People Are Realizing This Isn’t A Fad
The Daily Times reports from New Mexico. “The real-estate market within the Four Corners is experiencing minor jolts and bumps, but area realtors say the bubble has not burst locally as it has elsewhere. Roughly 75 homeowners listed their homes for sale in December but in March, the latest month statistics are available, that number doubled to more than 160.”
“Broker Valerie Uselman described the market in San Juan County as tight and swift in 2005. It has since cooled off but she said the trend looks to be reversing itself. ‘(Homes) are moving, but they’re not moving as swiftly as they were three years ago,’ she said. ‘It’s not quite the same now, but I think the market around here will always be good.’”
“The Durango Area Association of Realtors released its first quarter statistics on Friday, which showed a drop in median home values within La Plata County from $345,000 last year to $328,000 this year. The average home price in La Plata County also dropped from $425,000 to $412,000.”
“The number of sales dropped during the first quarter for the third consecutive year with only 83 homes selling this year.”
“Since 2000, the average price for a new home in La Plata County has more than doubled from $187,000 to nearly $350,000.”
The Arizona Republic. “The standoff between home buyers and sellers in metropolitan Phoenix could be nearing an end. ‘Both buyers and sellers are readjusting their expectations,’ said University of Arizona economist Marshall Vest.”
“Valley home listings recently hit a new high of 50,000. But housing-market watchers say many of the listings are sellers who put their home on the market last year based on price run-ups from a few years ago. Those houses are languishing on the market with little chance of selling for the listed prices.”
“Thomas Herz realized there was a glut of homes for sale when he decided to sell his central Phoenix home earlier this year. He originally wanted to list it for $340,000, the price he believes his home is worth now. But Herz didn’t want to wait months while it sat on the market and then have to go through the process of lowering his price one or more times.”
“He and his real estate agent watched as the comparable sales in his neighborhood started coming in lower. ‘After watching what was going on with the market, I wanted to list it at $319,000 but decided to go with $314,900, hoping it would sell faster,’ said Herz, who put his three-bedroom home in the Woodlea historic district on the market a few weeks ago.”
“‘Two years ago, homes like mine were selling in the high $300,000s. This house is a great deal for someone,’ he said.”
“‘People are realizing this isn’t a fad,’ said Margie O’Campo de Castillo of Arizona Dream Realty. ‘Listing prices have to come down for homes to sell, and buyers have to be realistic. It’s good to see it finally happening.’”
“Some people tour Europe. Some lie about on beaches in Hawaii or Thailand. And then there are others who want to unwind in a stucco house near the end of a cul-de-sac in Pinal County.”
“Some homeowners in Pinal County are turning their investments into vacation homes. They’re investing in high thread-count sheets, stocking refrigerators with continental breakfasts and renting to visitors who stay for a few days or weeks.”
“Xavier Johnson and his wife, Krista used to live in the vacation home they now call Mayfield Circle Lodge, but moved when they bought a new house in Queen Creek. The bursting real estate bubble made it hard to sell or rent out their old home. Then, Xavier started ‘thinking outside of the box.’”
“‘I was looking at him like he was crazy,’ Krista said. ‘I told him, ‘I’ve lived there, and that is not a vacation.’”
“The Johnsons had to invest thousands of dollars to furnish and decorate the Mayfield Circle Lodge. They’ve equipped the house with board games, high-speed Internet access, video games and DVDs. And now they pay two mortgages.”
“There’s also competition. In their neighborhood, there are at least a dozen other ‘vacation homes’ for rent at similar rates.”
The Sierra Vista Herald from Arizona. “National housing analyst Metrostudy is forecasting good things for Southern Arizona. With new home construction down 34 percent to 7,228 starts, between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2007, oversupply of new homes, due to speculative buying and over-generous lending practices, continues to decline. That is keeping the total of finished vacant homes at 1,593 units.”
“‘Tucson does not appear to be as overbuilt as some other U.S. markets,’ said Ben Sage, director of Metrostudy’s Arizona Division.”
“The analyst continues to rank Vail-Corona de Tucson as the most active suburban area, with 1,693 annual starts through the end of the first quarter 2007. It surged past Sahuarita and Green Valley, which experienced a 33 percent drop, due to rising prices and fewer vacant lots available.”
“By comparison, the Phoenix metropolitan area continues to experience a much larger inventory of unsold homes. Sage said, ‘one third of all inventory is finished and vacant.’”
The Review Journal from Nevada. “The W Las Vegas mixed-use project slated for almost 50 acres along Harmon Avenue was canceled Friday after minority partner Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide pulled out of the project.”
“”In a brief e-mailed statement, the Edge Group said its partnership with Starwood is scheduled to end and the project ‘could not overcome numerous significant challenges.’”
“The Edge Group had bought the land from home builder D.R. Horton for $108 million. The W Las Vegas was to neighbor the 4,000-unit hotel-condominium project, Las Ramblas.”
“But poor unit sales forced Las Ramblas’ cancellation and it sold 25 acres and entitlements to the Edge Group for $202 million in June 2006.”
“Edge spokeswoman Maggie Feldman said company officials could not comment further now but added that the group is selling assets including the land.”
“The e-mail statement from Edge also said all condominium reservation deposits have been returned to the buyers. The company had held reservation agreements, but no hard contracts, for 750 units.”
‘The sluggish housing market slashed first quarter profit at Phoenix-based Cavco Industries Inc. by 58 percent, compared with the year-ago period.
‘Cavco, which produces manufactured homes, saw net sales fall to $33.8 million in the quarter from $51.2 million in the first quarter of 2006. ‘It is very hard to estimate when manufactured housing will rebound, although it is clear that difficult conditions will persist in the months ahead,’ said Joseph Stegmayer, chairman, president and chief executive officer.’
I really am surprised at that. How can lower-income America buy a stick house at these prices, and not seriously look at MH stock. They truly aren’t your daddy’s trailer home any more. A close friend just bought one - 6″ walls, R-19 and R-30 insulation, Clean and open lines, feels and looks solid as hell, set in place for $107,000 on his lot. This is in CA to boot.
Nah narcissism rules. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a trailor.
I make 40k a year and I deserve a 3000sq ft home and a couple of RVs. What would people think of me?
You forgot the Hummer
Jay & Colorado:
and 2 silicon jell pads for your wife….for those of you that remember a thread from about a week ago!
Manufactured homes are architectural abortions. They are also, most often, constructed using cheap materials. You get what you pay for.
You must be in the building industry. I beg to differ. My sinks are ceramic, my tub fiberglass, my siding 50-year Hardi-Plank; 5/8″ sheetrock on the ceiling and 1/2″ on the walls. I’ll grant you the subfloor could be thicker (and can be, with at least one maker).
I’ll agree that the quality of construction has come around quite a bit from what it used to be. And, they are much less expensive than a stick built, and provide shelter from the elements. However, I enjoy architecture, and manufactured homes leave a lot to be desired. Of course, so do many of the stick built homes these days. I’ll take a turn of the century farmhouse any day.
Having just toured Cavco’s plant, I was half impressed and half just shook my head in amazement. Sturdy outside walls (2×6) and flimsy inside walls (2×3). Some nice architectural lighting and the cheapest wiring. Ceramic tile flooring on particle board flooring held up by undersized joists. Better than they used to be but they in no way compared to a good site built home.
Have to agree on this one. The quality of manufactured housing is generally much higher than site-built housing. Since they are built inside, you dont have weather issues, etc. Since they are built on essentially an assembly line - you get much better quality control. Plus they have to be strong enough to move on a trailer. Try that with an old farmhouse!
that said, most are ugly as sin. I personally like some of the new modern-style modular houses (like the Sunset Breeze House) but they are the exception to the rule, and not generally cheap
“The quality of manufactured housing is generally much higher than site-built housing.”
I’ve enjoyed a lot of your posts, including over at the Seattle blog, but this comment is just ridiculous. Manufactured homes use cheap windows, cheap doors, cheap electrical, cheap sheathing, cheap plumbing, cheap fixtures, you name it. Sure, there are some site built homes that do too, but not to the extent of manufactured homes. I wonder how you ever came to believe this. Furthermore, old farmhouses are routinely moved, much the same as a manufactured. Jack it up on beams, and load it onto the semi. You didn’t do your research on this one.
Quality aside, the problem with manufactured homes is that they go down in value. Nothing against manufactured homes, but that is a fact.
I should add, they go down in value even when stick-built houses are going up.
Isn’t there a lot of confusion here between “manufactured homes” (glorified trailers) and “modular homes” (houses built of modern modules constructed in a factory and assembled on-site)? Modular homes can cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars and be quite beautiful. Many huge vacation cabins fall into this category. The most expensive “manufactured home” doesn’t come close, no matter how expensive (one sold for a million dollars in Key West). The term “manufactured home” was concocted as a euphemism for “trailer,” and no matter how wide they build them, or how many fireplaces they tack on, they’re still flimsy. Given their relationship with tornadoes, I gather God doesn’t like them, either.
Not true. Most structures go down in value; it’s the land that goes up. Here in Oregon they account for about 1/2 the new homes outside urban areas and they hold their value quite well.
Mac,
Im not quite convinced that MH homes are all the way to go…..I would not trade my 94 year old craftsman for a shiney new trailer.
Only 94? Boy, that’s young!
Contest: Who’s got the oldest?
We originally thought ours was 117, but a previous owner (30 years ago) is looking for the abstract, and it may be 138 or 139. Can’t wait to celebrate it’s 150th birthyear.
I bought one in 2003 to replace the 1977 (funky) existing doublewide on the five acres we own (someday) outside Portland. At $50 a SF, set on a 42′X60′ concrete pad with block skirting, we couldn’t beat it. We wanted a place to last the rest of our lifetime, and we have it - with a wall of windows, a covered deck, a 4′x4′ skylight… we decided we didn’t want to work until age 90. The materials are the same stuff used on site-built.
From where I’m from, we call them Tornado Bait.
I have financed a bunch of Cavco products for buyers who were very often buying second homes, or downsizing. Cavco sales drying up doesn’t mean lower-income America is buying McMansions, it really means moderate-income folks who were buying second homes now are Not, and the ones who’d like to downsize can’t get rid of their other POS in Michigan, NJ, etc.
“and not seriously look at MH stock”
They don’t read or think. End of story. They don’t comparison shop. They don’t follow econ news, or any news at all. They sign contracts without reading them. They make up jobs, incomes, assets. They demand something for nothing. They demonstrate zero honesty or integrity. My fellow Americans…it’s embarassing to be one of them.
Ben, I gotta ask.
Don’t you just dissolve in giggles each time a new story comes out full of quotes like, ‘People are realizing this isn’t a fad,’?
Some of these quotes are the most inane things I’ve ever read.
Ben,
Hi. I was wondering if anyone had seen this about the “Flip this House” episodes.
Turns out reality tv is not so real and this guy Sam Leccima lost his real estate license a few years back for being a fraudster. Turns out, he didn’t even own the houses he was flipping, and the houses that were “sold” never actually sold. Oh well, as long as it makes for good televison. Here is the link if you want to watch the story. Channel 5 in Atlanta is doing a whole week on this guy and the people he defrauded. Enjoy.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3200981&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1
That’s hilarious. I am not at all surprised.
The Four Corners area is hardly mainstream America. Great if you’re Tom Cruise, good luck to everyone else.
I do love that part of the country though. Thelma & Louise land.
Valerie Uselman needs a brain transplant. It’s different here (in Four Corners), no problem, the market will always be good, even though the listings doubled from 75 to 150 in four months. My a$$
Emails Mr txchick57
URGENT! …Please Hide the KEYS of the T-BIRD from txchick57 and cut OFF her pocketmoney IMMEDIATELY ! haha
The 4 corners is mostly poverty and desolation. Other than Mesa Verde and Durango there is nothing there, except for the gimmicky 4 corners zone where the Navajo sell you fry bread and trinkets (admission is extra).
The median wage has to $10/hr in the 4 corners. How are they supposed to afford 300K houses? That’s way higher than in northern Colorado (about 250K) and the median wage is about twice as much.
Agreed. I used to think I’d end up there, maybe Pagosa Springs. But when I was there in March, I couldn’t believe the number of shiteous condo projects and tanning salons.
No thanks. I’ll go there and hang out on public land in a really nice tent.
It’s also ground zero for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome.
“The median wage has to $10/hr in the 4 corners. How are they supposed to afford 300K houses?”
They cannot. This is the reality in all bubble markets. A massive correction is in store.
What I don’t get is how did they get a bubble over there. Had we experienced a similar bubble in Larimer County the median price would be about 600K. I just find it odd that one of Colorado’s poorest regions had a bubble, while one of the most prosperous did not.
After glancing at Realtor.com, it appears that even slummy Cortez is more expensive than Fort Collins or Loveland. This is insane. Not only is Cortez a low wage tourist trap that lives off of Mesa Verde, its an armpit. Their median household income is 28K (per wiki), which is less than half of Fort Collins. I must sya that I am stunned that prices are so high in such a horrible place. At least in LA you can get a good job.
I was just listening to Clark Howard and he was taklking to some guy named Jeff that was complaining about his HELOC. Clark asked him some basic question about his loan(s) and he replied “uuuhhhh I’m not sure right now”. Reminded me of a co-worker many years back braging on his home purchase(s). I asked him what was the square feet and he stared blankly at me. I said “the size, how big is the house?” He then perked up and replied “Oh, it’s probably 60 feet across the front by 45 feet on the side and, oh I guess 10 feet high.”
No wonder we have a welfare system, some people should not be allowed to do anything!!
“No wonder we have a welfare system, some people should not be allowed to do anything!!”
Especially reproduce.
Margie O’Campo de Castillo of Arizona Dream Realty. ‘Listing prices have to come down for homes to sell, and buyers have to be realistic. It’s good to see it finally happening.’
Yeah, ’cause 6% of nothing is nothing.
While at some gut level I know spinning moonbeams into golden dreams is their stock in trade, it is just very tough to put the genie back in the bottle. Without the ‘make an easy buck’ greed of past years, buyers and loan officers crunching hard numbers are seeing that houses cost too much for incomes to support, and the nice, gentle appreciation that NAR forecasts is impossible. But they are singing soothing words, aren’t they?
But that AZ article was using March data to assume we’re near a “meeting of the minds” in anticipation of sales picking back up.
What they forgot to mention is that sales were actually off 10% in April compared to March.
So, if there is a “meeting of the minds” that meeting seemed to result in sales falling off a cliff.
Then again, maybe this was all statistical lies and slight of hand. It was before the sub-prime implosion, and therefore has ABSOLUTLEY no relivance on today’s market.
The artice should have been about how listings have gone from 48,000 to 53,000 while monthly sales dropped from 5300 a month to 4800 a month. 9 months supply jumps to 11 month supply.
Oh, and median price is rising because the slowdown hit the bottom of the market much harder than the top… so far.
great point.
Silver bullion was a better investment from 2000 to present, than La Plata properties…
And a lot easier to sell~
“Since 2000, the average price for a new home in La Plata County has more than doubled from $187,000 to nearly $350,000.”
“Since 2000, the average price for a new home in La Plata County has more than doubled from $187,000 to nearly $350,000.”
Heck, why use 2000? If they’d compared to 1950 they could have quadrupled or better!
Herz ain’t really trying harder…
“He and his real estate agent watched as the comparable sales in his neighborhood started coming in lower. ‘After watching what was going on with the market, I wanted to list it at $319,000 but decided to go with $314,900, hoping it would sell faster,’ said Herz, who put his three-bedroom home in the Woodlea historic district on the market a few weeks ago.”
A $4,100 discount means your crummy bit o’ stucco will have to be rented, as nobody will buy it.
Appropriate, given your name.
Check comments in that story. Someone looked up the numebers. The dude bought the house fom his dad 5 years ago for $95K. Zillow gives a Zestimate of mid-200K. His $300K is still a good $50K overvalued based on the pretend values. $150K above where it will be a few years from now.
“‘Two years ago, homes like mine were selling in the high $300,000s. This house is a great deal for someone,’ he said.”
No deal here my friends. Caveat emptor!!!!!!!
This a.m. after reading jmf’s post about the extremely small yield spread between Treasuries and junk, I posted how I was going to dump some Hertz bonds today. Guess what: NO BID by ML bond desk. Well, it’s a small lot. Guess I will just put in a limit order and let it stand for a while.
Sell em’ to Herz, he doesn’t seem to know market conditions…
Sell em’ to Herz, he doesn’t seem to know market conditions…
You must have forgotten to note the mileage and fuel level.
I’m sorry to hear about your problem. However, as I’ve pointed out before, there is a reason some securities have higher yields than others: they’re more dangerous. I’d much rather put my money someplace where I’m more likely to get it back, such as Swiss annuities. Or gold, for that matter, which is the ultimate “low-yield security”, for the corresponding reason: it isn’t going to default.
One person’s Pinal County is another person’s Penal Colony…
“Xavier Johnson and his wife, Krista used to live in the vacation home they now call Mayfield Circle Lodge, but moved when they bought a new house in Queen Creek. The bursting real estate bubble made it hard to sell or rent out their old home. Then, Xavier started ‘thinking outside of the box.’”
“‘I was looking at him like he was crazy,’ Krista said. ‘I told him, ‘I’ve lived there, and that is not a vacation.’”
Welcome to your own personal all bar motel…
————–
Then, Xavier started ‘thinking outside of the box.’”
“‘I was looking at him like he was crazy,’ Krista said. ‘I told him, ‘I’ve lived there, and that is not a vacation.’”
“The Johnsons had to invest thousands of dollars to furnish and decorate the Mayfield Circle Lodge. They’ve equipped the house with board games, high-speed Internet access, video games and DVDs. And now they pay two mortgages.”
————–
Sometimes, the box is good.
You guys are laughing (and I’m laughing too!) but if you read the article it says the guy has booked over 80 nights since February at $100 a night which seems like a pretty good occupancy rate to me and a pretty good rental rate for his guests.
Does one believe everything presented to them?
Sounds like a lot of work for 20K a year gross.
Yeah, but he probably doesn’t care, as he might consider his house an “investment”, and after he claims ALL of his second house expenses on his tax returns, he’ll have to pay very little in taxes - that is if he set up this “business” as a LLC, and files seperate returns. Wait: did I just find the loophole there? Set up your un-sellable house as LLC, and then when you default on it, it’s not a personal BK! It’s so simple! Won’t hurt your personal credit, won’t take the other house you live in, etc. SH*T, this could be a huge problem if J6P figures this out.
Pinal County really is home to several prisons. State prisons, CCA private operation, as well as I.C.E. facilities.
News alert! There are a lot of prisons everywhere. It is a growth industry. Arrest the “bad guys”. Then usurp tax monies to pay for their incarceration. Profit!
“The analyst continues to rank Vail-Corona de Tucson as the most active suburban area, with 1,693 annual starts through the end of the first quarter 2007. It surged past Sahuarita and Green Valley, which experienced a 33 percent drop, due to rising prices and fewer vacant lots available.”
Hmmmmmmmm, Vail huh? Everyone I talk too says NE Tucson is the nice area. Vail thats SE Tucson way out past the airports.
The part that bonked me over the head was:
“‘Tucson does not appear to be as overbuilt as some other U.S. markets,’ said Ben Sage, director of Metrostudy’s Arizona Division.”
Ummm, excuse me, but are you referring to the same Tucson where I live and work? An overbuilt sea of stick -n- stucco crapboxes if there ever was one!
Ummm, excuse me, but are you referring to the same Tucson where I live and work? An overbuilt sea of stick -n- stucco crapboxes if there ever was one!
Yes, we’re renting in Tucson, in an overbuilt sea of new house/units. There are areas of new houses that have been vacant since we’ve been here, and one area in particular of larger McMansion style houses where construction seems to have stopped halfway through, and it’s been like that for almost a year.
And still building Az Slim.
Desertfox
Yes Vail is way, way past the airport. The drive out there from Tucson is very unattractive to say the least.
Yeah, the huz and I looked at a couple of nice places in Vail about two years ago, semi custom, 1 acre lots… it was just a pocket of nice homes in the middle of nowhere. And I distinctly remember the large trailer park just before the pocket. And the “town”, well, there was no “there” there, just a two lane road with a dusty post office and the high school. Nuthin’ much else.
Limited brands (The Limited, Victoria Secret, Bath and Body Works) slashes 1Q profit outlook by 50%. Announces sell of “The Limited” stores to private equity.
I guess the secret is out…
Thong sales must be down, dam.Maybe I will go to the local victoria secrets and try to cheer them up a little.
It’s a new paradigm, and everybody who doesn’t buy, now, will be priced out forever. Anybody who does buy will be rewarded with a lifetime of riches, as their property will continue its 30% yearly price increase.
Renters, and anybody born in a future generation, will not be able to afford a $10,000,000 starter home in 15 years. They will live in tent cities, and Hondas.
This asset bubble is different than all of the others - it will never slow down, or pop. The gains are permanent.
I just chuckle every time I read “its different here” or they parrot the NAR’s line of “all real estate is local.”
True.
But the mortgage market, for the first downturn ever, is truly national and the tail wagging the dog is the international bond markets.
I’m sure every other reader has noticed just how many loans are sitting on the mortgage company/bank books versus two years ago…
It will sting when they finally start booking the REO losses. Something about loss reserves…
Got popcorn?
Neil
ps
T-minus 4 to the wedding! Don’t expect to hear from me after tomorrow until mid-June.
Neil, if you haven’t planned your honeymoon yet, I know this great vacation spot in Pinal County…
LOL…good one.
Congratulations, hope all goes well.
no popcorn, but I have some rice to throw over your head. Or whatever they give you nowadays to throw that doesn’t make sparrows explode
Steve W
Congratulations , party on.
Dont ever buy a home when drunk
careful with kilt and knife combo after the toasts;-) try to have a great time ( I really recommend elopment however, much less stress)
Thanks everyone! I will have a great time.
Yea, the kilt, knife and a few drinks could produce photos that I don’t want put on the web…
Although the picture of sparrow’s exploding had me chuckle. But I was really thinking of squirrels.
Neil
Weddding. Yikes. Gives me the heeby jeebies to even think about it.
I don’t even remember mine.
ps
T-minus 4 to the wedding! Don’t expect to hear from me after tomorrow until mid-June.
What no Bluetooth?
Congrats, and have fun on the honeymoon. Are you going anywhere!
We’re using *part* of the cash we’re saving by renting to go to Jamaica this summer. My wife wants to buy, but she knows enough about the bubble and what is happening (and will happen) that she doesn’t push it. The extra savings and nice vacations are icing on the cake.
Congrats Neil!
~Misstrial
Just tell us where are you going on your honeymoon?!? Pleeeease?
Ameracredit… loans money to car buyers… announced 20% drop in 1Q profit. Says the industry is okay unless…. dum dum duummm… we start to see unemployment rise. Than we’re screwed.
Me thinks they are screwed.
But they could start making bicycle loans. Seriously.
In fact, they could make their first one to the guy I met at a farmer’s market on Sunday. He had a nice bike, but what really floored me was the amount of money he had in to it: $13,000.
I kid you not. Thirteen grand for a bicycle.
And I thought Harleys were expensive.
I know that sounds ridiculous but think what some pay for a diamond ring. At least I could ride the bicycle.
I got my bike at walmart for $50.00. I guess I might need to upgrade.
Unless you’re Lance Armstrong and need a frame/wheels made from carbon fibre - then you’ve no need of a $13K bike.
Especially if he rode it on the street - those babies are normally just for indoor tracks.
You park it in front of your house next to your Hummer H2, and leave the price tag on it for the neighbors to see.
Just make sure you don’t acutally ride it though, those front forks will fold like wet tissue paper on normal urban roads.
But, I guess the ‘expensive pretzel’ look may be in at the moment….
sheesh….that’s 4K more than my car cost…..
Double what I paid for my pickup.
Two and a half my Jeep.
Down here in New Zealand they pave the roads differently than in the States and riding a bike is really buzzy. Have to have carbon forks or you’ll get bounced to pieces. $13k is a lot of money for a bike, but I just spent $3000 NZ for an aluminum frame/carbon fork Ultegra geared click shifting wonder. Get it up to 35 to 40 kph and the thing just sings. Had my old double butt Reynolds 531 frame for too many years to remember. It was time. Had sticker shock for a while, but it was worth it.
““The real-estate market within the Four Corners is experiencing minor jolts and bumps, but area realtors say the bubble has not burst locally as it has elsewhere.”
another ‘it’s different here line’ …
come on! … every square foot of America can’t be ‘different’!
You’ve GOT to BUY a Home NOW!…Nearly the only things that we manufacture in America are McMansions and DEBT.
Pleaseeee…I have a new baby Lexus to SUPPORT.
OT, Sorry folks. Again the question I have is what do they base a recovery in ‘08 on? I like many just don’t see it.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/15/news/economy/builders_confidence/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
hope
Stardust memories, of vegas real estate’s last remains…
“The W Las Vegas mixed-use project slated for almost 50 acres along Harmon Avenue was canceled Friday after minority partner Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide pulled out of the project.”
it may still happen, pulling out doesnt always work.
You’re right, a condom works better.
I’m surprised any of us is listening to anything a Realtor says anymore. I’m certainly not. It’s like arguing with a drunken mental patient.
What’s the point?
“‘Two years ago, homes like mine were selling in the high $300,000s. This house is a great deal for someone,’ he said.”
Okay, for the final time listen to me. The market two years ago was not real! If you sold, sure, but now you don’t have the suicide loans that you could use to off-load your piece of crap to a GF. Forget about two years ago…
Your home is what you can sell it for and close escrow on.
Who cares what you think is a good price, or what you think your home is worth, or what you consider to be a real deal.
Keep your house and the 5k decreases until you choke on it.
By the way, are those granite countertops?
ok, stay focused. haha
“Some homeowners in Pinal County are turning their investments into vacation homes. They’re investing in high thread-count sheets, stocking refrigerators with continental breakfasts and renting to visitors who stay for a few days or weeks.”
Alright, which one of you hacked azcentral.com and replaced its articles with The Onion?
I swear it wasn’t me. I’m too busy planning my vacation to Pinal County.
Hey, lots of people pay big bucks to visit real-life ghost towns.
No kidding! Vacation homes? Pinal County?
20 years ago that’s where crazy people went to dump their murdered spouses.
So what are these “visitors” going to do “for a few days or weeks”?? Field trips to the State Pen in Florence?
Oooh. Sign me up.
No kidding. I LMAO when I read this. I’m looking forward to a nice, long summer vacation in Phoenix, AZ. Someday, I hope to spend summers in Pinal County.
Here’s the funniest quote from that article:
“And in an area where hotel rooms are hard to come by, some of these new innkeepers are finding success.”
Gee, you think maybe there’s a reason hotel rooms are hard to come by in Queen Creek?
i would rather vacation in barstow, watch the trains?
Hey, whatever adds to his burn rate…did he finance all of the furnishings and toys for the vacation rental, thinking he’d make it up when it rented? Either that, or he’s depleted his cash reserves even more.
These $200K houses can’t even find renters for $900 a month. In Maricopa there are maybe 7000 houses and 1500 for sale. May as well try renting them out at $50 a night.
The only other option is to just go into foreclosure. So, it is a freeroll gamble. 1 in 100,000,000,000,000 chance of making it work. It fails, no worse than now when they are already $50K+ upside down.
Would turning a residence into a vacation home violate HOA rules, or even County zoning rules? Maybe not. I don’t know.
Since the article states that a bunch of other homes in that neighborhood are also being rented out as “vacation homes,” maybe the HOA board members are doing the same thing, assuming there is a HOA. As to the zoning laws, you’re probably right. It could be a simple case of everyone looking the other way, since the alternative is obviously a ghost town.
The HOA or zoning board might be willing to look away, I’m wondering about the fire marshal or the state licensing agency. If I can track down their contact info, I may forward this article to both.
I have a relative (who shall remain nameless) who owns 4 homes in the Phoenix area. All I/O no money down neg am loans. A few seconds on a couple of them too. They’ve had problems with the HOA and the CC&R’s stating that you can only rent 30 days minimum. No matter now, they’re all basically empty as there are soooo many on the vacation rental market it’s absurd. And not too many people are interested in coming to AZ this time of year. I told them leave the keys in the driveway and walk away.
There is a world of difference between Durango and Aztec or Bloomfield. Colorado high vs oilfield. Durango will burst.
“Xavier Johnson and his wife, Krista used to live in the vacation home they now call Mayfield Circle Lodge, but moved when they bought a new house in Queen Creek. The bursting real estate bubble made it hard to sell or rent out their old home. Then, Xavier started ‘thinking outside of the box.’”
Will someone please put Xavier back in his box? He seems to have got out again.
Xavier opened a Pandora’s Box…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora
Either THAT Krista or fed him with the OTHER squirrels
I swear I can’t get enough of that ridiculous “vacation homes in Pinal County” article. The idea that people would pay money to vacation in Queen Creek is so laughable I am having trouble believing these people are truly sane.
BTW, check out the photo taken in the gourmet kitchen of the ‘Mayfield Circle Lodge’. Who wouldn’t pay big bucks to cook in that?
*snicker*
Dad: Hey kids where should we go on vacation this year?
Kid1s: Disneyland!!
Kid2: Florida!!
Dad: I have something even better guys, how about a week in a Phoenix subdivision, YEAY!!!
Are you effing kidding me?
Let’s see, we’ve seen Denial and Anger, and will see Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance due to the housing bubble popping.
Nope, I don’t see Insanity as one of the stages.
ROTFLMAO too
LMAO!
The hardest part of the housing bust for me is deciding where I want to move once the home values have been lopped off 50%.
My big downpayment will go further than I could have even imagined last year
Yeah, but the problem is, 50% off an asset that is continuing to depreciate rapidly, is no bargain at all…wait until you hear the proverbial coin dropped down the well hit the water to know there is a bottom. You might be waiting longer than you think…
The sheer Entertainment Value of the PANIC and LUNACY in this RE BUST is worth MORE than some of the POS Houses.
I have a few places in mind….
hahaha…….this is the best quote I’ve seen on this blog:
“Some people tour Europe. Some lie about on beaches in Hawaii or Thailand. And then there are others who want to unwind in a stucco house near the end of a cul-de-sac in Pinal County.”
Yeah. They’re called child molesters.
Damn, I need to cancel that trip to Bhutan and head for Queen Creek instead. What was I thinking.
OT but a good microcosm explanation of why sub prime borrowers must pay a high rate …
http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6187_prosper_personal_lending_update.shtml
I wonder if this has implications for a “bailout” - even if the salvagable FBs got a fixed 30 yr refi how many of them would still default …
Let’s see here.
A vacation home. In Queen Creek.
Hold on — let’s try that again:
A vacation home. In Queen Creek.
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Nice close today. Last time I saw a tail that big was on Saturday at Walmart
Gak!
All my nice, chilled, foamy Frap…all over the keyboard.
at walmart in kingman i see the local girls showing up dressed up in pajamas and fuzzy slippers. all the local guys can be discribed as “big hat, no horse”
Damn, I guess I have to learn how to pronounce “pinal county” (or maybe not).
Asked my wife if she would take a trip to Pinal county and she started putting on my favorite Teddy outfit! Be right back!
“‘Two years ago, homes like mine were selling in the high $300,000s. This house is a great deal for someone,’ he said.”
Well, come on. Let’s just say at your price it is a good deal for you. It could be a good deal for someone else if you lower the price a lot more. An alternative is to get in a time machine and sell it two years ago. What a dolt.
“The e-mail statement from Edge also said all condominium reservation deposits have been returned to the buyers.”
Jeez, now professional wrestlers are getting into the residential development business. Who would even think of buying a home or condo from a nutcase like Edge?
I’d like to see a little follow up on those deposits actually being returned…
vaugest odds: 3 to 1 against
when prices were on the way up they used $ per square foot. now that they are on the way down they use average selling price. the top end of the market is getting a lot more house for the selling price. this is keeping the average price up.
Penile what?