Urban Digs Goes Under As Well?

Wonder if stevejhx lost a boatload on the Latin America funds he boasts about. You remember these are the investments that he uses from his savings from rent vs owning an apt. Yup those Latin American funds are really paying off at least much better than Manhattan RE.

The site is under construction. Will be back soon.

Saw that as well. I thought that he was on vacation. Maybe he forgot to pay his bills before he left. I sure hope he will be back asap - his sound views on real estate (and his inventory widget) were spot on.

Urbandigs, you have so many fans, we'll take up a collection to keep your site going! E-mail is like Obama does.

yeah, we miss you already urbandigs! just logged on for your commentary about the mess today...

Yes I did lose money, houser, but not all of it. I have disengaged from the stock market, & I'm selling my last property. This is going to be a severe depression we are entering.

Did I mention an unnecessary one?

Did I also mention that all I'm doing now is protecting my assets by realizing some losses that I don't have to realize, carry the losses forward? Then take my last property - which I can still sell at a nice 50% profit - and protect my assets until the market stabilizes in 6 months or so. Fortunately, where I bought the market is still robust, and properties are still selling in a matter of days. That won't be the case next year.

Then not touch NYC real estate for years to come.

That's the difference between liquid and illiquid assets. I can liquidate by pressing a button, but if you're stuck with properties that you can't rent out for what they cost you, you're screwed. If you work(ed) for Lehman or Merrill or Bear Stearns or whoever's next and have a mortgage you can't bear, you're screwed.

You are going to see a 50% decline in the value of your properties in Manhattan from today's prices. Fast. Then I'll take the million or so I'll have protected (granted - it was more at one time!) and buy a few. There is no one left to buy real estate in Manhattan, and no money to buy it with.

FYI I have some contacts at AIG who tell me that the situation is dire. Those losses are going to spread throughout the financial system and the economy.

I agree with your analysis regarding Manhattan pricing going forward. There will simply be no demand. I guess what I'm wondering is, how and when will financial markets and transactions stabilize? It seems to me that, if we stay in crisis mode for too long, the necessary lending and banking that drives our economy will dry up, and then we have a depression. Is there any way for the Fed/Treasury to help engineer this deleveraging without having it cripple otherwise healthy and functional banking practices?

Steve, "There is no one left to buy real estate in Manhattan, and no money to buy it with."

Careful. You just said that you have the money to buy it, and will buy a few properties. Why do you assume you're the only one?

"There is no one left to buy real estate in Manhattan, and no money to buy it with" - stevejhx
"There will be simply no demand" - mh23

Do you guys take yourselves seriously? Does the entire world revolve around Wall St?

Will this hurt? yes. Will there be declines in value? Only a buffoon would think there won't be. But the city hasn't been hit with a nuclear weapon. This is still New York, for God's sake, the most appealing city in the world. There is wealth out there from a whole host of industries, not just i-banking. To think that the decline of one source of wealth - although a significant one - means the end of interest in real estate is absolutely unrealistic.

Get a hold of yourselves!

Interesting, weasel boy.

So what you're saying is your real estate wound up being your best investment, and the one that in the end, you fell back on with your 'nice 50% profit'. Far better than your supposed 60% PER ANNUM market returns that you bragged multiple times about on these boards in the past.

"...I have disengaged from the stock market, & I'm selling my last property. ..."

I guess all your (supposed) real estate opinions are about as worthwhile in the end as your market returns.

"You just said that you have the money to buy it, and will buy a few properties. Why do you assume you're the only one?"

I said I will, not now.

No malraux, I didn't change my mind at all. I bought my property at a very low price 4 years ago - 50% in 4 years isn't that much. And it's going to sink right back to where I bought it from, or less.

What we are seeing in the stock market right now is unprecedented - US Steel down 50% in a month, with virtually no change in the fundamentals.

The problem with the stock market is the housing market. It will recover in 6 months or so. But housing won't recover for 10 years.

" Then take my last property - which I can still sell at a nice 50% profit"--stevejhx

"Fortunately, where I bought the market is still robust, and properties are still selling in a matter of days."--stevejhx

Okay stevejhx whatever you say.

So where did Urbandigs go?

one place he didn't go to, that being the websites accounts receivable department.

"...The problem with the stock market is the housing market. It will recover in 6 months or so. But housing won't recover for 10 years..."

Well, yes and no. I get where you're going with the '10 year thing.' The NYC karket was like that between 1992 an 2002. Which for me, is great - I think that there will be some s-w-e-e-t deals coming down the pike when sellers become more realistic (which they are not - yet) and/or desperate. Because of my age, this will be my one last 'hurrah' of serious investment opportunity before it's too close to retirement, and I plan to maximize my situation this time around based on my past two decades experience. For me, it's like a perfect storm.

But the REAL problem with the stock market wasn't the housing market, per se. It was bad financial managemant, poor Government oversight, and greed compounded by people like Fuld who thought their own shit didn't stink. The housing market was the opportunistic lever, but not the real cause.

in prague. at internet cafe. its a disk useage violation, i thought was fixed before i left. trying to fix from internet cafe, sorry guys. i have emails in to hosting support and my it guy. i go away during the worst times

"Urbandigs, you have so many fans, we'll take up a collection to keep your site going! E-mail is like Obama does."

ha! very cute. THANK YOU! SITE BACK UP

malraux, I bailed out of most stocks earlier in the year, especially in my retirement accounts which are barely affected. My investment accounts have seen losses, but I'm only liquidating because I think the losses will get worse. The kicker was LEH, and now AIG. I truly think that we will see Dow 9,000 before we see Dow 11,000 again. But I'm afloat - more than I can say for LEH, BSC, and MER.

And more than I can say about people who have recently bought real estate that they won't be able to unload, forcing short sales or bankruptcy. More than I can say about people who are renting their places at a loss, since rents are going to collapse as well. Any iBanker who had his retirement invested in his company's stock is in trouble (except Goldman). The tens of thousands of people who are out of a job - many without packages - are really in trouble, since there's nowhere for them to go.

There will be sweet real-estate deals, which is why I'm liquidating my property and cutting my losses - that money is going right back into the stock market, albeit in January or later. Between that, and the fall in prices I am expecting, in a year I'll be better off than I ever was.

It's just rough times, and getting rougher for the time being, especially in Manhattan.

Where is this property you have that you want to sell? You say that market is "still robust" - just curious where that is.

Who said the market is "still robust?"