<p>That’s why they are not in a hurry to buy. But it is old, needs a facelift, street parking. But they like it for now and are happy enough. </p>
<p>SF isn’t someplace I’d want to be in my 20’s or 30’s either. We’re beach people. If I were to live in CA., I’d much rather be in southern CA - San Diego for example.</p>
<p>Re: post 10339. That’s their experience. 2 days of open house. Then one day where all bids, best and final, are submitted. There have been between 5-9 bids on the houses they tried for. Several were cash offers, many had no contingencies. Most were 25-35% over asking. That’s why I hope this is a bubble. </p>
<p>San Diego is very nice. </p>
<p>We used to go to San Diego when the kids were little. The beaches are great. I prefer walking cities. I think I could live in San Diego though. :)</p>
<p><a href=“Most Walkable Cities in America - Most Walkable US Cities”>Most Walkable Cities in America - Most Walkable US Cities;
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<p>Jym626, I know this home buying process is frustrating.</p>
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I have some friends who stood on the sidelines all through the 2000’s as prices were going up and up because they were convinced the high prices were unsustainable and were going to crash at any time.</p>
<p>Then RE went into the dumpster and they didn’t jump in because prices never fell far enough (we didn’t fall nearly as much as other parts of the country). They kept waiting for bigger declines because prices were still too high relative to historical norms of price/income ratios or some such nonsense.</p>
<p>Now prices have risen back to where they were in 2008, and they are still haven’t bought because prices are too high again.</p>
<p>But they keep hoping…</p>
<p>It can be tough to pull that trigger. If I wasn’t married, I would probably be renting today. :)</p>
<p>Would you take a loan if you can get it at 2.60% interest rate?</p>
<p>I’d double check whether any property needs inspections, hurricane, flood, or earthquake retrofitting and similar additional expensive work. It adds to the price of ownership and can be a safety and resale issue. </p>
<p>I thought the decline in oil prices was bullish. I still do…</p>
<p>My short s&p puts expired worthless. That 's good. Vz and t took it on the chin this week. Not good. </p>
<p>Apparently there is concern about junk bonds, contagion - all the usual cr*p that traders worry about. I’ve gotten a bit killed lately. It is amazing how high the implied volatility is on aapl and some others. I sold 12/20 101 puts for .25 when the stock was at 110.2. Unfortunately I own the 1/17 106.43 - 111.43 call spread that I thought a month ago looked like money in the bank. I also own the 1/17 xle 80 - 90 call spread but haven’t sold it. I bought and sold a bunch of put spreads to cover my losses so it hasn’t been that bad yet. I also sold 12/20 spy 190 puts today for .40</p>
<p>Wow…40 cents seems high…</p>
<p>I guess people are worried about the fed meeting…</p>
<p>I guess I should read about junk bonds…oh…the ones related to oil…hmmmm</p>
<p>There are some economists who are now saying that the fed may not even raise rates next year. The market gets into a tizzy about these meetings and usually there is nothing new. As far as the junk bonds, there appears to be some concern about some of the small oil and fracking operators not being able to pay back their debt which could have an impact on banks. Others say that it is only an issue if oil stays low for a long time. We’ll have to see how it plays out. I have so many put spreads on xle in different accounts, I can’t keep track of them.</p>
<p>Someone I heard said that actually it is the off-shore drilling that will be affected by low oil price most since that costs more than $60/gallon. According to this person, that means bigger companies who does offshore drilling will be more affected. I briefly entertained the idea of buying oil stocks but quickly gave up. Sticking to a boring portfolio. Hard to stay boring when there’s so much action.</p>
<p>Doct, I like to keep things simple. </p>
<p>I think it was in the early 80’s when oil prices collapsed, banks got into big trouble. Bamks get the big picture wrong. The banks lend too much in the sectors that are hot. </p>
<p>When home prices were rising, banks should have raised lending standards and cut lending standards when prices collapsed. </p>
<p>Oil is a little riskier but banks lend too much when things are good.</p>
<p>I know somebody pretty high up in a small oil company. The company’s stock has dropped over 90 percent to a buck. The debt of the company has to be crushed also. On paper,… This guy has lost $10 million. </p>
<p>A guy I used to work with is pretty wealthy. He has a lot of his wealth in North Dakota. If oil prices drop to $40, I think he is in trouble.</p>
<p>A friend told me she knows 2 young people who have become millionaires at uber. They have good jobs but they aren’t that high up.</p>
<p>I guess that is why we have a gold rush going on in SF. </p>
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<a href=“Oil and Gas Bloodbath Spreads to Junk Bonds, Leveraged Loans. Defaults Next | Wolf Street”>http://wolfstreet.com/2014/12/07/bloodbath-in-oil-patch-junk-bonds-leveraged-loans-defaults/</a></p>
<p>Anybody have any good market suggestions going forward?</p>
<p>Here is an interesting perspective on the impact of oil on the stock market: <a href=“They're all making it up. - The Reformed Broker”>http://thereformedbroker.com/2014/12/12/theyre-all-making-it-up/</a></p>
<p>There is a story. Two guys. It is a little cold. The first guy starts blowing on his hands. The second guy asks,"Why are you doing that?
The first guy replies, “To warm up my hands”…</p>
<p>A few minutes later the two guys get coffee. The first guy starts blowing on the coffee. The second guy asks, “Why are you doing that?”
The first guy replies, “To cool down the coffee”.</p>
<p>The second guy says, “You blow your hands to warm things up and to cool things down. I can’t believe anything you say”.</p>
<p>LOL - here is another interesting article: <a href=“High school student scores $72M playing the stock market”>http://nypost.com/2014/12/14/stuyvesant-hs-student-nets-72m-on-the-stock-market/</a></p>