During the 30 days leading up to the writing of this Newsletter, I read and collect a lot of articles, then decide which ones I am interested in sharing with you.

When it comes to our housing market, here are the headlines of some of these articles:

1. October 3 - Home Affordability Sinks as Housing Slows

2. October 11 - Median-income buyers can afford only 24% of Los Angeles properties

3. October 17 - Southland home prices remain flat

4. October 20 - 30% down payment proposal draws fire

5. October 22 - Home sales slow amid declining affordability

6. October 30 - Rate of home price gains eases

You don't need to read the story behind the headline to see a commonality here - essentially, the relationship between a person's income and his ability to buy a home. That ratio is not a healthy one for him, the housing market and our economy. Something has to give, don't you think?

On October 9, the National Federation of Independent Business published a report basically saying that small-business owners were more pessimistic in September than they were in August about the economy's outlook.

"Prospects for politicians and policymakers getting it right are low, and job creators are rolling their eyes and shaking their heads, thinking this is certainly not the way to run the largest enterprise in the world. The problems implementing the new healthcare law and the continual "manufactured" crises in Washington probably would keep consumers and small business-owners pessimistic about economic growth."

Capping this off are some statistics provided by the Case-Shiller Index of home prices in 20 large metro areas in the United States.

This is a monthly report tracking home prices.The 20 city composite was up 12.8% in August 2013 from a year earlier. This is the fastest rise on a year over year basis since February 2006, the report says.

Here are the 20 cities in this report and their home price change from August 2012-August 2013:

1. Las Vegas                +29.20%

2. San Francisco          +25.40%

3. Los Angeles             +21.70%

4. San Diego                +21.50%

5. Phoenix                   +18.60%

6. Atlanta                    +18.40%

7. Detroit                     +16.40%

8. Tampa                     +14.10%

9. Miami                      +13.50%

10. Seattle                   +13.20%

11. Portland                 +13.00%

12. Minneapolis            +10.20%

13. Denver                   +10.10%

14. Dallas                       +9.00%

15. Chicago                    +8.70%

16. Charlotte                  +7.30%

17. Boston                      +6.30%

18. Washington D.C.       +6.30%

19. Cleveland                 +3.70%

20. New York                  +3.60%

It's early November now and this report lags behind current activity. But, their point is that the rate of increase is slowing. I am sure folks who are confronted with the affordability issue are comforted by this fact!

Because of these issues, owner carryback activity is high. Sellers need to sell. Buyers need to buy. Simple as that. And as a consequence, as I speak to sellers interested in selling their notes for cash, many of them are structuring sound transactions - healthy downpayment, higher interest rate, learning more about their buyer, etc. These folks will command less of a discount and be pleased with the cash they receive for their notes.

Most importantly, they are playing a significant role in allowing buyers to skirt the headlines and get into a home.

Isn't this exactly what our housing market needs?

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"If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality."... Norman Cousins

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                       Want Larry Bird's House?

In the 1980's, I was a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Lakers. The highlight of the regular season was a Sunday noon nationally televised game with the Boston Celtics. I got goosebumps watching Larry Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin Mchale running out of the locker room onto the Forum floor. It was electric. The two best teams in professional basketball going head to head and trying to send a message that says "we'll see you in the NBA Finals."

You may/may not be a basketball fan. But, Larry Bird, an amazing player for the Celtics during that era, has his Florida home for sale. Asking price is $4.8 million. To view the 17 photos, go to www.Trulia.com and enter 308 Neapolitan Way, Naples, Florida 34103.

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"We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction."

                                            General Douglas MacArthur

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                                  More Losses

The nation's biggest banks keep making headlines. They either are reporting record profits or increasing their estimate of legal costs incurred for bad behavior in the mortgage/housing meltdown.

Bank of America, in a regulatory filing at the end of the 2nd quarter, estimated it's legal costs at $2.8 billion. In it's 3rd quarter filing, B of A raised that estimate to a staggering $5.1 billion!

If you are a customer, stay tuned for some new fees that their numbers guys will come up with.

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James Bozeman Jr., 67, won a $10 million lottery jackpot in 2012 with a ticket he bought from a 7-Eleven in Edgewood, Florida. This past August, he won a $3 million lottery with a ticket purchased at the same 7-Eleven.

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                              More Neologism

The Washington Post published submissions in which readers give alternative meanings to common words, or alter the words. I shared some of these in the October Newsletter. Here are a few more:

Lymph - to walk with a lisp.

Gargoyle - olive-flavored mouthwash.

Cashtration - the act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

Giraffiti - vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

Osteopornosis - a degenerate disease.

Glibido - all talk and no action.

Arachnoleptic Fit - the frantic dance performed just after you have accidentally walked through a spider web.

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                              Apology Update

In last month's issue I mentioned a situation where I acted very rudely, realized I owed this person an apology, and would do so next time I saw him.

We saw each other a few weeks ago. The first words out of my mouth were "I owe you an apology." He looked surprised and said "Okay." I wasn't sure what his response meant. When I revisited the incident and asked for his forgiveness, he said " I didn't think anything of it. I guess I didn't see the situation the way you did. You evaluated yourself, wow. I accept your apology."

This led to a 20 minute conversation about his past drug addiction, learning acceptance, being tolerant of other people, etc. It was the best connecting conversation I had in a long time. Made my day.

Who knew that an apology would be the highlight of my week?

If you enjoyed this Newsletter, tell a friend.

If you know how I can make it better, tell me.

Thanks for reading.

 Denny Stanz

CA Broker # 01915404