The Housing Bubble

The Associated Press reports on Virginia. “More than half of people surveyed in an Associated Press-GfK poll released Wednesday said they worry that they will have to work longer because the value of their retirement savings has declined. Denise Edwards, 62, now expects to work for at least another decade selling condominiums because of the damage to her and her husband John’s retirement savings. In the last four years, Edward’s IRA has hovered at about the same level, and the couple’s other savings of less than $1 million have taken a double-digit hit this fall. They also still owe $425,000 on a house with a market value of $650,000.”

“‘We just have to work for as long as possible. And we’re going to have to count on our (two) daughters,’ said Edwards, who lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington.”

The Washington Post. “Shirley McCoy stopped paying her homeowners association fee six months ago. She figured she was doing the job the association should be — filing complaints against neighbors who violated the rules, cutting the lawn of the foreclosed house next door and picking up litter in common areas — so why bother paying dues?”

“Ten percent of her neighbors in the Dale City subdivision are delinquent on dues, according to Carlos Labiosa, the resident manager of the neighborhood association. ‘It doesn’t look good when you are trying to maintain your property and you look across the street and there’s trash out front, the screen door is falling off, and the shutter is off the hinges. That’s devaluing our property. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who isn’t paying it,’ McCoy said.”

“Trisha Bayles, who has been saving for years to buy her first home, got flustered when bidding started on the house she wanted in Laurel. In a matter of minutes, the 34-year-old had agreed to buy a two-story red brick home for less than half of the $465,000 price it sold for about a year ago.”

“‘This guy in front of me said it was going for $210,000 and next thing I know the auctioneer is in the aisle saying: ‘You want it for $200,000?’ Bayles said. ‘I’m like: ‘Okay, sure.’ Then I was like: ‘Did I get the house?’ And then it was like: ‘Yes, yes. I got it!’”

From Reuters on Maryland. “Coldwell Banker Real Estate said some 25,000 sellers listing homes with its brokers will cut prices during its first national, 10-day sales event starting on Friday. A recent Coldwell Banker survey found that more than half of the real estate agents said listing prices in their market are too high to attract qualified buyers. Brokers, however, believe that, depending on the market, a price cut of up to 10 percent will be enough to stoke sales.”

“Kathryn Taylor is one seller who hopes that’s the case. ‘The economy. No movement for our home, or even any interest, just because people are scared,’ she said, explaining her decision to cut the asking price on her parents’ home in Silver Spring, Maryland, by 10 percent for 10 days.”

“The two master-bedroom, two-bathroom home in an over-55 community was listed in May at $458,000, undercutting several nearby sellers of the same model. ‘This is the first time we’re lowering it, and we really didn’t want to do that because we listed it to sell,’ she said. ‘We knew things were tough, but the home is a really desirable unit in a neighborhood that rarely has anything come open so we didn’t think it would have any problems selling.’”

“Taylor is getting ‘more antsy’ about selling. Her father passed away last year and her mother is moving to a nursing home that costs $9,000 each month. With stock wealth being roiled, ‘it’s getting more and more important to keep her afloat by selling this house,’ she said of her mother.”

The Maryland Daily Record. “The meltdown in the real estate and financial markets is accomplishing what the passage of time has failed to do: giving bankruptcy lawyers more work than they can handle. Filings this year are on track to surpass 2007. Statistics from the federal court system show that as of the end of September, all bankruptcy filings in Maryland were up more than 32 percent from the same time in 2007, for a total so far this year of 12,598.”

“Maryland Chapter 7 bankruptcies have increased the most. As of the end of August, they were up close to 64 percent from that time last year, to 6,965.”

“Chapter 13 filings, by contrast, are almost flat compared to last year. One of the big problems with Chapter 13 is something that would be an advantage in a better real estate market: It lets a debtor save his home from foreclosure by permitting him to make up his missed mortgage payments.

But that option makes little sense for a homeowner whose house has so depreciated in value that he owes much more in missed mortgage payments than the house is worth. People who a few years ago might have filed Chapter 13 to save the house are filing Chapter 7 and walking away, said Brett Weiss, a solo bankruptcy lawyer in Olney.”

“‘So many properties are underwater that people look at this and they say it’s not worth it,’ he said.”

The Morning Call from Pennsylvania. “In Lehigh County, foreclosure filings this year have already exceeded those of 2007. In Northampton County, they’re on track to dwarf last year’s mammoth number. Local officials were hoping the $700 billion bailout by Congress would offer more help. ‘We’re kind of waiting with bated breath on this new thing,’ said Lori Sywensky, Northampton County community development administrator. ‘Like everywhere else, we have the same issue. People bought homes for more than they are worth.’”

“John Rossi, an accounting professor at Moravian College, said he believes the bailout was ill considered. He expects foreclosures to continue to rise next year as the value of housing continues to fall, leaving some owners’ debts greater than the value of their homes.”

”’People are doing something very logical,’ Rossi said. ‘They’re saying, ‘Hey, I owe more money on my house than it is worth. I’m going to quit making payments.”’

The Post Standard from New York. “Central New York’s housing market could only stay in its protected bubble for so long. Agents say central New York may have become caught in the national undertow. After a tour of open houses in Onondaga County Sunday, most of the real estate agents and homeowners - especially in higher-priced homes in the suburbs - said few potential buyers were coming through the doors and very few were getting offers.”

“Dawn Moyer, an agent with Gallinger Realty USA, said 3267 Greenleafe Drive, in Lysander, has been on the market since last winter. The 3,300-square-foot house is priced at $289,900 - $35,000 less than its assessment. Yet she said she has resorted to giving out free strawberry smoothies to lure potential home buyers to tour the property. The owners moved to Georgia and are so eager to get rid of the home they’d consider even low-ball offers, she said.”

“‘Nothing in this price range is moving,’ she said. ‘(Homes priced at) $100,000 or less are moving because the first-time home buyers are still buying. They are not worried about the economy because you can get deals on a house for less than rent, so why not?’”

“Bill Hanlon, who recent bought 479 Brattle Road, in Syracuse, didn’t sell his Court Street house. Instead, he rented it, he said. The asking price on the Brattle Road house was $154,000, but the owner was so desperate to get rid of it, Hanlon was able to purchase it for $112,000, he said.”

“‘It’s always a hunt to try to find a house or someone in that position,’ he said. ‘I looked at it as an investment opportunity.’”

“Steve Engel, a retired dentist, bought a home in Florida and wants to sell his house in Sedgwick. The $319,900 house has been on the market since March and the Engels plan to move to Florida later this fall. His real estate agent, Peggy Fogarty-Cadaret, said Sedgwick is a unique, niche neighborhood that appeals to a certain type of buyer. Those looking for historic upscale homes have few options and, once they decide they want a classic house, will pay to get it. Thus, she said, she is confident Sedgwick will retain its value.”

“Yet Steve Engel continues to wait and may have to postpone his move to Florida. ‘I’m philosophical about it,’ he said. ‘All you can do is make your house as presentable as possible.’”

The Nashua Telegraph from New Hampshire. “Politicians, pundits and economists might be floating different theories for what caused the nation’s economic crisis, but city residents seem to agree where the responsibility lies. The majority of residents said the culprits were banks that irresponsibly extended loans to customers who shouldn’t have received them and the borrowers who took the money and found themselves unable to pay high-rate predatory mortgages.”

“‘I think the banks are responsible for the credit problem because they loaned to people whether you have (good) credit or not,’ said Pat Tyszko, 71, who paused from her part-time job working behind the counter at Crosby Bakery on East Pearl Street.”

“‘We’re all to blame,’ said a man who appeared to be in his 30s. ‘If you’re the bank, you gave me money. If I’m the person borrowing, I borrowed more than I could afford, thinking that the housing market was going to go up.’”

“Denise Beaudet agreed that lenders and borrowers are to blame for the credit crisis. ‘I think the lenders who made those risky mortgages and made those decisions are responsible for the debt and the mortgages that failed,’ said Beaudet.”

“Beaudet said people who borrowed more than they should have also share in the blame. ‘It’s not my responsibility,’ she said. ‘I made sound financial decisions. I’m in good shape. I bought what I could afford. People who overextended themselves – you made your bed, you got to lie in it.’”