Manhattan Beach Confidential - Latest Comments in Back Again on 35th

Re: Back Again on 35th

Where's RBD? — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:00:51 -0000

MB Homer said you are a bigger loser than even Huggy thinks I don't think that's possible. Remember, MBH, this is the guy who pretended to be a homeowner so he could excoriate actual MB homeowners. For all we know, he spends his days hanging out at the RB library reading Travel & Leisure, saw an article on Austin and jumped on the computer to check in with his favorite obsession, the Hugster. Right now, I'm commenting from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The temple is spectacular (see how easy it is?).

Re: Back Again on 35th

MB Homer — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:05:37 -0000

If you have to check in on this Blog when you're visiting Austin you are a bigger loser than even Huggy thinks...come on Dud ..checking in on this insane asylum when you're in the only place worth a s#$ in all of Texas??!?!! Disappointing at the very least.

Re: Back Again on 35th

anon — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:23:39 -0000

RB, just so we understand you clearly. Are you saying that you are in "Fantasy Austin." As in you "own a house in MB," or actual Austin as in, you own nothing, but bombard this blog with posts?

Re: Back Again on 35th

Duh — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:17:48 -0000

dude...if you're paying 100k to scrap and grade you are being taken for a ride! Are people really that stupid around here? ps....why the hell would I spend 2.2 building my own pad when I can scoop up a new place for 1.8???????????????????

Re: Back Again on 35th

wow — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:08:19 -0000

WOW! look at those charts go! thats pretty amazing. prime ARM resets havent really even kicked in yet. <a href="http://westside-bubble.blog..." target="_blank"><a href="http://westside-bubble.blog..." target="_blank">http://westside-bubble.blog...

Re: Back Again on 35th

huggy = loser — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:12:51 -0000

four sales in the past two years is a lot better than what you're doing, huggy.

Re: Back Again on 35th

haha ha — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:29:58 -0000

Right - West Side prices will fall 40% people can't afford their mortgages

Re: Back Again on 35th

abe — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:23:38 -0000

Austin rocks - be sure to take the boat ride under the Congress bridge at sunset and see the bats come out for the evening - and grab bkfst at Ciscos and lunch at Chuys Except for the million degree weather in the summer, austin is a fine place to hang out. Houses cost one sixth of MB

Re: Back Again on 35th

Redondo Beach dude — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:42:00 -0000

Greetings from Austin! Just back from Antone's... OMG! I thought I would check in and see what was happening, and huggy's head is about to explode!!!! Haven't seen him/her/it's demeanor so agitated. Remember, hugs, Better RETRAIN, before it's too late! 9:40 pm Texas time, going back down to 6th and Congress, y'all! Maybe Momo's... later!

Re: Back Again on 35th

Funny Goodbye — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:09:57 -0000

Goodbye, what an absolute howler of a comment. The rest of the COTC needs to take lessons in cluelessness from you. I won't address all your nonsensical statements (who has that kind of time) but fyi, you said- I notice how you DID NOT comment on the fact that the de facto commission standard has dropped by 16 2/3% from 6% to 5%. Duh, maybe that's because 5% became the "standard" (if you can even refer to a totally negotiable item as standard) in the early to mid-90s. That's some trend line. Good job at keeping current on recent developments. You said, Once again, you fail to understand what contributors to this blog continue to point out -- the trends are down--in prices, commissions, etc. And, with comments like yours, I'm sure the declining IQ trend line on this blog just steepened. In case you missed it, I provided median sales data that MBW (you know, your cult leader) used in his January 6 comment to show a declining price trend. "Contributors?" Is that what we're calling the screeching baboons in the COTC now?

Re: Back Again on 35th

bondinvestor — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:29:22 -0000

MBW, i know it's outside of your bailiwick, but you should really do a piece on the total s**tshow that is developing on the westside. the number of homes for sale in prime areas of the palisades (huntington, alphabets, el medio, etc) and brentwood (north of sunset) is staggering. the inventory of spec mansions, 2yr holds, etc are all exploding. what happens on the westside this spring is going to be ugly. a lot of these home owners stretched and now are trying to get out at break even or with a modest profit. but there are no buyers. a year from now all these houses are going to be on the market again as REO. (remember folks, obama isn't giving jumbo borrowers any handouts.) the nicer parts of LA are going to see their own version of the "cramdown" over the next 18 months. as in - home prices are going to be cramed down to the level that pushes prices in line with incomes. this is going to have a huge impact on every part of town. I wouldn't be surprised to see prices in MB reach 99/00 levels. i figure if the median income in MB is $300k per year (median - not the high end. i know that strand & sand & hill will sell at massive premiums) then the typical tree section house should sell for roughly 3x the median income / 80% = $1.1m. that's about where prices were at the turn of the decade, which feels about right to me.

Re: Back Again on 35th

Baboon GetsOne Right — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:25:18 -0000

Catalist was a precursor to Redfin. Exactly, oh clueless one. And just as Catalist is about to close its doors, Redfin will certainly follow, just as surely as cluelessness is a prerequisite to membership in your cult. Rest assured, though, you have no clue who I am. Remember - cluelessness is part of your cult's name; having a clue would be a violation of your own by-laws or something;-)

Re: Back Again on 35th

Swinging Richard — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:05:49 -0000

Huggy seems to be escalating from his usual bitchy self to one very angry individual. Huggy, I suggest you take off your sunglasses because your future ain't bright.

Re: Back Again on 35th

Huggy = Bonzo — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:41:26 -0000

Huggy, there are lots of listings...but very few things clsoing these days. There are probably also 277 agents in MB these days, down from 400 a year ago. How long will the remaining 277 be able to hang on with another commission? The weakest one of the bunch will be setting the market price curve for commissions going forward. Competition among dinosaurs will drive commission rates down...even lower in the months ahead. If you ask nicely Huggster, I'll give you another brochure for the trailer park in Phoenix.

Re: Back Again on 35th

LMOA still — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:34:22 -0000

Anon is right Huggy..Redfin offsets their monthly burn with TOTAL NATIONAL SALES. You and the other dinosaurs don't pool sales volume on that scale. ...and you don't have patient investors who will keep writing checks...

Re: Back Again on 35th

anonymous one — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:29:49 -0000

I remember, your office refused to provide their in-house listings to Catalist's database. I do not know if that is still the case. I and you know who you are. Catalist was a precursor to Redfin.

Re: Back Again on 35th

thankful — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:19:00 -0000

Another serial murderer just arrested in Santa Monica. Thank god my family lives here in Manhattan Beach. Let's not forget what unifies us all - bulls and bears, renters and owners. We are lucky to live here in MB and not in some other beach town

Re: Back Again on 35th

Goodbye, Huggly — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:03:01 -0000

Whatever Huggly. I notice how you DID NOT comment on the fact that the de facto commission standard has dropped by 16 2/3% from 6% to 5%. It's the beginning of a downward trend. You also didn't mention the lower commissions on lender-involved sales. And my point was not to use a lawyer instead of an agent, but to use a lawyer in ANY transaction. Finally, you did not address my analysis of your biz model -- with margins that may be undercut and low barriers to entry. Once again, you fail to understand what contributors to this blog continue to point out -- the trends are down--in prices, commissions, etc. Yours is a dying breed. Keep taking the tranquilizers to ease the pain.

Re: Back Again on 35th

anon — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:10:06 -0000

Just too stupid to respond to. Now Right On knows what off-the-MLS sales and transfers are happening in every attorney's office and escrow company in the entire world! Stick to pushing your 277 MLS-listed MB homes, please.

Re: Back Again on 35th

Glass Houses — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:51:03 -0000

Hbm aka RBD, so, exactly what degree do you possess to work at your TV station? Yeah, that's what I thought. BTW, based on the amount of time you spend on this blog, something tells me you're not the general manager at the station or management in any capacity , but a technician pulling down just under six figures. Attacking another person's profession and their income can be a slippery slope especially when you consider the layoffs in the media industry.

Re: Back Again on 35th

Right on, Bonzo! — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:42:39 -0000

Again, for the mentally challenged, like the preceding commenter, I'll type slowly - 277 homes in Manhattan Beach that are currently for sale or in escrow - of that number, none are listed with a discount broker. Number of FSBO's - 2, maybe 3 max. Number of buyers, sellers choosing to use a RE lawyer rather than an agent - zero. Number of baboons it takes to repeat the same COTC pablum over and over - I don't know, how many stoned and bitter renters are there in MB? Case closed.

Re: Back Again on 35th

anonymous — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:29:26 -0000

all that work and risk for your very own mid-range Tree Section house does not sound like a good deal.

Re: Back Again on 35th

Huggyl's biz model — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:15:04 -0000

Huggly, remember when the standard commission was 6% (3% for listing agents, 3% for selling agents). Now the standard is 5% and the banks on REOs and short sales are pushing it down further. Doesn't that tell you something about your business model? It's a model that has high margins which can be undercut. And no barriers to entry (save for that GED, answering 75% of a multiple choice test correctly and coming up with a few hundred bucks to join an MLS). It's no longer a necessity (especially when sellers have multiple ways to list their houses for sale without using an agent -- and yet still get their houses seen through web searches). One caveat, for what is generally people's largest business transaction, use a lawyer. You know, someone with multiple degrees who had to pass a REAL test and has a REAL fiduciary duty.

Re: Back Again on 35th

anon — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:13:35 -0000

The 3 stages of Huggy's desperation: 1. Pompously rolling out the numbers in a dubious attempt at 'insider industry knowledge' 2. Moving on the personal insults 3. Discrediting: Now, they're just lying! Next time I invite you to my kitchen table for your dog and pony show, you can tell me all about Catalist. K?

Re: Back Again on 35th

Educated — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:44:54 -0000

Huggy, don't you need to run to a Short Sale class for some DRE credit?