Laurie Goodman, an oft-cited national housing analyst, warns that the U.S. housing market may be in a “death spiral,” CNN reported.

According to Goodman’s calculations, 2.5 million homes have already fallen into foreclosure since Lehman Brothers Holdings’ collapse, and another 4.5 million mortgage holders have “given up paying and are likely to lose their homes,” CNN said. Goodman said that more than 10 million of the nation’s 55 million mortgage-holders could default by 2018. If home prices fall much more than the 6 percent or so she’s projecting over the next 12 to 18 months, foreclosures will drive prices even further down, in a sort of snowball effect. [more]

Dr. Doom may be sounding the alarms about a double dip in U.S. housing, but most Americans still aren’t buying it — at least not yet. According to a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 7-9, 67 percent of Americans believe now is a “good time” to purchase a home, down from 72 percent who felt that way in April 2010 and 71 percent in April 2009. Just one in four believe home prices in their communities will experience a decline this year, though 42 percent said in response to a separate question that they are worried that their own homes will lose value. TRD [more]

The apartment inside 66 Leonard Street and RoubiniWhile Nouriel Roubini, the famed economist dubbed “Dr. Doom” for his skeptical take on global finances, isn’t known for fudging numbers, rumors are swirling that he may have inflated the square footage of his former Tribeca party pad. As The Real Deal reported yesterday, the one-bedroom apartment at 66 Leonard Street on the corner Church Street is on the rental market for $7,600 a month. But, according to Curbed, some outsiders are calling foul over the listing’s details. [more]

The apartment inside 66 Leonard Street

Until recently, Nouriel Roubini’s Tribeca duplex was decorated with glass globes suspended from the 22-foot ceilings.

“It had all these interesting bubbles hanging from the ceiling,” said Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Sonia Stock, who recently put the apartment on the market.

“Glass bubbles, which is interesting, because you know, he burst the bubble, didn’t he?” she joked, referring to Roubini’s well-known status as one of the few economists to predict the current global economic crisis. His foresight earned him the nickname “Dr. Doom”, a moniker that belies the economist’s reported party-loving ways. Click here to see more.

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The unit at 6 East 1st Street and Nouriel Roubini

“Dr. Doom” economist Nouriel Roubini has picked up a $5.45 million unit in the Brick House Condominiums at 6 East 1st Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery, according to Bloomberg. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom apartment — which features a 50-bottle wine refrigerator and wrap terrace — was listed by Halstead Property’s Richard Orentstein. The 3,600-square-foot unit has had a tumultuous history on the market, according to Streeteasy.com. The unit was first listed in November 2006 for $5.35 million, before its asking price grew incrementally to $7.35 million in September 2008. [more]

Economist Nouriel Roubini, perhaps better known by some as “Dr. Doom” for his accurate forecast of the recent economic downturn, tweeted to more than 20,000 followers Wednesday that the chances of a double-dip recession have reached more than 40 percent. The Twitter revelation set off waves, and yesterday Roubini called in to CNBC to expound on his eerie prediction. He said he believes the economy grew at an even slower pace than previously reported during the second quarter. And because economic boosters like temporary jobs added for census workers and homebuyer tax credits will disappear, he said, GDP growth in the third quarter is likely to be closer to 0 percent than 1 percent, which would indicate a double-dip.

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From left: Nouriel Roubini, Sheila Bair, Bernie Madoff, Jamie Dimon

Nouriel Roubini ranks first among “scientists and thinkers” on Time magazine’s list of the most influential people of 2009, but columnist Joel Stein begs to differ. “You predicted the housing bubble before it happened?” he wrote. “Well, that might make you the least influential person in the entire world. I predicted the Yankees need a set-up man. I guess I’m an influencer too.” Also of note on Time’s annual list: CEO Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, No. 13 among “builders and titans;” the FDIC’s Sheila Bair and Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, coming in at 14th and 20th, respectively, on the same list; and architects Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, 10th among “artists and entertainers.” [more]

Economic power player Nouriel Roubini, of Roubini Global Economics, appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday with Paul Britton, founder and CEO of Capstone Holdings, to discuss the stability of the U.S. economy. “A lot of the volatility has been repressed,” Roubini said. “Once the policy stimulus goes away we’ll have to see whether there’s enough robustness in private demand to have a sustained economic recovery. I’m skeptical.” Britton said he worries that policy decision in the near future will wind up being good for politics and bad for the economy. He said the mid-term elections in November and the campaigns leading up to them will each have a major impact on economic markets nationwide.

Top row, from left: Nouriel Roubini, Pamela Liebman, Joseph Sitt; bottom row, from left: Mark Zandi, Dolly Lenz, Miki Naftali

The New York condo market has nearly bottomed out, the commercial market in the city hasn’t even “tasted the pain that’s about to come” and, despite years of controversy, Coney Island will get redeveloped. Those were just some of the arguments that panelists made last night at The Real Deal’s 5th Annual Forum at Lincoln Center. Leading economist Nouriel Roubini also said there may be a second wave of pain during the recession and noted that actual job losses are even worse than what unemployment numbers reveal because they don’t include the cutback in hours and wages that a lot of those who are still working have experienced. Roubini — who earned the nickname Dr. Doom for his early predictions of an economic crisis — said that “labor income is crashing” and that a double-dip “W” shaped recovery is possible. In addition to Roubini, panelists included powerbroker Dolly Lenz, the Corcoran Group CEO Pam Liebman, Coney Island developer Joe Sitt, Plaza developer Miki Naftali and Moody’s economist Mark Zandi. They spoke in front of a packed house of about 1,500 people at Alice Tully Hall, with Fox Business News anchor Brian Sullivan moderating.  More

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Top row, from left: Nouriel Roubini, Pamela Liebman, Joseph Sitt; bottom row, from left: Mark Zandi, Dolly Lenz, Miki Naftali

The Real Deal is hosting its fifth annual forum tonight,
“Distressed Opportunities: Taking Advantage of Distress and Searching
for Recovery,” at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. The panel of
experts includes Nouriel Roubini, co-founder and chairman of RGE Monitor; Elad Properties CEO
Miki Naftali; Thor Equities CEO Joseph Sitt;
Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi; Corcoran Group CEO Pamela Liebman;
and Dolly Lenz, vice chairman at Prudential Douglas Elliman. The
networking and exhibition portion of the evening will begin at 3 p.m.
today, and the main event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are still
available at the Lincoln Center box office. For more information,
please visit the event page. TRD

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