All the economic reports in the world pale in comparison to the insider buy/sell activity. If the prospects are good for a company, you would assume that insiders would be buying. They are selling at the boldest pace in 20 years. What do insiders know about the prospects for their companies?
TOP-LEVEL INSIDERS SELLING THEIR STOCK
By PAUL THARP
SALES DEPARTMENT: Execs led by the likes of Microsoft founder Bill Gates...
December 7, 2006 -- America's corporate chiefs are unloading their own stocks at one of the boldest paces in 20 years.
In cases of the very rich, such as Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google's top brass, the executives are selling a whopping $63 for each $1 of stock they bought, says a report by Bloomberg.
In November alone, leaders of public companies dumped $8.4 billion worth of stock they owned as insiders, most of it awarded as compensation, bonuses or other management incentives.
But the vast majority of the executives put their windfall cash to work elsewhere, with just $133 million being plowed back into purchases of more company stock.
Analysts say a take-the-money-and-run flight from their own companies signals a growing lack of confidence in the economy's future course, as well as fears of a possible global meltdown if the Iraq crisis escalates across borders.
It's also a good time to take profits, with the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 15 percent this year, the S&P 500 ahead 13 percent, and the Nasdaq 11 percent higher.
Wall Street investors are displaying fresh worries that the Federal Reserve might pull the trigger too quickly on hiking rates again, possibly plunging the U.S. into a recession as the Fed did in 2000.
Just before the worst of the 2000 recession, insider sales were also at a near record.
Leading the latest wave of insider selling is Microsoft, with $594.2 million of stock sold by insiders during November, with Gates unloading $581.1 million.
Gates has been selling shares regularly - including $2.1 billion last year - as he whittles down his once mammoth stake, putting a big chunk of his wealth to work in a not-for-profit foundation that invests in a wide range of securities and other deals.
Billionaire Paul Allen also sold off 28 percent of his stake last month in DreamWorks Animation SKG for $224.2 million, keeping about 21 million shares.
Insiders at Seagate sold $311.8 million in November, while Google insiders unloaded $182.1 million in the four weeks.
Google's CEO Eric Schmidt and its co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have usually led the insider-selling parade with sales of hundreds of millions as the stock rose steadily to break the $500 mark.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
A Real Threat to U.S. Realtors
Zillow is for sales, not just snooping
The much-hyped website, which provides home values, now allows sellers to post listings.
By Annette Haddad, Times Staff Writer
December 7, 2006
Real estate website Zillow.com became an instant hit by telling homeowners — and their nosy neighbors — how much their houses might be worth.Now, the Seattle-based company will help owners get the word out about how much they want in a sale.
Starting today, Zillow Inc. joins a growing list of websites that allows homeowners and real estate agents to post virtual "For Sale" signs for free. The feature also plugs a hole on the site, which touts a database of more than 60 million U.S. residences but no information on what most viewers want to know: Is this home for sale?
The addition could pose yet another threat to the traditional system for buying and selling homes, analysts said.
"It's just one more chink in the armor of the established brokerage industry," said Steve Murray, an industry consultant based in Littleton, Colo. "It provides consumers with more choices."
But too much choice could work against Zillow, one of hundreds of real estate websites. Property listings are among the chief reasons consumers and advertisers seek out real estate sites, and those with the biggest inventories of homes for sale are capturing the most viewers. The No. 1 real estate site is Realtor.com, which is sponsored by the Realtor trade group and offers one of the largest collections of for-sale listings.
Adding a listings service was necessary for Zillow to bring in new viewers and bring back old ones, said Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence, a San Francisco-based research firm.
But Zillow needs to build inventory quickly to give viewers a full picture of the for-sale market, analysts said. Unlike some sites that aggregate listings from the industry's multiple-listing service, Zillow is depending on sellers to voluntarily post information.
"It's all contingent on people actually showing up and doing these things," Sterling said.
Co-founded by Richard Barton, the creator of consumer-travel website Expedia.com, Zillow was launched in February amid much hype about its potential to reshape the real estate transaction process into something more transparent and less costly.
Barton had already helped upend one industry and many figure that by applying the same formula — providing consumers access to information previously controlled by agents — Zillow will eventually lead to industrywide changes.
"The availability of this information online is starting to change expectations," Sterling said. "It doesn't mean an agent won't be involved in the transaction. But maybe there will be downward pressure on fees, or at least agents will be asked to justify their commissions."
David Andreone said he would probably use Zillow to help sell his Beverly Hills home, currently on the market for $1.6 million. Andreone is marketing the property himself on Forsalebyowner.com and not using a broker. He sold his previous home three years ago the same way and found the process easy and less expensive than using a traditional agent.
"I would definitely be interested if Zillow is doing this," said Andreone, who has used Zillow to check the values on his and his parents' homes.
Even without its new feature, Zillow had rocketed into the top 10 most-visited real estate sites. For the week that ended Saturday, Zillow was No. 7, with 2.1% of visits, among 1,766 real estate websites, according to research firm Hitwise.
By giving away free market data, including instant valuations and sale histories on individual homes, the website tapped into a potent consumer "snoop" factor that has made it Topic A at many cocktail parties and backyard barbecues. But some of the discussions weren't flattering; many of its valuations have been off the mark.
On Zillow, sellers working with or without brokers will be able to set a price, post photos and descriptions of their properties, link to other websites and communicate with potential buyers via e-mail. When a listing is posted, a flag will pinpoint its location on a community map.
Zillow executives said it already had lined up Realtors who were prepared to post their listings on the site.
Vince Malta, a former president of the California Assn. of Realtors and a San Francisco-based real estate agent, said he would probably use the site for his clients' listings.
Malta already checks out home values on Zillow, so he is prepared to answer questions from clients who have done the same. He also posts listings on Craigslist.com, which accepts them for free, and on the official multiple-listing service, which is accessible only to other agents.
The much-hyped website, which provides home values, now allows sellers to post listings.
By Annette Haddad, Times Staff Writer
December 7, 2006
Real estate website Zillow.com became an instant hit by telling homeowners — and their nosy neighbors — how much their houses might be worth.Now, the Seattle-based company will help owners get the word out about how much they want in a sale.
Starting today, Zillow Inc. joins a growing list of websites that allows homeowners and real estate agents to post virtual "For Sale" signs for free. The feature also plugs a hole on the site, which touts a database of more than 60 million U.S. residences but no information on what most viewers want to know: Is this home for sale?
The addition could pose yet another threat to the traditional system for buying and selling homes, analysts said.
"It's just one more chink in the armor of the established brokerage industry," said Steve Murray, an industry consultant based in Littleton, Colo. "It provides consumers with more choices."
But too much choice could work against Zillow, one of hundreds of real estate websites. Property listings are among the chief reasons consumers and advertisers seek out real estate sites, and those with the biggest inventories of homes for sale are capturing the most viewers. The No. 1 real estate site is Realtor.com, which is sponsored by the Realtor trade group and offers one of the largest collections of for-sale listings.
Adding a listings service was necessary for Zillow to bring in new viewers and bring back old ones, said Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence, a San Francisco-based research firm.
But Zillow needs to build inventory quickly to give viewers a full picture of the for-sale market, analysts said. Unlike some sites that aggregate listings from the industry's multiple-listing service, Zillow is depending on sellers to voluntarily post information.
"It's all contingent on people actually showing up and doing these things," Sterling said.
Co-founded by Richard Barton, the creator of consumer-travel website Expedia.com, Zillow was launched in February amid much hype about its potential to reshape the real estate transaction process into something more transparent and less costly.
Barton had already helped upend one industry and many figure that by applying the same formula — providing consumers access to information previously controlled by agents — Zillow will eventually lead to industrywide changes.
"The availability of this information online is starting to change expectations," Sterling said. "It doesn't mean an agent won't be involved in the transaction. But maybe there will be downward pressure on fees, or at least agents will be asked to justify their commissions."
David Andreone said he would probably use Zillow to help sell his Beverly Hills home, currently on the market for $1.6 million. Andreone is marketing the property himself on Forsalebyowner.com and not using a broker. He sold his previous home three years ago the same way and found the process easy and less expensive than using a traditional agent.
"I would definitely be interested if Zillow is doing this," said Andreone, who has used Zillow to check the values on his and his parents' homes.
Even without its new feature, Zillow had rocketed into the top 10 most-visited real estate sites. For the week that ended Saturday, Zillow was No. 7, with 2.1% of visits, among 1,766 real estate websites, according to research firm Hitwise.
By giving away free market data, including instant valuations and sale histories on individual homes, the website tapped into a potent consumer "snoop" factor that has made it Topic A at many cocktail parties and backyard barbecues. But some of the discussions weren't flattering; many of its valuations have been off the mark.
On Zillow, sellers working with or without brokers will be able to set a price, post photos and descriptions of their properties, link to other websites and communicate with potential buyers via e-mail. When a listing is posted, a flag will pinpoint its location on a community map.
Zillow executives said it already had lined up Realtors who were prepared to post their listings on the site.
Vince Malta, a former president of the California Assn. of Realtors and a San Francisco-based real estate agent, said he would probably use the site for his clients' listings.
Malta already checks out home values on Zillow, so he is prepared to answer questions from clients who have done the same. He also posts listings on Craigslist.com, which accepts them for free, and on the official multiple-listing service, which is accessible only to other agents.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Boston Housing Crash Well Underway!
The numbers are starting to get ugly in Bubble Cities. Boston is leading the way but this is just the beginning. Watch California, Arizona, Florida,...etc all follow suit as housing price gains, experienced over the last few years, get wiped out. Reversion to the mean is the inescapable concept that house flippers chose to ignore, at their peril. The Shiller housing index suggests that we still have a long way to go before housing prices are reasonable from an inflation-adjusted historical context.
House prices plunge: All Hub gains since March ’04 vanish
By Jerry Kronenberg
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - Updated: 04:19 AM EST
Boston house prices plunged last month at their fastest pace in more than 13 years, erasing all gains recorded since early 2004, new figures show.
Market tracker The Warren Group reported yesterday that median house-sale prices in Suffolk County, which mostly consists of Boston, fell to $325,950 - a stunning 13.31 percent decline from October 2005.
That drops prices back to May 2004 levels. It’s also the sharpest 12-month pullback since 1993.
“The October numbers continue a trend we’ve been seeing for some time now - a pronounced slowdown that’s affecting every facet of the housing market,” Warren Group CEO Tim Warren said.
Warren said Suffolk condos fared better, with median prices inching up 0.8 percent to $320,000 - the first gains since March.
Warren theorized condo values rose because some high-end developments came on the market in recent months, driving median prices higher.
Statewide, Warren reported median house prices fell at a 6.9 percent annual rate to hit $312,000. Median condo prices likewise declined 4.8 percent to $261,750.
Sales volume also dropped, with 14.9 percent fewer houses and 19.5 percent fewer condos changing hands. However, Warren said that’s better than the 20 percent-plus declines seen in July, August and September.
David Wluka, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said the smaller sales drop-offs show him that “the market correction may be about over.”
MAR, which tracks sales differently than Warren does, issued its own report yesterday showing median house prices fell just 2 percent statewide, while condo values declined 3.7 percent.
“We’re not at equilibrium, but we’re closer to it,” Wluka said.
But Wellesley College housing economist Karl Case is less optimistic. “All of the indicators - sales volume, prices, everything - are pointing downward,” he said.
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