meccos12 said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Just because you say it?s strawman doesn?t mean it is.
When one makes an argument against claims never made, that is the definition of a strawman.
That's because you look for that. That's not what I'm doing, I'm simply replying to what you are posting. If I misunderstood what you are saying, then please clarify.
For example, the Housing Analysis thread you said "opinions do not matter". My response was that they do and that data alone isn't what people come to forums for. Then you went off saying I strawman'd you because I said you said only data matters. That in fact was a strawman because that's not what I said, what I said was that opinions are valuable and data alone isn't enough. That's why I said "This doesn't make sense to me" and why I asked about your profession because there are many jobs that rely on opinions of data.
So my response was 1) to tell you that opinions actually do matter and 2) to clarify from you if that's what you really think because 3) you started this "Market Top" thread with just your opinion and no data.
You're accusing me like I'm analyzing your posts, figuring out a way to skew it so that you can't defend it (the strawman) and then making things up without any background. Why would I go through the effort of doing that? It's a waste of time, I'm just trying to answer your questions. Notice that I'm not saying you are wrong or telling you how thickskulled you are, just answering what you are asking. If I misunderstand you, point it out... instead of "AAAAAAAAHHHHH... you're such a strawman master!!!!".
irvinehomeowner said:
Do a search on IHB (Irvine Housng Blog) and you will see people claiming 50% drops during the last crash.
What does a claim made by OTHER people on ANOTHER blog 10 freaking years ago have anything to do with THIS thread?
Uh... so should I claim strawman here? Maybe you don't know the history of IHB, TI and myself. This forum came from the IHB forums which were part of the IHB blog. Back then, there were people, even Larry himself, claiming that the data says that to get back to fundamental pricing, Irvine prices have to drop by 50%. Later that was corrected to 40%... but even that didn't happen. I argued back then that I just couldn't see Irvine prices dropping that low. 20% was something I could see... but even then, much of housing stock that I was shopping for, never even dropped that low. So despite what the data said, the Irvine market didn't follow what people were suggesting would happen.
So I mentioned it because it's about history and the non-fundamental behavior of Irvine pricing. If you don't think that's relevant to this discussion, then that's your opinion.
But remember, you asked me to clarify what I meant by "devastated" and when I did, you dismissed it.
irvinehomeowner said:
It seems you agree that you can?t predict real estate so no one can come up with an exact percentage or length of time, so why are you pressing me so hard on a definitive stance on seasonality? Is ?I?m not sure? not a good enough answer? You think it isn?t seasonal, that?s fine... I?m still on the fence because as I?ve said multiple times, seasonality is the default.
Predicting future prices is futile, which is why I dont understand your obsession for asking people to predict future price drops. However predicting future prices is completely different from evaluating current data, which is all I have been doing.
Yes, I understand that. But at the same time... what value is it then to call "market top" or to say (not you) "a slowdown is coming"? Without other things like "timeline" (which you agree was important) and "quantity" (which I think is important), it makes it tough for a buyer to make a decision for themselves.
So when someone like eyephone says to wait... I question that advice and ask.. "wait for what?". If it's only 5%, then a buyer may not want to wait. If it's more like 20%, then I understand that advice... but at the same time, a buyer may still not want to wait. You disagree with me on that and that's fine. Do you see me pestering you one why you disagree? I understand your position. You asked me why I have my opinion and then you dismiss is with "Oh, those are just the benefits of home ownership" but to me that is important.
I press you for that answer because on multiple occasions you implied seasonality yet you wont admit it. You say you are not sure now, but you have been implying that this is seasonal on numerous occasions to counter my points.
So is this another strawman? I've explained my answer on seasonality several times now.
You keep saying I implied it or claimed it but I kept telling you that I questioned if this slowdown isn't seasonal because "SEASONALITY IS THE DEFAULT!!". Seasonality implies itself... just like I don't decide when it's going to be fall, winter or whatever. Go back and look at all the charts for the last 30 years. Even during the last 2 crashes, sales volume and/or prices go up and down with the seasons.
You're not even taking into account the timeline. When eyephone first posted his thread, I asked... "Isn't this just seasonal?". Then his answers were something like "It's happening everywhere", and my response was "Uh... seasonality happens everywhere". That's why I asked for more data to show me that it's different. Now you come along and at first, just said "The data says it's different!" and you referred to it but it wasn't until later that you actually posted the charts. That's when I said, "Okay... I guess it could be different. But... I'm still on the fence because in the past, data has been wrong... especially when it comes to Irvine (which again, is why I mentioned the predictions from 10 years ago).
Does that make sense now? Or am I not explaining myself correctly?
irvinehomeowner said:
BTW: There are other posters who actually disagree with your market top call, why aren?t you responding to them with the same fervor?
I dont have a problem with differing opinions as many othes have points to support their views. However you make claims without any compelling evidence or reasons and never answer any pertinent questions.
I think this is an unfair assessment. I've answered every question you've asked. I went through the trouble of quoting them so that you would know what I'm referring to. Unlike what you've done, I don't cut out parts so that it seems to favor your position. You can see everything as I post it.
If you don't think my claims have compelling evidence, that's fine, that's your opinion. Just like I didn't think eyephone's posts didn't have compelling evidence. But unlike eyephone, at least I went through the effort of explaining my reasons insomuch as detailing my experience during that last crash. And it's not lost on me that you think that my experience/opinion doesn't hold very much weight but that's what I'm giving you. Other people seem to find value in what I am saying... especially those who have been on IHB/TI long enough to appreciate my position.
Please tell me what pertinent questions have I not answered?
Furthermore I would have stopped responding to you but when I asked to stop the bickering your response was
irvinehomeowner said:
Strawman? This is what you actually said:
meccos12 said:
You dont want to drop the bickering and move on it seems.
Lets keep the discussion pertinent recent housing.
Id love to hear your thoughts on the most recent chart I just posted.
This is why I say intent and tone is difficult to asses on the Internet:
Your first sentence is:
"You dont want to stop bickering and move on it seems"
Then you follow it up with:
"Lets keep the discussion pertinent recent housing.
Id love to hear your thoughts on the most recent chart I just posted. "
So you basically make a veiled insult and then said let's stop. Or at least that's how it came off to me.
I don't know about you... but I think my response of "I will when you will" was rather appropriate.
Like I said before, lets stop the bickering. If you have important things to post please feel free to do so. I will do the same as I expect coming data to further support the claims that I have been previously making. If I see contrary evidence, I would be happy to admit and acknowledge that.
See... this is how you ask me to stop bickering.
And again, remember... I agree with you that this is probably market top... but not just because of the data you have posted, more because I think prices have reached an non-affordability range. However, every time I think prices are no longer affordable, they go up again. People thought 2013-14 was a peak, but it kept going... and then quite a few people thought summer 2017 was peak... and it was, until 2018.
Also, when it comes to prices, there are other factors to be considered other than sales volume. As I said repeatedly, there has to be another significant event that will either prevent people from buying, or make people sell at lower prices. On Zillow, there is a chart for Irvine Health, and it basically breaks down 2 metrics, number of days on market (which has keeps moving downward) and number of foreclosures, which to me is significant:
There has to be reasons for people to sell for lower prices. This is why I said there are many factors to hold up Irvine pricing because a) so many new communities have opened in the past 10 years and b) herd effect will keep them from listing lower than what they bought for. So if that holds, and people don't sell... then a significant factor is those who are forced to sell via foreclosures... and as I also mentioned, that's not going to happen that much in Irvine because of the FCBs and the WFBs (well-financed buyers).
Now you may say that's not hard data, but again, as I did 10 years ago, I use a number of things to come up with my opinion... data, experience and non-fundamental factors.
Going forward, I'm going to try to word my response to you so you don't see them as strawman but I think there has to be some effort on your side to see that I'm really trying to just answer the questions you ask me.