In the past few days, I’ve had readers forward me links to several very disturbing articles on the declining real estate market and what appears to be the opening stages of a full blown global credit implosion. First, I read this: Mutually Assured Mayhem: Wall Street is on edge, scrambling to buck up Bear Stearns and avert a domino-effect debacle. Then came this very telling piece: Bear Stearns Meets Possums in Georgia as Foreclosures Increase. The key quote in the article: “No lender wants to own real estate, but at the same time you can’t just unload these properties because you would send home prices into a free fall.” My advice: Be prepared for free fall. It is coming, and probably fairly soon.
Then I was forwarded the link to this article: Banks told to show subprime leniency. This is a very alarming development. If bankers are intentionally ignoring their traditional credit worthiness fundamentals, then this is indicative of massive underlying imbalances. Cue the the Wagnerian music. This is going to have a dramatic ending, folks. And it won’t just be the coastal residential real estate contrapreneurs and the banksters that will suffer. Stocks, bonds, and the insurance industry will be shaken. Inevitably, even the dollar itself is at risk. I still stand 100% behind the article on derivatives that I wrote last year. My advice is unchanged: Diversify into tangibles! And if you are going to buy any land, make sure that it is productive farming or ranching land in a safe retreat area.