Diane Gerdes's (dianegerdes) Blog

As we come to end of our long 4th of July weekend with family and friends, conversations probably turned to the rapid decline of the housing market.  All of us have our own opinions on the catalyst of the collapse.  An article in last Wednesday's New York Times announced that President Obama is p...

As we come to end of our long 4th of July weekend with family and friends, the conversation probably turned to the housing market.  How could this happen?    An article in last Wednesday's New York Times announced that President Obama is proposing a new consumer protection agency to regulate home...

Uncle Sam needs to take a vacation.   The poor guy, with all of that money he is manufacturing his brain is just wore out.  President Obama's administration is shocked! shocked! that the Foreclosure Prevention act is failing. With all of the legislation that he and his crew have been passing sinc...

With fixed mortgage interest rates soaring up towards the 5.75 range last week buyers were panicking.  It is unthinkable that they would have to accept such an outrageous rate.  After all, rates were around 6.5% this time last summer, and there are rumors that the rates in the past have actually ...

Uncle Sam needs to take a vacation.   The poor guy, with all of that money he is manufacturing his brain is just wore out.  President Obama's administration is shocked! shocked! that the Foreclosure Prevention act is failing. With all of the legislation that he and his crew have been passing sinc...

China, home of cute panda bears, rice bowls and feng shui has quietly entrenched themselves into our economy by buying several trillion dollars of our T-bills over the past 10 years.   (Remember when a billion was a lot of money?) Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last fall, China has purchas...

 Yesterday's Employment rate kicked off an all nighter with investors running to pop the corks on their favorite box of champagne.  Dreams of ordering private jets and buying villas in France were back on! The American recession is nearly over!  The green shoots of recovery had turned into a fore...

Cities all over the U. S. will be feeling the heat when the new wave of foreclosures hit our housing markets in the next 60 days.  Countrywide, Wells Fargo and Chase have been hording homes to wait to see if the foreclosure moratorium and loan modification programs would cool the defaults.  Stati...

As we spend time with our families and friends relaxing by the pool, going to a movie, or grilling our favorite foods take a moment to remember those that allow us to have the freedoms that we take for granted.   Memorial Day was first celebrated in 1868 to commensurate those that lost their live...

Appraisals have become the grizzly bear in the zoo of lending.   New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, determined the housing crisis was caused by appraisers and their relationship with real estate agents and lenders.  Legislation was passed to keep lenders, agents and borrowers all separated ...