrectly. What if inflationary periods do in fact mean higher prices for homes - of 120 on the index. Then that means we have to go back DOWN to 120 before we reached the inflation-driven high for home prices. Scarey.

Bramstar,

Here is a chart for diamond pricing from Rapaport, the leader in diamond pricing. http://www.diamonds.net/cms/Price-Reports.aspx

It supports your contention that high end is ticking up (3 carat plus figure). But why is it ticking up? Diamonds as inflation hedge, or diamonds as a reflection of new optimism? Hedgie bonus money, christmas uptick?

But you can see the overall uptrend from lows of '09.

Interesting line from the PDF report: Israel and Belgium significantly raised levels of polished imports, indicating strong inter-trade
dealing, or a possible hoarding of stock in anticipation of future price increases.

This rolls back to Urbandig's inflation concerns.

AvUWS-That is exactly the question, isn't it? I can't find a good update to this old Shiller chart, either.

@MidtownerEast- Not trying to bait the pitchforks, just trying to consider the economy as an aggregate of anecdotal evidence. Not scientific in the least and not something economists are prone to do, given that they tend to have a very specific focus. I don't own any art, or gold, or much else, BTW. If the economy is not discussed while in recession, how will we figure out how to pull it out of recession? Please provide insight from your perspective. How have things changed for you and yours from '09?

Needs--I do think the wealthy are diversifying by purchasing investment objects, be they art or jewelry. Yes, there is generally a Christmas uptick (one of the reasons so many auction houses have major jewelry sales in early December). But I was interested to see, for example, increased activity at some of the Antique Week shows this year. Red dots (signifying purchases) were showing up like a bad case of chickenpox all over the Winter Antiques show, with the jewelry counters in high gear. That show has been pretty flat in the past couple of years.

Personally, I rarely purchase from dealers as the markeup can be steep. But the fact that the moneyed folks were all out there buying up a storm was, to me, a very good sign.

I think the Fed is trying to raise the "expection" of inflation. If that works, may result in stronger consumer demand and push the so called "economy". If not, they are ready for more stimulus. Good or bad, that is another story.

I think the rich/very rich are back to spending. They held their breath for a couple of years to make sure the world wasn't ending. When it didn't they went back to their old ways. A whole bunch of bank bail-out money didn't hurt. But these are not the same people who are relying on that end-of-year bonus.

Real Estate, particularly in Manhattan, got totally out of hand in the late 2000's. 2 bedroom apartments in doorman buildings were going for 200k-400k in 1995, by 2007 those same apartments were listing for $1 million to $1.5 million. Couldn't go on forever, so you need a 10 year period to squeeze out the excess. 5 years from now you'll see everything back to where it was on 2007, and than the price escalation can begin again. Same thing happend in the early and mid 90's squeezing out the excess of the mid and late 80's. It's an ongoing cycle. Nothing increases forever, neither, stocks, gold, bonds, or real estate.

I found this thread from 8 months ago: http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/20821-cpi-shows-inflation-over-9-using-1980-methodology

Summary; inflation helps real estate, but without wage inflation, there can not be price inflation. Oh, and the real inflation rate is 9%, which makes sense.

My conclusion; no, I won't lower the price of the house unless I decide to sell and roll it over into something that can be a solid rental property, which benefits from inflation.

I am now off to hunt for a solid rental property.Any ideas in the $500K range?

Sigh. You nuts. People DO spend money on cell phones etc, which HAVE gotten cheaper per feature and gig of data. And so forth.

The conclusion one can draw from shadowstats's inflation is that per-capita productivity is now half what it was in 1990. Using CPI, it's 25% or so higher. Which sounds more correct to you?

the thought that the government has a long term highly secret and remarkably effective plan to systematically understate CPI is hilarious. particularly as it comes from the very same group of nuts that believe the government incapable of doing anything right.

and food is getting cheaper especially in Tunisia, and oil is almost free these days. gold and silver have declined in price in the last 10 years.those speculators, ..without them there would be no inflation.

Needadvice,

If you are really serious about buying investment properties that will give you real return, buy on cash or at worst on short term loans. Secondly, the ideal investment property might not be a place that you and your family would love to live there, but it may suit people with different family and income structures. In other word, don't fall in love with your investment property, they are just investments. With that in mind, you will have more choices outside of Manhattan.

Food and inflation make up about a fifth of CPI. What fraction of your personal spending goes towards those? (For restaurants, don't count the 70% that is the service of cooking / service / giving you a nice atmosphere.)

You didn't answer my question on per-capita productivity...

food and inflation...what? typo?
in the last CPI series health insurance costs are calculated at 1%/year. helloooooooo.planet earth:do you copy? (my last ER visit was $4500).these numbers are baloney.
I am not competent on productivity calculations.

Streeteasypost,

Your current rental apartment demonstrates some very important points:

1. Buying expensive rental property in Manhattan won't give you much (if any at all) return.
2. Buying a primary residence and live there for a long time will usually pay off when you have a lot of down payement with shorter mortgage terms on low interest (even in your apartment). Of course, you need to be in the right income bracket to enjoy the full tax benefits too.

sorry, post on the wrong thread

So, can we all agree that there IS inflation and inflation can happen without WAGE increases.
I remember making this argument 2 years ago with all you knuckleheads that inflation can occur with an out of control printing press and currency devaluation.

http://www.finviz.com/futures_performance.ashx?v=16
Just look at these commodities prices.

Ericho, of course if there is inflation without wage increases then by definition people have to pay more for the goods that they require (food, energy) and will have less left over for other items, like prime Manhattan real estate, for which there are suitable and cheaper alternatives. In this case anyone with less disposable income will choose to stay in their apartment, stay in a rental, move 10-20 blocks to a slightly more marginal location than that from which they currently reside, etc.

The only thing that will cause notable rises in NY real estate are increased salaries and jobs. Period.

While i agree with you on the principle AvUWS, i don't think inflation on food and energy will affect the lifestyle of people making over $300K/year. These monthly expenses are really minor and can easily be worked around. However, Families making less than $150K a year will take the hit, but these people don't live in Manhattan.

Sledge - things aren't black & white. If there is inflation in commodities, particularly if that is "significatn" it boils up into all the things we spend on. 80% increases in sugar don't just make kellog's go from $2.99 to $3.99 or $4.99, which is small, even negligible, for a Manhattan family, it also makes a $15 entree go to $17 or $18 in your neighborhood restaurant and the trip to FL to see the grandparents is now $50/ticket greater. None of this, without increased salaries or jobs, improves the disposable income of that family. Furthermore, some items that are a part of the purchases of the upper incomes are also affected. An air conditioner uses a lot of copper. A better/more efficient one uses even more, and they will go up with the increase in the cost of copper. Cotton has gone up dramatically and we will be seeing it soon in the cost of clothes (a business where it can take 6-9 months to start transferring the increased costs).

The inflation of 2007 absolutely did change the behaviors of Americans at all income levels and it is that kind of inflation we are starting to see now.

So if salaries stay the same it still can't help NYC real estate. If salaries DO start to go up in response to inflation (but new jobs aren't created) then that could be even worse. When the very expectations of inflation start to have to be baked into salaries then you don't know where the bubble inflation ends up. Yes, your own salary will go up, but will it go up to the same degree as your maintenance? The nanny? Vacations? Private school? Will your business be one that wins or is harmed by the way inflation sneaks through the economy? There are always winners and losers and I promise you you can't guess correctly which one you will end up.

CNBC ARTICLE, NEW TODAY:

Inflation or Disinflation??

Labor costs are often cited as a reason why the U.S. is not heading into an inflationary period, even as commodities prices continue to soar.

Today's report on productivity and labor costs showed that the American workforce was more productive in the fourth quarter, but it also showed continued downward pressure on wages.

Employee output per hour rose at a 2.6 percent annual rate, but labor expenses, expected to rise, fell 0.6 percent quarter-over-quarter. Economists, when measuring inflation, look at the smoother, year-over-year trend which shows a 0.2 percent decline in labor costs.

Credit Suisse economist Jonathan Basile pointed out the case against inflation in a note today.

"The YoY (year-over-year) trend in labor costs continued to point in a disinflationary direction as opposed to an inflationary one. The 0.2 percent rate in Q4 was a record eighth straight negative quarter-the weakest sustained stretch in the postwar period. Labor costs make up the biggest chunk of business costs and are a reliable indicator for core inflation."

Basile, in an interview, said that until the employment situation changes, inflation is not a threat in the U.S. "What generates inflation is when people go out and find a better paying job and that's not here. There's still an awful lot of people unemployed and underemployed," he said. He expects the unemployment rate to remain at 9.4 percent when the government reports January's employment data Friday. He also expects to see an increase of 135,000 in non farm payrolls.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Thursday reported that world food prices hit another record high in January, and catastrophic weather around the world will continue to pressure prices and supply.

######

Love that last line there, kind of a "BTW here's the kicker".

Prices increasing, jobs and wages falling, what does THAT add up to?

needsadvice: "Prices increasing, jobs and wages falling, what does THAT add up to?"

A great economy according to Obama & the Obamaites! LOL

wait for speculation to really go nuts after commodities again...

gold and silver broke out today. again.and again. corn, cotton farm land , art. everything is up. and all we hear is: it's a small part of our budget (like saying don't worry about the rain if you have an umbrella: but it's raining for fk sake).
What this means is: it is a serious symptom of monetary inflation. it's already here. and those commodity prices are wholesale:wait 6 months until retail.the symptoms of disease are clear and need to be listened to.
As for RE everyone focuses on demand/offer of RE. there is a bigger picture: demand/offer of the money.
RE is deflating still, but monetary inflation is about to take over. Pretty simple for financial speculators.
pretty simple for RE investors too.

I see certain needs having more price elasticity than others. Additionally more people than ever are now renters. Housing is a basic need. I can only see the fundamentals for increasing rents improving from here on.
If the Fed creates inflation then the argument gets better.

what happened to the value of the dollar the last time oil prices went through the roof?

Here's the scoreboard since the fed announce QE2 (4 months ago). I'm not even going to include the performance of the stock market.

cotton = +125.7%
Sugar = +82.6%
Silver = +65%
Corn = +59.0%
Coffee = +41.4%
Rice = +40.5%
Oats = +36.6%
Copper = +36.1%
Lumber = +33.8%
Oil = +25.1%
Gold = +16%

And here's the BIG one, yields on the 10 year notes made 6 month high today. The cost of servicing this nation's enormous debt is going to get out of control.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=^TNX&t=6m&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=

AR,
You're dumb as a door nob. Who the hell cares about last time. Learn to think ahead and stop using history as a reference for every little thing you do.

"wait for speculation to really go nuts after commodities again..."

I agree, this is only the beginning.

ericho, that was hilarious, but I'm pretty sure you don't know why. and on so many levels.

ericho: ur right but ar is right too: oil prices were a reflexion of dollar devaluation in the 70's which is exactly was is happening now (hence price increases all over the board). the magnitude will be much greater.
The speculation in commodities is the consequence of currency devaluation, not the cause. trend followers are fabricating "gold testicles" these days.
Tunisia and egypt are a direct consequence of monetary inflation

Erico75 -- Calling someone as "dumb as a door nob [sic]" is ridiculously high on the unintentionally funny scale. I figured you were in grey because you are an abusive troll or the alter ego of one. Now I realize that you are greyed out because you're so thick that even SE couldn't stand it.

http://www.fgmr.com/real-reason-for-rising-commodity-prices.html

the real reason why commodities are rising

Did you notice the following, nicercatch?

1) The tweaked the scales of the CRB index and gold to make those two line up.

2) The CRB index is only up 2.3x since 1980, underpacing CPI, which is up 2.8x.

I have the feeling you re not an investor.
1)The "tweaking" is standard comparison for 2 items of different units (CRB is an index, gold is in dollars). but you could do the same with yet another (euro for example) and still get the same.these are log scales.
2)from 1980 to 2000 real interest rate were positive (disinflation),thus CRB/gold down. From 2000 real rates negative, crb/gold up. pretty simple investing stuff.predictable results.
I was in high school in 1980.(investing for the long term I see). the "break out" for me was 2003 as you see on the graph. All my financial net worth (excluding RE and business) went in precious metals that year. I semi retired last year. Know why? im 44.

anyway the point is really simple: inflation is up, the result of money printing. making money in this environemnt is very different from standard wall street propaganda (get out of debt, save in IRA, save cash,pay off your mortgage, blablabla).
www.danielamerman.com
this guy really does a good job at teaching finance (he's a investment banker) in that environment. I have NO incentives from his work.

1) First, the CRB index is denominated in dollars made up of some mix of commodities. Same units: stuff per dollar. Gold went up 3.7x while commodities only did 2.3x. A leverage argument might be something that properly justifies scaling the two differently, but when you're talking inflation, that makes no sense.

2) Interesting theory.

What has your investment track record been? Maybe you should come out of retirement and become an investment manager.

Could someone explain the logic here?

The usual story about how "inflation" makes real estate prices go up is that all prices and wages are going up, as in the late Vietnam War period, when the government decided not to tax to pay for the war and the economy was running at full capacity. That kind of inflation means that borrowers will earn more nominal dollars and have an easier time paying off nominal debt. But the inflationistas here don't seem to be claiming that we are going to have that kind of wage/price inflation, perhaps because we have 9% unemployment, a deflating real estate bubble, and excess capacity all over the economy -- if the government manages to create additional demand, it'll just reduce unemployment, not lead to higher wages.

Instead, they are talking about (1) depreciation of the dollar relative to foreign currencies and (2) increases in prices of various internationally-traded commodities. Those are real price increases. They mean that Americans are relatively poorer than they used to be: they will have to spend more of their income if they want to consume the same amount of imports and commodities as they used to.

Why would this make RE prices rise? It seems more likely that reduced incomes would make RE prices drop.

inonda: sorry if all this makes no sense to u. educating yourself maybe would help? try this also for data www.nowandfutures.com you'll find real rates there. investing in real estate (rentals) is my primary hobby after my professional business. the financial stuff is fasciinating to me. but you're right maybe I got lucky.
it's not about me though.it's about inflation. and I love inflation.

well fktard.... there's 9000 units in manhattan, all undervalued by your excellent analysis... .get them before the rest of the market wakes up... my goodness given your track record you'll be able to retire in 20 yrs... that'll make you 64, ONE FKING year again of the rest of us. Damn, you should have been a cop, if you joined at 20, you'd have been retired at 40... 4 fking yrs ahead of your unsuccessful self.

Take your "semi-retirable" net worth, leverage up 2x, then take out 5x leverage on all 9000 manhattan units.... my god...RE inflation trade is gonna make you RICH. Let me just take all my bids out of the market. You're good to go.... hey Jan manhattan inventory up 400 units... .WTF... buy already you fking rich dude.

hey crackhead you're back.I'm not a dude but given your chemical dependency you wouldn't notice. I did notice your tranny b(g?)f servicing clients in the basement at portauthority the other day. inflation: and what it makes people do.

nicercatch. Let me paint a picture of yourself.

44, (old), unmarried (fat and ugly), no kids (just off yourself). Somehow got it into her thick head, that's she's
1) financial genius (no you just rode the greatest credit bubble in history => some of us actually "retired" a decade ago riding the same wave);
2) not yet retired at 44, well I guess if i lived alone in 600 sq ft, with 2 cats to feed and a food budget of $1K/month, car =$0, vaca =$3K/yr, boat =$0, clothing =$0, kids=$0, I could've retired at age 18 too..... flmaoz;
3) inflation trade => flmaoz.... it's called having a net worth large enough that you are invested in enough sectors that net net , inflation/disinflation your standard of living increases;
4) A career/job that can pass on enough of "inflation" to your employers / customers that you don't give a shit. You see my wife sweating about inflation? NO, she'll pass it right along to her institution / patients. You see me sweating inflation, no BC I have a CPI index on all my leases. Funny as hell, when I was negotiating my leases back in 2004, no one gave a damn about the CPI index, I just said "oh, it's boilerplate.";

44 and not yet retired living on $100k/yr telling me how "successful" you are. Hey I just picked up a Bentley, having $40K of updated electronics installed on my yacht (Garmin 7215 at nav station and 7212 at helm, a nema 2K backbone, fusion ipod stereo, new sonar, rada, ais, wifi/cell, and a sat tv and sat tel) , and trying to decide btwn Sydney or Tokyo for my 2 kids spring break (yeah the 4 trips a/yr my family takes r usually $25K pop). But i guess in your own little world with 2 bars of gold and $500K in 401K, you are semi-retired. and btw, I just saw the boat dude next to me a "gunboat"... his paint job cost more than my entire electronics package.

BTW, ppl have been selling sex since the time of the romans, you mama went down on someone, you went down on someone, your grandma went down on someone... and I hear your daddie went down on someone.... oh schnap.

crackhead ur so funny.
1.5 tonnes of au and 1 tonne of ag. yes? how many bentleys is that crackhead? hmmm?how many toyboats?
I have a feeling your tiny thing doesn't work too much, thus the boat. cyalis is right for you.
you sound so insecure.and so unhappy you have to bragg.
and yes I'm thin.
fk you too crackhead

Hey 44 yo that is almost so rich she could retire (WTF does that mean)? When's the last time a penis was hard within 10 feet of you? And your cat's penis don't count. Come on tellz us, how many cats do you own? Se crowd would like to know.

On your Au/ag position, what's your in price? I know Plenty of ninnies who are in $3mm condos, but their in price is $5mm. Oh tell us, lonely pulsating vagina, what does the clitoris see in our financial future?

Holy fuck, 1.5 tonnes of Au??? That's $65 million dollars worth. You da man! Err, I mean da woman.

How did you come by all this gold? You haven't by chance just fled Tunisia, have you:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1347938/Tunisian-presidents-wife-Leila-Trabelsi-fled-riots-35m-gold-bars.html

You were off w67: age 53 and a former hairdresser with a penchance for fast cars.

Err, penchant..

This thread is confusing.

Well, as part of my continuing theme of inflation versus housing prices, lets go back to our housing price chart:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/08/26/weekinreview/27leon_graph2.html?scp=2&sq=historical%20housing%20prices%20index%20graph&st=cse

Now lets compare and contrast to our inflation chart:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/US-Inflation-by-year.png

Whaddya think?

In the short term it appears to me that inflation hurts housing prices.

Anybody with some graphic skills want to overlay these two charts and see what we get?

Nice image Inonada. :)

Holy fk!!!!!! $65mm in gold.... Just look that way and put a bag on it. I'm just having sex with you for the money.

Post a real estate bubble popping, nothing 'saves' re. Inflati

Inflation kills it, interest rate kills it. Snow kills. Warm weather kills it. Spring sun kills it. Bad bonuses kills it. Higher taxes kills it. Higher insurance kills it. No more frannie kills it. No tax deduct kills it. Egypt melting kills it. Gas at $6 kills it. Funny YouTube kills it.