Post Local Housing Market Observations Here!
What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Builder incentives? Condo auctions? Here’s one incentive from North Carolina. “Typically, it’s a free toaster oven or trip to Hawaii that’s used to clinch a deal. In Haywood County, however, one company selling manufactured and modular homes has found that a can of beans, your choice of pintos, green beans or limas, works just fine.”
“Two cans had been given away as of Monday evening. Gail Brown said they were both Luck’s brand. ‘But if someone wants a can of Bush beans, I’m not too proud,’ she said. ‘I’ll buy them whatever they want.’
The Arizona Republic. “It wasn’t exactly a big-tent revival inside an Arizona Biltmore ballroom Thursday, but real estate analyst RL Brown certainly gave a ‘come to Jesus’ talk to the audience about the housing industry. His message: Sellers and home builders need to get real. If a more realistic approach isn’t taken, the market will continue to slug along.”
“He cautioned builders to reduce inventories of new and resale homes, build more affordable housing and work to attract new consumers. Too many of them are waiting to see if the market will continue to slow. ‘The housing consumer needs to be re-energized,’ he said. ‘They need to come back from vacation because they are on one right now.’”
“Mike Jackson, CEO the largest U.S. auto retailer, offered his views about the automotive marketplace and the outlook for the 2007 model year. ‘Pickup trucks and their decline are directly affected by adversity in the economy. Declining sales (are) an indication of stress in the economy. Everybody knows there will be a slowdown in housing, and all these construction people are saying, ‘It’s time to play it safe.’ People can postpone.’”
The Oregonian. “August added new signs that the Portland area’s once-blistering real estate market is cooling off. Home sales volumes in Oregon were 20 percent lower than a year earlier and the number of new listings increased.”
“‘Our market is kind of settling out,’ said Marcia Kies, an agent in Lake Oswego. ‘House prices are holding, or even going up a little, but they’re not going up freakily.’”
“Pickup trucks and their decline are directly affected by adversity in the economy. Declining sales (are) an indication of stress in the economy. Everybody knows there will be a slowdown in housing, and all these construction people are saying, ‘It’s time to play it safe.”
First time I’ve seen somebody make the right call here. Most CNBC-types blame the decline in pick-up truck sales on gasoline prices. Hogwash.
I have this ad from the classifieds in the Verde Valley, Arizona:
‘Contractors home. Must sell! 3/2 Way below market. $674,900.’
“Way below market”
Should sell right away. LOL.
Actually should get bid UP to market.
How can a 3-2 be worth 675K in AZ?
Maybe if it was a 3/2 with (and I jest) 5,000 square feet of space? Then it would be a very reasonable $135/sf.
True Win,
I drive a HD gas guzzling van out of construction work necessity. I couldn’t even tell you what the gas price is because I doesn’t matter to me. If my van isn’t moving I’m not making money. A decline in truck sales is economy related and not gas price related.
Exactly. $3 gas didn’t slow truck sales in Canada the last few years…we’re now paying $4 and that’s finally making an impact.
We’ve been paying nearly $6 a gallon for a while now in Australia, but our dollar’s worth less than your’s and our gallon’s bigger. Call it $US3.75 per US gallon.
The only full-sized US-style pickup sold here is the Ford F250 with single rear wheels. They’re not common, but by coincidence I happened to be driving behind one a couple of hours ago; by our local standards they are enormous.
The popular non-car-based pickups here are the Japanese 1/2 tonners. People like builders who want something bigger tend to go either to cabovers (the Kia K2700 is very popular because it’s tough and cheap, but you also see Dyna’s, Canter’s etc etc) or to Sprinter-type tray trucks.
We also have GM and Ford sedan-based pickups, which are like the Chevrolet El Camino that used to be sold in the US.
A house I liked lowered their price and it sold. I guess I should’ve called Countrywide and gotten a sleazy no-doc loan. I hear that they will loan money to a trained seal or orangatang too. Then I could’ve bid $2.2 million on it with my sleazy appraiser too. Later I will buy houses in Dubuque and Ames. I hear Countrywide doesn’t care if you don’t have a job or any money or anything. Hell, you can even apply online, (a href=”http://my.countrywide.com/”>here you go.
Here you go, duh.
Yeah, it’s really easy. My dog was pre-approved for a no doc 500k ARM. My fish did swimmingly as well, pulling 50k out of his tank.
My fish did swimmingly as well, pulling 50k out of his tank
He’ll be underwater in no time.
My fish did swimmingly as well, pulling 50k out of his tank
He’ll be underwater in no time
Well, I hope he’s not upside down.
Thanks, sometimes you have to laugh about it.
Inventory in Pittsburgh continues to creep up. Here’s the breakdown for Allegheny County since June:
9,002 - 06/02/06
9,179 - 06/30/06
9,101 - 07/07/06
9,137 - 07/21/06
9,171 - 07/28/06
9,198 - 08/12/06
9,238 - 08/19/06
9,217 - 08/28/06
9,238 - 09/07/06
9,282 - 09/13/06
9,275 - 09/22/06
I have a number of real estate folks as clients; they all say this is the exact opposite of how the trend should be.
i heard Pittsburgh never had any appreciation because there are few jobs. is this true? if so, i’m surprised to see a spike up in inventory.
When you have a growing wealth divide as we do then a lack of depreciation in low end markets does constitute a bubble in my opinion. It would explain how we could have a nation wide housing bubble even though prices only doubled in a few areas.
GDP can go up while a smaller percentage of the population can afford homes. Of course we could always try Socialism to prevent the “inequality” but I’m not a big fan of French style unemployment riots.
“…we could always try Socialism to prevent the “inequality” but I’m not a big fan of French style unemployment riots.”
Correction. Employment riots! French riot if government tries to stimulate employment.
Appreciation has barely tracked inflation, but some sellers have recently confused the ‘Burgh with Malibu.
The job situation now isn’t as bad as it was in the 80’s. We’ve pretty much adapted as has the bulk of the nation, to a service-oriented economy. Did you see the latest BusinessWeek take on employment growth, attributing the bulk thereof to health care? We’ve got a health care industry that few can rival. To top that off, we have the highest percentage of old folks in the nation, and they don’t need jobs.
A recent issue of The Economist sees a bright future for Pittsburgh based on demographics (as the aging population dies off, it will have a lot of 24-40 year olds, whose education levels are in the top 10 cities in the U.S., and is #4 in the U.S. for graduate degrees), growing biotech and engineering industry, and the likelihood of a growing role as a distribution center due to low costs and available land near the airport.
Well heck, Jim, I hadn’t realized all that! Maybe I won’t move, after all.
That makes no sense. Anyone in the 24-40 year old range is highly likely to flee Pittsburgh. It was studying this highly visible phenomenon that got Richard Florida looking at why some areas grow more than others. Some kind of trend might save Pittsburgh, along with other rust belt towns such as Cleveland, but at this time indicators are pointing down with a vengance.
Pittsburgh has some nice areas and it seems like the market hit the wall in 2004–two years ago!–because surly income realities meant the housing bubble fire burnt itself out quickly in Pittsburgh because of the relative lack of fuel.
To top that off, we have the highest percentage of old folks in the nation,
Hey Winn-when the system’s spendin’ $400k for intensive care for an 85YO after a major heart attack the system’s toast.
Talk about feedin’ the weakest link.
The Brits have finally wised up and now offer just hospice and morphine to those going over the edge.
The baby boomer women livin’ to be 100 will eat this country’s health care system alive.
as cote pointed out in an earlier post today, the nytimes r.e. blog (cough!) “walkthrough” has closed down. i note on the same page the inclusion of ben’s blog as one of many of their suggested bubble blogs
i feel sorry for the nytimes — the truth about this bubble & bust were a bit too much truth for even the paper of record to handle. but i thank them for pointing us to a source that can broadcast the truth for all — especially new yorkers — to read.
Trying to paint this as an unfortunate coincindence?
Nothing of the sort. The NYTimes and the rest of the treasonous Democrat controlled media have finally figued out that the best way to bring down the Patriotic Americans is to destroy the economy.
The New Yawk Times never, never, never pushes stories without an agenda. Get with the program!
“Trying to paint this as an unfortunate coincindence?”
nothing coincidental about it! i was being tongue in cheek. i agree wholeheartedly with you.
Kowtowing to advertisers is an apolitical exercise.
The problem with this sort of statement is we can’t tell if you’re sarcastic, or simply unhinged.
Simple people dont ask themselves the simple questions.
If the media is controlled by Democrats…how come they are completely shut out of power…..does not compute.
And then of course most of the Media is controlled by multinational corportations….please explain to me how General Electric, Clear Channel, Viacom, and the Disney corporation are in any way Democratic?
I didnt think so…put down the styrafoam cup of Kool-aid that Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch are feeding you.
These two local ads have been running over a month now:
‘MUST SELL, Final reduction, last chance. $450,000 takes it! 3br 2ba. Vacant- can show anytime.’
‘FIRE SALE. 2br 1ba with 1/1 in-law suite. 1,750 sq ft. Appraised $419,000. Asking $349,000 OBO. All offers considered. Realtors welcome, full commission.’
This is a new one:
‘NEW NEVER lived in beautifully upgraded Mgf. home on 1 acre. Price slashed, must sell. $159,000.’
Unfortunately, the only thing to do is to wait a year and see what the market looks like at that point.
Rinse and repeat. Maybe two years. Maybe three.
It’s Lather, Rinse, and Repeat.
Oh, wait - we’ve already seen the frothy lather. My bad.
‘FIRE SALE. 2br 1ba with 1/1 in-law suite.
Maybe they would have a better chance at a sale if they changed the description to out-law suite? Truth in advertising can do wonders
Check out these incentives.
$50,000 towards closing costs or upgrades
Lantana at Columbus Grove
• Single-Family Homes
• Separate living and family rooms
• Interior laundry rooms
• Large masters
• 3 to 4 bedrooms
• Up to 2,803 square feet
• From the low $900,000s
Bellataire at Ladera Ranch
• Signature Collection Homes
• Private courtyards
• Downstairs masters
• Separate living and family rooms
• 3 to 5 bedrooms
• Up to 4,150 square feet
• From the low to mid $1 millions
Amarante at Ladera Ranch
• Signature Collection Homes
• Private courtyards
• Downstairs masters
• Separate living and family rooms
• 4 to 5 bedrooms
• Up to 3,817 square feet
• From the low $1 millions
Kensington Court These luxury townhomes in Columbus Grove offer plans that live more like single-family homes, without the maintenance. Call 949-726-1090.
2,125 to 2,685 Square Feet
3 to 4 Bedrooms
Luxury Townhomes from the $700,000s
Garland Park A collection of courtyard townhomes and condominiums defined by a feeling of intimacy in Woodbury in Irvine. Call 949-551-9700.
1,355 to 1,971 Square Feet
2 to 3 Bedrooms
Attached Townhomes from the $600,000s
Lantana Spacious single-family designs with large decks, covered porches and a variety of options for active and growing families. Call 949-679-1201.
2,417 to 2,803 Square Feet
3 to 4 Bedrooms
Single-Family Homes from the low $900,000s
Amarante & Bellataire Two neighborhoods from the William Lyon Signature Collection in Covenant Hills - the only gated community in Ladera Ranch. Call 949-429-6331.
2,744 to 4,150 Square Feet
3 to 5 Bedrooms
Signature Collection Homes from the low $1 millions
Floralisa Enjoy the charm of California’s ranch heritage with a hillside location in San Juan Capistrano. From the William Lyon Signature Collection. Call 949-429-5071.
3,363 to 4,437 Square Feet
4 to 5 Bedrooms
Signature Collection Homes from the low to mid $1 millions
Estrella Rosa Grand Signature Collection homes surrounded by the cherished California rancho lifestyle. Set high in the San Juan Capistrano hills. Call 949-218-6130.
4,871 to 5,507 Square Feet
4 to 5 Bedrooms
Signature Collection Homes from the mid to high $1 millions
*Select homesites only. 30-Year fixed rate loan / fully amortized. Loan to value up to 90%. Offer is subject to change without notice. Certain loan amount and program restrictions apply. Loan is subject to underwriting and approval. WLFS licensed by the Department of Real Estate # 01190891.
Buyer only pays the principal portion of mortg. payment for first six months. Seller pays the interest portion of mortg. payment for first six months. Some buyers may not be eligible for this program.
Don’t know exactly where these are, but AFFORDABILITY is key. These places, even with a substantial downpayment on a traditional mortgage, would cost $4-8k per MONTH plus taxes, insurance, upkeep. So at a traditional 28% front end DTI, this equates to a minimum of $175k - 350k per year in income. Builders can give all the incentives that they want, but these places are simply unaffordable to all but the smallest percentage of individuals.
Even in the Bay Area, this is only about 10% of all households (http://tinyurl.com/pp3cm) — and how many of them don’t already own a home?
OC, thanks for the post. Yah me and a friend of mine checked these out last week..well now the $1+ million ones but the ones around $600-$700K. This was the thing I told the really slick Lennar girl there was there is a total lack of affordability. You are starting at $5k/month with P&I, $300+/mo 2 homeowners, Tax of 1.01%, Mello Roos TAx of 0.8%. Another lady admitted they are having a really hard time selling the higher priced places but the $500-$600K ones are moving still. Insane!
What the hell is up with you Californians? Where in the name of God do you all get the money for houses that are son expensive? Is everyone a freakin’ movie star? I just don’t get it.
Is everyone a freakin’ movie star?
What? You’re not?!?! I thought this was the VIP blog!
ok, here’s a ‘reduced!’ worthy of note:
nytimes r.e. listing today: the asking price for the freestanding mansion on the corner of 107st and rsd in manhattan has been reduced to only $29M, after many months on the market for $31M. it IS one of the few freestanding mansions in manhattan, but still….
but that’s a sure sign that the upper end of the market is cracking. there are, however, several properties for sale for between $29M and $34M. until today, the $31M mansion was the most expensive thing offered since as far back as i can remember.
It’s Bush’s fault! This administration has …
Good Mother of God….I grew up three blocks from that very “mansion.” It’s a neat property, sure. Thirty million dollars? No f*&cking way!
KICK ME I’M DOWN
2/1 Rehabbed Home $43,000
(405)701-1546
What a putz! So if I buy that POS off him then I’m kicking him? People svck.
No, no. Just call and offer him 10 grand. That is kicking him.
That’s probably what he paid in the first place.
11… AND kicking!
http://www.555massave.com
a new condo buidling in downtown DC. “We’ll help you break your lease!” Also free BBQ on the weekends, and plasma screens throughout the building so you can watch football while you search for your dream home.
That condo building has been running sales parties for months now. Things must be painfully slow for them. Maybe the 8 other cranes in the surrounding blocks are scaring off buyers. Or maybe its simply the fact that the units are significantly overpriced.
San Diego has open houses advertised today at almost every entrance from a main artery into a subdivision tract. I like the little-bitty signs they use around here — it is much more discrete than having a bevy of competing 4′ X 3′ yard signs cluttering up the view.
Take some pictures and send them to Ben to put up. Ill try and do the same tomorrow morning on my walk around Sacramento.
Where/how can I assess Ben’s photos that you guys sent him?
Upper-right green box on this page.
In escondido open house signs are everywhere, including at least ten (!?!) for a single open house that was held both days. Also, most of the few houses that were actually sold last year are back on the market. This market is toast.
One more observation. New coldwell banker magazine is out for San Diego. Same old, prices ticking down. But one ad caught my eye: buy a house from this one agent, and receive a free 7 day cruise. I thought on what, the titanic?
No VA..Gone are the signs advertising ‘Homes from the $500’s, $600’s, ect.’. Some signs starting to show up in front of developments listing buyer incentives. However, there still is a buttload of housing inventory under construction.
Lots of Centex ads on the radio…its a buyers market crap. I pity someone trying to unload a house or condo in one of those 1000 unit developments.
30% off from D. Horton, in Florida. Existing owners must be pulling their hair out, as their get rich schemes unravel. “When expectations meet reality, reality always wins”.
http://shopping.news-journalonline.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=405282
Wow, they have a 3,000 sq. ft. model, was 323k, now 239k. That’s damn cheap. If they can’t sell at that price, their market is really, really, screwed.
That’s more like it; I’ve been waiting for this day; let me send this link to my crazy relative who just paid 235k + closing costs for a stuffy old 1500 sqft 3/2 and thinks she’s a genius; she’s got her entire family working on their newly acquired fixer-flopper. What an impatient jackass. Look Ma! A 5br 3ba 3000+ sqft for 239k plus Horton pays closing cost.
sorry…I forgot to add the free washer, dryer, and refrigerator to my rant…
Thanks vmaxer. That was a great find. I can hardly wait to share it with friends and fam.
Its funny, however…a couple clicks back I mentioned the housing mrkt was on the eve of a price war and here is the evidence. 30% is huge! Thanks again…
Can’t wait for Crammer and CNBC to tout Lennar stock as a “buying opportunity” Profits are being squeezed, sales are down, market share is eroding, executives unloading their stock, bad news everywhere, and the sleezeballs on CNBC will find a few more suckers to believe in their crap. Why isn’t the NY attorney General jumping in now with lawsuits instead of waiting till Crammer makes off with millions touting the homebuilders.
The NY Stock Exchange is scam city.
I saw another crop of “sold” signs when I was out and about (south of Syracuse, NY) on kid’s errands today. Things r still selling and maybe more important is that the new stuff coming on appears to be getting priced even higher. I’d like to say its the equity nomads buying stuff up but really I know several of the buyers in my particular town and they’ve upsized (just moved across town). Hard to say what their financial story is as I know so many who own outright. Still, after reading this blog for so long and seeing the dramatic upsizing people are chosing, I’m thinking they don’t see a storm coming.
Every time I see these posts of yours about Syracuse still going up, I just can’t believe it! What the heck is going on there that this could be happening?
A few years ago, a friends parents sold their lovely Brooklyn homestead to retire to Syracuse. All of the siblings were distraught, to put it mildly, as they’d been driven out of NYC by high RE prices and were looking forward to inheriting the Brooklyn place one day.
Maybe there’s a trend of aging New Yorkers selling out and retiring to Syracuse instead of FLA?! Nah, can’t be!
To use a surfing analogy, it’s the wave rearing up to a peak just before it breaks.
We saw the same thing in Australia in early 2004. Although the Sydney and Melbourne markets had already peaked, Northern Tasmania was on a tear due to (particularly) Melbourne investors and pre-retirees buying up at what appeared to them to be ridiculously low prices.
Some of the locals, especially people in building-related employment expecting the good times to continue, took the “opportunity” to sell and upgrade. Other locals were pi$$ed off at people on local wages being priced out.
Now in some of those towns the investors are hosed because they can’t get a decent return, the local mover-uppers are hosed because they have a much bigger mortgage than they did 5 years ago, and the local tenants and first-time buyers are still hosed because the investors are still pricing (for both sale and rental) above what local wages can support.
It is simple! They are in the twilight zone!
First of all, Syracuse prices probably are not going up. The burb prices are. My point was that realtors are allowing or perhaps suggesting these higher prices. I didn’t say they were selling at these prices. There are plenty of reduced listings. Its just that when something new comes on the market most (not all) seem to be based on the old paradigm.
As far as how are all these sales happening, that’s what I’ve been asking too! I’ve been shaking my head all summer.
We do seem to have a growing list of Long Islanders in my particular community. As I’ve said before we’ve got a retired Clinton speechwriter, a former ambassador, a Jacqui Kennedy relative, some minor movie actors and screenplay writers, LOTS of college professors from Colgate, S.U. and some minor colleges, and lots of old family money types. Bush recently tapped a gentlemen who lived a few streets over to join his cabinet. And this is in a community of 6000 people. So when people think the area is just a bunch of hicks, well…..I don’t think you’ve got the full picture.
Agreed. I suspect Syracuse is relatively cheap considering. I’ve friends that moved up there last year - paid $190,000 for a five-bedroom, detached SFH. They are NYC transplants and thought the asking price was a typo.
Upstate NY is truly the land that time forgot. If you’re curious what prices look like in an area of declining population, check this out:
http://www.grar.org/advancedsearchresults.asp?mycheck=true&minbath=0&minbed=0&county=YATES&minyearbuilt=0&maxyearbuilt=2006&excludeEmptyYearBuilt=&ptype=RES&pg=2&sortby=2&numofresults=20&minprice=0&maxprice=50000000&position=19&mode=view
Here in Colorado Springs the sellers are largely clinging to their delusions, despite inventories hitting an 18-year high and foreclosures hitting a 16 year high. Despite the relentless upbeat assessments of the local NAR shills, passed along uncritically by the GAZETTE, the leading indicators of a slowdown (not counting the soaring foreclosure rates) include slowing traffic in area restaurants. The few times my wife dragged me kicking and screaming to the mall recently, it looked slower there, too — lots of mall rats, but few spenders, even with all the sales.
The numbers for this month should be interesting. With over 3200 licenced realtors in a city of 400,000, not to mention all the construction types, we could be reaching the tipping point sooner rather than later.
Sammy,
We blame the developers in Colorado Springs, but our elected officials are the ones that are approving these urban sprawls in the country. They continually approve projects with no population increase requirement except for the “14K increase to Fort Carson”. Nevermind the fact that 25%-35% of those will remain in base housing.
We’ve got a little residential market microcosm under way on our block–we’re in close-in Capitol Hill, Southeast DC, in a great section of the Hill where for the past few years houses have never even made it to an Open House before sale, with huge numbers of offers, skyrocketing prices, etc. etc.
On our block, a 1909 house bought in 2001 for $375k(3 BR, 1.5 BA, two floors) went up for sale this spring at $679k, sat for weeks, got lowered to $639k, finally sold right after Labor Day (don’t know the price yet). Now in the past week two houses on the block have gone up for sale: a 3 BR, 2.5 BA bayfront 1900-ish townhome, bought in January 2006 for $700k, renovated (new full and half baths, finishing the basement), now listed for $849k. Two days after they listed, across the street a flat-front federal bought by a former senator in 2002 for $472k went up for sale, also 3 BR, 2.5 BA, but no basement, probably not as nice (but renovated somewhat before sale, it appears), for $749k. I bet the $849k people are having a heart attack.
If I had to guess, I’d say they’re both overpriced by about $50k, but we’ve had so few sales on this block over the past few years that it’s hard to say.
Will post when the sales (or price drops) go through.
(We bought our 3 BR/1.5 BA bayfront in 1995 for $225k. Hee hee.)
I live a little further out than you. Pay $1,750/month for a house the landlord bought in 2000 for $150K. Neighbors bought their’s last fall for $675,000. Hee hee. Keep us posted.
“If I had to guess, I’d say they’re both overpriced by about $50k”
$50k overpriced compared to current bubble prices right? Because I’d guess these homes are several hundred thousand dollars overpriced based on fundamentals, no?
If you live in DC, don’t worry. There’ll be lots of people looking to move right after the election…
here’s a good one. I drive 101 in San Jose daily past a new condo project in a lousy location right next to the freeway. 1st they had up large banners across these half finished completely forgettable building promising “Starting at $500,0000 !” . Last night I drove by and saw large flaming red placards in ALL the windows of the still not finished condos proclaiming SOLD ! I’m calling B.S. , if you’re such a success why the need to be so blatent ? I’m betting they end up as apartments and sucky ones at that.
Are these the “homes” right off of McKee and Julian? If so, I drive by those everyday. I want to vandalize those signs with the words “too expensive!”
Mo Money - Is your sister still trying to sell her townhouse? Any luck? I have a friend in Cupertino who has put her house on the market. She priced it $40k over what the realtor suggested. She said the open houses saw about 20 people each day last weekend. No offers were made though.
“SOLD !”
Of course that could mean a lot of things. Maybe someone put down a $1000 deposit.
Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida… there is a huge sign that says “DOWNTOWN’S MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING!”
It is attached to a fence surrounding a big muddy hole. It’s a new paradigm.
Awesome… I was in downtown st. pete the other day for the first time in awhile…I noticed “the sage” (or something like that) going up–didn’t look like the nicest views to be had. That area still seems to be hit-or-miss, and like downtown Tampa, the area lacks adequate grocery stores and Target-type discount stores within close range. Although unlike in Tampa, at least there are a few restaurants open after 6 pm.
The problem is that the specuvestors and developers weren’t thinking like end-users, because they never planned on living in these places. Look at channelside or any of the downtown Tampa developments–there isn’t even a functioning gas station nearby.
Done be misled by the 304 monthly mortgage payment.
Look at the fine print, you may have to click on the ad couple of times, to be even slightly legible
http://latimes.p2ionline.com/shoppingchannel/ss/index.aspx?AdGroupID=63864
See page 6 and Page 7
or here
http://www.affordabilitydays.com/
Wow, that’s some serious fine print. The second link actually gets somethign you can read. So $304/month first year, rising steadily to $3150/mo after five years. Well, that’s not a bad interest rate buy-down, depending on (unmentioned) prepayment penalties. Problem is, you better be able to cover $3150 because there’s a reasonably good chance you won’t be able to sell that house later for what you paid for it, so you’ll be holding that house for a while!
A can of beans? Is this some sort of sick joke? WTF are these people thinking?
From Long Beach CA,
The signs are out in force Today(Sat sept 23). Everything else is rather slow, but the eyesore street cluttering RE signs, flags, and directionals are all over the place. The sellers are desperate to extract the easy loot from their rapidly-depreciating POS wood and stick shacks and find the rapidly shrinking no. of dumbs*t ignoramous GF’s to sucker into buying for $500,000 a 60 yr old, 900 sq ft, 3/1 on 3000 lot in an aging declining r-2 section of LOng Beach.
Things appear a bit slow as far as economic level of ectivity and purchasing, but commute traffic has bumped up some as the price of Gas has gone down. Dtwn LA and parts of SCentral was a traffic nightmare. The folks may not be buying anything but they do a lot of useless aimless driving, like driving 1 block to the corner grocerymart for an ice cream bar.
LOOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE to hear it!!! We sold our 30 year old condo on 1st street a year and a half ago. From the listings I’ve seen for condos in LBC now the buyer has already lost about 15% on her no-money down, interest only purchase. I’d almost like to meet her now and say ‘What were you thinking? But thank you!’
Long Beach has a ton of condo and apts occupying entire block-long sections of Dwtn. Many of them are mid-rise complexes located as far as 6th street and beyond, which starts intruding into the shabby slummy sections imediately north of dwtn. That is the problem with having a condo in dwtn LB :once you stray more than a few blocks north of ocean blvd you encounter the riff-raf element.
The situation with LB dwt Condo development and living is somewaht analogous to the problems LA has in creating a livable Dwtn condo community: dealing with the dtwn Urban riff-raff.
There is currently a LB dwtn Condo glut, which will cause further price declines.
Why do you LOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEEE to hear it that she is 15% underwater? She bought it off you, you got the money, she’s not trying to sell it as a specuvestor tp try and rip people off. That’s not schandenfreude but rather just sick on your part.
Agreed, were I her, I’d feel shame.
Because people that have absolutely no financial sense really make me sick. She basically just closed her eyes and paid whatever not giving any consideration to the market.
It’s people like her that made me have to move away when I didn’t really want to, but the price of a single family home that I would have liked to buy in Long Beach cost around $1m when it should have been more like 500k. I hope all the idiots that drove up the prices there burn, baby, burn. They should feel shame when they’re all bankrupt.
Not much to report where I live, the Tampa Bay area of FL. I wrote last month about one area of my neighborhood where there are a few - all similar houses - for sale. The priciest one $399,000 has been there for a while and is still for sale, and the one I expected to sell quickly (under $300,000) has not sold. There is still another priced between the two, and now two more. Of course there are more in my neighborhood, I’m just talking one small block. Just the same, no houses ANYWHERE in this neighborhood are selling. I was prepared for this but it’s creeping me out all the same.
If you think that’s creepy, the article in the St Pete Times today said a 1.5 acre lot on Bayshore Blvd was auctioned off for $489,500, “about $200,000 less than what the seller had hoped to get”. Whatever sellers are asking for their property, cut it by a third or more, and that’s how much they can realistically get right now. Assuming it’s in South Tampa.
I’m in the Antelope Valley of California. KB Homes sent me a card offering $10 of gasoline if I would look at two of their open houses this weekend.
I went to realty times and pulled up my old town of Oldsmar. Here what the realtor wrote:
We have seen a real slow down in sales recently.Making this a great time for buyers! In the past four weeks, 16 properties have sold with an average sales price of $366,756. staying on the market an average of 41 days. In the same time frame, 168 properties were listed at an average asking price of $487,484.
LOL, it’s always a good time to buy - right up until the end. There are a minimum of 10 months worth of houses on the market right now IF no more are put up for sale. The ones that did sell were on the market about a month. The one’s that didn’t sell were listed approx $120k more than the ones that did sell. Silly BS, just silly BS
Roidy
-
http://iamfacingforeclosure.com/
“Casey Serin is a 24-year-old Sacramento man who bought seven properties in four states within the first three months of 2006. Even after selling a home in Utah a few weeks ago, he’s $2.2 million in debt and will be four months behind on all of his mortgages come October.
He started a blog to tell people about his experiences and his mistakes as a novice investor — it’s called iamfacingforeclosure.com.”
This time its different.
He has gone from being worried to being confident about his dilemma. Funny how this “investor” expected to get rich, or just simply walk away without any consequences. Doesn’t he realize that, “Privatize the profits and socialize the losses”, is a privilege exclusive to the super rich? Oh well, guess he’ll go back to stuffing hitchhikers in his freezer.
Since he admitted to fraud on his website, a note to the state AG would be a good idea. I’m sure if a few dozen of us did it, they may look at him.
Also, it may not be legal for him to push investment real estate (he doens’t live in these units) over the internet w/o a broker’s licence.
If receiving cash back for signing fraudulent loan papers is legal then many will do it. I e-mailed the CA AG and asked if it is legal. If it is, I may be making a trip to California myself.
I wonder if he reported the cash back deals on his income tax?
Good lord - the kid actually posted his income breakdown that he provided to the banks to request a short sale. As I was reading his blog (and shaking my head in disgust) he shut it down. There is a note up on his website now stating that a “business associate” clued him in that he shared too much. He’s now laying low. Ummmm….a little too late?
Uggh!
Here’s google’s cache of the page:
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:b3kNSdUaRjEJ:iamfacingforeclosure.com/+iamfacingforeclosure&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
I read his blog before he shut it down. The kid has absolutely no common sense. I am flabergasted, with his lack of intuition, that he got as far as he did. It underscores how sleazy the lending industry has become. The more I read about this horses**t, the more I want the federal government to get involved. I want to see some accountability on the part of these lenders, including jailtime and huge fines. This nonsense has got to stop.
Agreed! As I posted elsewhere today, my younger sister (bartender two nights a week and in college) and her boyfriend (construction - can’t pay $250 rent often) just got into a $575,000 loan on a McMansion in the Inland Empire with a buddy. I’am not sure about the loan specifics, but I’am sure it would keep me up at night worrying if I did. The crazy suicide loans I’am seeing lately to entice the bottom of the barrell borrowers are insane.
A Japanese biz man would have hanged himself rather than endure the shame and humilation.
Americans have no ballz when the end has come.
Went into a crappy Lennar model home in Bradenton, FL last weekend. Pulled into the sales office and the only car there was the Realtor and a truck with landscaping workers. The model he showed us sold for $460k last summer, now the price is listed at $380k. He offered it to us at $330k on the spot. The even funnier part was that there were at least 5 other homes in the same community (same model) that were for resale between $390k & $420k. I of course emailed the agents on those houses to break the news to them on what the builder was selling them for…..
Wow, a 30% haircut. Bradenton is almost sounding like ground zero. Looks like Lennar, KBH and Horton have all thrown in the towel now. I think it’s a little easier to drop the prices on SFH’s than condos even because at least you can make up some garbage (to previous buyers) about the lot is not as good, we used cheaper tile, cheaper vanities, etc. Thanks for the info.
Flic,
Which subdivision was it?
And I bet at that price, the builder still makes a very handsome profit. Their margins lately have been absurd. While I have never seen the home or development you mention, I am sure it is still overpriced and of the cheap cookie cutter variety, complete with OSB floor joists, discount windows, and shoddy workmanship.
I think this is quite funny. One of a kind, huh?
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/rfs/211029301.html
Oh my gosh! Look at that picture, the delightful landscpaing, the unique architecture. I’ve been looking sooooooo long for a place so unique and “me”, and now I see that my one-of-a-kind dream house is in Charlotte.
Oh, if only I could win the lottery, I could maybe call in the architects and custom builders and maybe, just maybe have something just like this built for me in… oh, maybe a one-of-a-kind town like Ashburn or Dulles, VA.
Yuck. Between Monroe Rd and Independence Blvd. Mostly old 1970s condos and town homes around there, and crummy schools.
It’s not the worst part of town, but definately a “low rent” area, that is converting to non-English speaking residents.
The only thing funnier than that ad is the fact that a similar townhouse here in northern Virginia would run 4 or 5 times that price.
Yikes, just looking at that listing reduced my property values by several hundred bucks. I’m going to have to mail another depreciation check right away.
Regular lurker, infrequent poster, but for all you Northern Virginia residents, here’s a key observation.
Owned a 2/1 condo from 8/96 to 6/04. Sold in two days with three offers (all above asking) Bought it at 80k; sold it (bid up) for 260k. An utterly absurd price — these were renting for about $1200/ month when I sold — with about $250/mo in condo fees and 250/ mo in taxes. These are old buildings, very well build, very well maintained, great location and great community. Don’t post this to gloat — I watched the prices increase about another 20% over what I got (I almost always sell too early).
But I keep an eye on these as a barometer of the Bubble — these are nice places and long popular with mostly owner/residents (~~30% rentals) but more importantly there are a 100’s of the 2/1’s and each is more or less fungible. One may have a slightly better location or be in nicer condition, but these attributes are only worth maybe $10-20k.
Asking prices now in this community are now in the $250-$300 range — at the higher price, units have been sitting for months. One just came up on 9/1 — still active — for $235k ( FX6174401).
There wasn’t a pre-construction specuvestor orgy here — just a nice old neighborhood bid up to the stratosphere. But the apogee was reached probably about 8 months ago and is now turning back down — and turning down quickly.
If you’re interested, look at http://tinyurl.com/mlj4l.
I’m not in the DC area anymore, but the bubble there has clearly burst and is turning down fast. I’ve regularly said that this is going to unwind more quickly than anyone thinks — and with a drop from peak in many areas of 50-60%. So for all of the Ben mavens out there, if you sold a “fungible” SFH or Condo — let us know how the old homestead is doing now.
That about parallels what I’m seeing in the condo complex I rent in. When I got here (Fairfax City) in July ‘05, condo asking prices were about $275K. They stuck at $250K over this spring, and just started breaking (down to about $235K) a month or six weeks ago.
Again, solid complex, decent community. Rents around $1300 now. Condo fees exorbitant at $350-400, not sure what taxes are like as I don’t pay ‘em.
According to the Carson City Assessor’s information, posted on their website, home sales valued over $300K are down 78% y/y from Aug 2005 to Aug 2006. Only 12 such transactions occured last month. Over 442 homes for more than $300k are listed.
Here in our Western Mass. college town things are slowing some. There are about 4-5 months worth of inventory on the market, but it may have slowed even more recently. Because it’s a such a small market, it can be hard to detect real trends. I would say prices have fallen some for SFHs, and most definitely for condos, some of which are priced just absurdly still.
I checked realtytimes.com and I would have to say the realtor with a report on there called it exactly right. But then things haven’t really turned bad here. The condos for sale are almost all recent conversions and the only ones likely to lose big money are developers and it’s there own fault.
I do see some foreclosure activity in the smaller, poorer towns. Almost every one had a subprime mortgage. But I can’t say it’s up noticeably.
The thing about this area is that there isn’t a vibrant job market, just a very steady one. There was never a whole lot of spec SFH building, and the few people doing it seem to have wisely stopped building a few months ago.
Just talked to my landlord here in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. He maintains the same-old “things are just leveling out” here even though I know he’s sitting on a couple of overpriced units he thinks should have sold by now.
His mantra is that this area was undervalued relative to the rest of Florida and so has just sort of caught up with a big run-up in prices over the last three years, and so now he expects a pause through spring and then continued appreciation at normal rates.
When I point out that there are 1000 new units soon coming on the market in a small area near here next to the beach he maintains that they aren’t competition for him because they are owner-occupied.
In other words, he’s whistlin Dixie even though I sense that he may be in over his head and not as far away as he gives on from going cash-flow negative.
He has finally rented the other side of this duplex after it sat vacant for three months - I’m at least thankful he held out for a professional (nurse) and didn’t rent to the first tattooed beach thugs with a cash deposit their girlfriend stole for them.
Just as a reminder, or a heads up for those of you who don’t know, August national existing home sales will be released this coming Monday, with August national new home sales coming out Wednesday. Fasten those seat belts because this COULD be the first time in ages we see a national median price decline across the board (condos are already negative, according to the National Association of Realtors, but SFH hadn’t crossed that threshold as of July).
One other important thing worth noting: Interest rates have really tanked in the past couple of weeks, most notably long-term (i.e. 30-year fixed) rates. Bonds had their best week (up in price, down in yield) in 17 months according to Bloomberg. So now it’s gametime — DO buyers start responding to these lower rates, with the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly index RISING as rates fall? OR does mortgage demand continue to slump despite the fall in rates because people are afraid to buy due to negative publicity, declining prices, etc. I think we’ll get a lot of answers to these questions this week.
http://interestrateroundup.blogspot.com
I will be sitting there Monday night (Australian time) with drink in hand flipping between CNBC and Bloomberg.
I will also be interested to see how the revised July figures compare to the provisional figures released this time last month.
For the last few months the revised figures have been lower than the provisional figures. For June this meant the YOY national median price change became zero instead of +0.9% (and if you think the NAR highlighted this I have a bridge to sell you :)).
I’ve been watching Criagslist for my area (Ballston area of Arlington, VA). The “Continental” condos are my favorites. The ads go up, expire, and get relisted continuously as if eventually they will find some idiot willing to pay up to [b]290 times[/b] the rental value.
2BR’s:
$635000 - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/210714228.html
$565900 - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/210784859.html (this guy’s my fav, he has an open house every saturday and a new ad every week without failure)
$479900 - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/210266406.html
$459000 - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/209378350.html
And some idiots think a 1BR condo is worth these prices:
$424000 - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/210255293.html
$389000 - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/210869969.html
This a very new building, so I bet all these folks are already underwater on their loans. I see different units appear and then expire all the time, so I have no idea how many are really for sale, but I guarantee there’s a lot.
I live in the courthouse area of N Va. I can’t believe these prices either. An Avalon apt property in Ballston that was converted in 05 was selling tiny 1 bd for $330k w/o upgrades. 1 yr later, they can’t sell all their units and are renting them out for 1500-1700. However, I haven’t really seen the crash in prices yet - not sure how much it will fall in this area. Everybody seems to want to live here now.
What is the deal with the Continental? It looks like the original individual buyers closed in 2004, but I only noticed resale ads starting this year. Were all of the original buyers subject to a two year lockup agreement where the had to the developer their gains if they resold? Do you know the scoop?
I’ll try English this time.
Were all of the original buyers subject to a two year lockup agreement under which they had to pay the developer any gains if they resold?
Here’a a quote from one of those listings
“9. Social Scene – Bars, Comedy club, Restaurants”
My reply to the seller:
Tell you what……go to the comedy club with your listing and tell the audience and if you don’t sell this at 459,000 at least you’ll get the notoriety of being laughed off stage
The market is slowing alot here in southern NH. The same houses sit around and there is alot more choice for under 200,000. Last year you couldn’t find a townhome or any kind of single unit for under 200 grand. Now some of the fancier complexes and few houses can be bought for under that. I look at houses online almost weekly and and can honestly say its changed. But when you look the area, the awful property taxes and the lack of jobs it’s still has alot more to fall to be considered a balanced market. There are simply too many houses at 250000-300000 for the lack of buyers. A 300000 house also comes with 5-6 grand in property taxes. Yikes.
Things could be worse. My house is appraised at 190k and I pay over $5k.
2.5% property tax in New Hampshire? Wow. What is the state income tax and sales tax like?
No sales or income tax in NH.
Property tax is main revenue source-the key is-just don’t live in a big fookin’ house with a view.
State is consistantly in the top 5 best state’s to live in the country.
Manchester NH rated as most civil and easy-going city in US by Men’s Health Mag. Orlando rated as worst.
I’d hang my hat there.
This is a note for Catherine about the Montana fires.
The Derby fire took out mostly National Forest that wasn’t heavily used (recreationally). Then it made the big run into the Stillwater River, very popular for vacation homes. 30 destroyed in a few hours. I’m thinking that between the coming downturn, the realization that homes can easily go up in smoke, and the not-so-pretty sight of charred snags, the Stillwater could come down a lot soon.
The Jungle fire hit the West Boulder area pretty well. I’m not too familiar with it though. Fires have been ripping through these ranch lands for thousands of years, so I’m thinking for most of the old-schoolers, life just goes on. Joe CaliforniaPack will be turned off by the sight of black ground, though.
Earlier we had a fire in the Emerald Hills area just outside of Billings. Lots of people got really lucky. You don’t fight fires when it’s dry and the wind whips up like that. This one just happened to run in the right direction. Otherwise 100 homes would have been gone in a few hours. It was pretty sobering. After this fire season, I wonder if a lot of folks will begin to wonder if it’s worth it to live way out in a tinder box.
A few observations from NB, Canada. A 3 Br split entry no garage 2 doors down tried to sell at $ 159,900. Sign went down after a few weeks. A co-worker trying to sell a 3 BR back split for over $ 160 K, reduced to $ 159,900 the switched to a realter and raised their price to $ 164,900 (why oh why did they go FSBO? they live at the end of a dead end street. I tried finding their listing on-line and couldn’t). Reporting that the market is “dead”. Maybe if they listed at $ 149 K they might get some action. Condos (townhouses) near here still being built for about $ 275 K, were $ 175 K when they started 3 or 4 years ago. High end house, especially with waterfront or water view have nutso prices.
Up in Moncton there is a house that was a few doors down from where I grew up that listed last year for $ 995 K and then earlier this year for $ 895 K and is now $ 759 K. The house is fabulous but it is $ 500 or 600 K fabulous, not $ 995 K fab. We sold my parents place there last year for $ 125 K There were some rash suggestions that we list for $ 175 or $ 200 K because it came with 1.6 acres of land but cooler heads prevailed.
So did we have a bubble - yes a mini one in some respects. I’m glad I only have $ 35 K left on my mortgage and not much other debt.
One of my best friends just closed on a place in Fredrickton about 7 weeks ago. He knows he paid too much but to his credit, he sold his prior house for twice what he paid for it so it’s probably a wash.
Dave from NB,
thanks for the update. I’ve been watching prices in Nova Scotia and cannot believe the run-up in the last 18months there. Talked to a realtor, who said Americans buy places right off the web site, without even visiting the place, and sales are still steady. Since there was a lag in their boom, I’m hoping the downside will catch up with them as well. No luck yet, though.
You must be talking about ocean-front property near Chester or somewhere similar. Halifax is slowing. In one 12-unit condo building near me, a couple of 2 bdrm/2 bath units sold for about 135K last year. This year three comp units were on the market for several months between 145-148K, none sold and eventually all left the market. Two of those recently came back on the market (with different agents) at 145K and 148K. Now a third completely different but comp unit has just come on the market 139K. None have sold yet.
Lots of houses sitting on the market for months on end with small downward price adjustments. The overall price stats are still supposedly going up slightly yoy, but I’m wondering if that’s just highend stuff selling better than average. A local real estate agent told me his listings are taking three times longer to sell than last year. He’s also lost recent sells when sellers wouldn’t negotiate enough on their price.
Thanks for the update on Moncton, Dave. I grew up there, and have to admit that I’m a little shocked that there could be any house there priced at nearly a million. However, it sounds like sanity is beginning to return.
I watch southwest Charlotte (28210) and it’s gotten a little interesting. During the summer, the market was healthy with climbing sales values and shrinking inventory. For example, it looked like the Montclaire neighborhood was about to crack $200K for every listing.
Now the market is diverging. There are some sky-high sellers left over from the summer, while some new listings are creeping in, that are underpricing the gains that took place this year.
The tale of the tape, will be whether this is a temporary burp… or will fresh inventory continue to show up at last year’s prices?
Prices are coming down from last winter on the MLS in western WA. There’s stuff in Seattle under 350K now (unheard of last Fall) and stuff in Bellingham under 200K (ditto).
It’s TOTAL JUNK. I mean REAL JUNK. The Seattle stuff is worth about 125K, optomistically speaking, and the B’ham about 75-85K so we’ve got a ways to go. But it’s a heartening start.
I’m in South Snohomish County. Based on the dozen or so open houses I’ve walked through over the summer, it appears as if prices have peaked and are in the process of flat-lining. I think the Puget Sound area seems to be a year or so behind Boston, San Diego, etc…
A little OT, but has anybody been watching the yield curve? The 2 year and 10 year have been inverted virtually all year. The spread has been widening of late. The recent drop in the 10 year yield indicates that the bond market is predicting a slow down in the economy. I think that the odds are pretty high that we are heading into a recession. The bond market doesn’t lie.
Yeah - of course, watching this blog sort of fleshed-out the “why” about the coming recession. I’m finally old enough and wise enough to connect the big picture… or so I think.
“The bond market doesn’t lie.” Why would you want to believe the bond market, when the talking clowns on CNBC with Kudlow/Crammer and the other spinsters
will tell you its a “really a great time to buy”
Inventory is up in central Connecticut by 50%- houses and condo’s- stuff just sitting.
‘Desired’ properties priced well- still sell quickly- Prices have risen under 5% in the last year. Begininng to see reductions. In the next 12 month prices will fall more.
I live in the formerly Innsbrook Apartments in Aliso Viejo, CA. They are now the Canyon Villa condomiums. They strarted converting them just over a year ago. The 2 bedrooms were going for $450,000 and up. Last week they trotted out signs advertising the same apartments as up for auction starting at $295,000. I think Orange County beginning it’s decent.
A tale of two years…I tend to ask friends in different areas of the country how real estate is doing in their areas. This from a friend in MA, near Boston:
2005: “Average prices have been going up consistently 5-10% each year since 2000. That shows no signs of easing. There have been no ridiculous jumps like you’ve had in CA (well, 1999-2000 was a 15% jump)… …at the low end, below $800,000, I still think the market here is solid. ”
A year later:
2006: “Housing market took a turn for the worse. It is decidedly flat to
negative in price with lots of inventory. Hopefully at this point all
speculative selling has been driven out.”
The Sunday San Diego Union-Tribune has a headline story on the death of the condo conversion craze. I have posted on this twice to the bits bucket today, but the posts don’t show up (maybe the Union Tribune has some cool way to block blog posts which reference its articles?). Anyway, just go to signonsandiogo.com and you can easily locate the headline story and the accompanying story about f-d property owners.
Oops –
signonsandiego.com
“With so many projects chasing fewer buyers, it could take some time before the inventory bulge deflates.
“It’s anywhere from 18 months, if it’s a soft landing, to five years, if it’s a hard landing,” said John Ed Easley, chief executive of Crown Pacific Properties, a consulting firm for developers of two large San Diego conversions.”
Did he just say five years? In print?
wash post had nothing to say insat RE section
need ad reverue or poof newspaper is gone
I overheard a twenty-somthing pregnant woman chatting matter-of-factly on her cell in the grocery store this morning about her surprise that her and her husband were approved for a loan to purchase ANOTHER home. I could only stand in front of the bag of carrots for so long…
I guess it just goes to show you that there are still many, many people that are just plain in the dark about how big this RE bubble really is.
New Canaan, CT. Average sale price for the first six months of 2006 is 6% below 2005. They can no longer say that New Canaan never goes down.
I just found out the young couple that purchased our home back in Alameda CA has just it listed for 599K.
I am shocked because they did put 20%down (with parents on title) and both of them worked with no kids to raise. I thought they could handle it.
I guess the high property taxes are too much, or they want out of their life long commitment after only 2 years…wow.
I wish them luck.
Yesterday, my husband and went to one of the rare open homes here in Reno, NV for the heck of it. The house was listed for 749500K- its a tacky 1980’s modern home with partical upgrades, and most of the 80’s still in it.
I find it very offensive this house was purchased for $579900K 3 years ago, and now the seller thinks they can sell it for so much more with cheap paint and haphazard remodeling. They can have it.
We just like to go window shopping and see whats out there, have no intention of buying for at least 3 years.
Our local paper ran an article about new $400K+ 700sqft loft apartments that are in the planning stages. The comments from the other locals were priceless. I’m always the negative one, but now I see lots of fellow residents joining in! http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=111399&ran=180764
They have a vote box, and the majority of people are voting no they would not buy there. Current median income for the region is $60K, current median house for sale price is $350K. There is a large population of Navy people, and I believe much of the Military is left out of the salary figure.
The job market isn’t that great, and Ford is closing down a plant which kills lots of better paid, union protected work. Once the military spending takes a cut to help save the deficit, lots of the gov’t contractors will also be hit, and they by far make up the better paying jobs.
“There is a large population of Navy people, and I believe much of the Military is left out of the salary figure.”
And the Military personnel are often moved every 3 years so they don’t get to build up any equity if they do buy homes which means they have little for down payments for their next home. It’s like being an executive in a big corporation but without the high salary to compensate for the cost of moving all the time.
Also with a large number of people leaving the Navy constantly it means that the area has a large number of people with some technical training and a generally good record of showing up on time and doing the job which keeps wages low. This was fine when living costs were low since you could still afford to live but now they are trying to turn the place into Northern Virginia or New Jersey without the same wage level.
OK, I just posted this to the bits bucket, but I think it’s worth seeing. Lender Network 1-2-3 has gone belly up.
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-ad-9_22_06-workers.83d6e0f.html
Austin Market……
Two regional builders emailed with offers of $25k and $20k off…
Big news: For the first time since I’ve been watching (last Fall), the Sunday RE supplement has NOT ONE article saying the Seattle RE market is “different than all other US markets”.
All year they’ve been printing the bad news about the national scene, and then right next to it an article saying , “But That’s Not Happening Here!”
Today, it’s full of the bad national RE news and not one article on the local market.
Guess their motto is “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.
I have been keeping tabs on the Richmond, VA market for the ~ the last year.
This one is on craigs list. Funny they are getting $1200.00 per month for rent on the property but are askin 270K—hmm let me see rent or buy, no brainer why would you buy when it is less tor rent.
http://richmond.craigslist.org/rfs/210843284.html
I have property in Oklahoma and when I first bouth in 2001 I was getting 1% of purchase price at the time. I get more now but unless you can achive 1% of cost of property, I don’t even consider.
Spotted this beauty in AZ Republic,”Brand New 4BR 3 BA 3CG on 1/2 acre lot Move in today 1500/mo 1 year lease or lease with option to buy $499,000.” With taxes, HOA, insurance and PI, you could buy this for $3400 month or lease for 1500 and no mtce costs. Decisions, decisions. If only they were all so easy…
HERE IS A PHOTO I TOOK YESTERDAY IN VANCOUVER BC.
Open houses today Sunday…..EVERYWHERE and one area I drove through, Richmond, had 8 of them in 3 blocks.
If you happen to live in BC I would not listen to the MSM if I were you. Lies abound but the truth is getting out now and the market has definitely turned