US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

[jk]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

They tend to think for themselves in other matters as well, such as politics, are analyticial, are skeptical of the wisdom of the herd, have an innate distrust of authority, and are always asking the question: "Who has the most to win and lose from this trade?"

i would add that they question their own wisdom. they never assume they know enough. they are looking for errors in their own analyses, and make their decisions knowing they may be wrong. thus, they are ready to change their minds if the weight of evidence changes.

[art]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

EJ, what would you say folks who can get past that heavy emotional investment have in common? Are they hyper-rational people by nature? Is it education and experience? Psychotic levels of fearlessness?

What allows people to make good decisions when they're counter-intutitive?

I agree that greed is a component, but I think fear of missing out on a good thing plays a role too. After I sold one of my companies, we got options in the acquiring organization. When the stock price rose to 3 times the strike price, I cashed out. A 3X return was good enough for me. I watched the stock go up and up after that, split, and continue to go up. My friends who didn't bail out made 3X more than me. That was painful, but not as painful as if I'd tracked the stock all the way to the bottom as it eventually did.

I think if you ride something up quite a ways, you don't want to be the first one out for fear of "missing out" on even more. There's a greed factor, but also a "feeling stupid" factor that can be pretty strong. Luckily I don't mind feeling stupid :-)

[DanielLCharts]

Re: US Oct new home sales- Most folks dont believe the End of Real Estate Era

My lord, I saw the latest (or quasi-latest) Money magazine issue in my local library. Hilarious! It's so nice to know that they've pinpointed the exact time when the busting bubble markets will turn around(Q2 2008 fellas, get your checkbooks ready!), that midwestern real estate is bound to shoot up this year, and the stock market is "the place to be" in 2007! Thanks Money magazine!

[JD_]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

What is the implied negativism with regard to those said to be drinking kool-aid? And how did such become a part of our culture? Serious questions.

Jim,

Drinking kool-aid is a reference to the Jonestown Massacre of 1978.

"Jim Jones called a meeting under the pavilion as night fell. It was another “white night,” which had been rehearsed before, but this time, Doctor Laurence Schacht, Nurse Annie Moore, and others mixed cyanide and Valium into a metal vat full of grape Flavor Aid. It was extremely effective, causing death within about five minutes. No one who drank the poison that evening survived."

It basically means you do something without much questioning that ends up having a nasty consequence. Probably too old a historical reference for some of the younger posters who wonder what kool-aid has to do with some jungle camp in Guyana but it's been a part of the culture since that time.

JD

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

Jim,

Drinking kool-aid is a reference to the Jonestown Massacre of 1978.

"Jim Jones called a meeting under the pavilion as night fell. It was another “white night,” which had been rehearsed before, but this time, Doctor Laurence Schacht, Nurse Annie Moore, and others mixed cyanide and Valium into a metal vat full of grape Flavor Aid. It was extremely effective, causing death within about five minutes. No one who drank the poison that evening survived."

It basically means you do something without much questioning that ends up having a nasty consequence. Probably too old a historical reference for some of the younger posters who wonder what kool-aid has to do with some jungle camp in Guyana but it's been a part of the culture since that time.

JD

Thank you, JD.

Of course this is all off the tread topic, but someone also sent me a private email to clue me in re: kool-aid. I was 37 when that happened, and in the circles in which I moved I never heard anyone use the characterization of others as being kool-aid drinkers. If one watches Fox News' O'Reilly, which I used to occasionally do, he used the term frequently. I use "gullible" instead.

A few nights back I watched a brief account of a 91 year old man and one of the things it mentioned was how he is adept with a computer and the internet. I know people my age and certainly older that have no idea of how to use a computer. This made me wonder what technologies exist today that would set one in their 70's, 80's or 90's apart from the crowd. I almost never use a cell phone and do not have a iPod or Zune, Sirius or XM radios, GPS, Palm, PlayStation, or Xbox. The question: Am I missing out on anything that truly opens the world to one as has the computer and the internet, and which without will really set me apart as an old fogey as I hope I continue to grow older?

[jk]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

I almost never use a cell phone and do not have a iPod or Zune, Sirius or XM radios, GPS, Palm, PlayStation, or Xbox. The question: Am I missing out on anything that truly opens the world to one as has the computer and the internet, and which without will really set me apart as an old fogey as I hope I continue to grow older?

my $.02-
1. a cellphone is really handy in coordinating actions/meetings between people who are not in fixed locations.
2. a hand-held gps is useful if you like going to out of the way but remarkable wilderness locations.

[WDCRob]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

I think my iPod is the coolest thing I've ever owned, and I say that having had it for three years now. It hasn't grown old. If you love music and are willing to invest the time to convert your CDs into a digital format, you'll never regret it. FWIW

[spunky]

Re: US Oct new home sales slip, but prices rise

Jim:


I didnt have a cell till I was 36. I left my wife 4 yrs ago and had to get a phone number for work. I quit playing video games in 1985, and dont own any fancy electronic euipment. I have a plain ole 27 " tv.

Not all of us all lemmings being led over the cliff :cool: