Snapshot: Further Evidence Of A Weakening Trend
The Buffalo News reports from New York. “Fewer homes changed hands in the Buffalo Niagara region in July, prices fell, and the number of homes available for sale dropped as the hot local housing market appeared to stall in early summer. Stan Palczewski and his fiancée, Jennifer Lowell, are selling their two houses in Ashford and Cheektowaga, respectively, and buying a third one in Eden to move in together. They listed their separate homes in late May, with Lowell’s home finally going under contract last month. Palczewski’s has been on the market for $125,000 with no luck since the first few days. ‘It is quite frustrating,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand. You hear that it’s a sellers market, and I’m not seeing it here.’”
The News Journal in Delaware. “Edward C. Ratledge, a University of Delaware professor, said annual building permit activity bottomed out a few years ago and has increased since, but only to about half the more than 8,000-unit peak before the recession. About 3.2 percent of the state’s mortgages are in foreclosure, Ratledge said, down from a peak of about 4 percent but still far above 1 percent rate pre-recession. ‘I haven’t looked at it thoroughly, but it appears that a lot of developers that had land also had options that would run out if they didn’t do something,’ Ratledge said. ‘Some of they may have started building, but building things that sell at considerably lower prices than what they were selling before.’”
The Seattle PI in Washington. “After surging to a record in July, Seattle’s median house price settled down a bit last month. August’s median sales price was $499,950, down 8 percent from July’s record of $543,500. Some of the dropoff in sales may be due to people getting frustrated with not being able to find a home to buy, or getting outbid by other buyers, and deciding to sit on the sidelines, said Stephen O’Connor, director of the Runstad Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. ‘People are kind of exhausted.’”
The Arizona Republic. “Metro Phoenix’s housing market didn’t heat up in July. Both sales and prices dipped. The housing market’s moderate slowing is proof another housing bubble isn’t about to pop anytime soon in the Phoenix area, said Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at W.P. Carey. ‘Usually when demand is weak for an extended period, supply starts to grow, as it did in the second half of 2005 and throughout 2006 and 2007, heralding the collapse of the housing bubble,’ he said. ‘However, this summer, supply is slowly weakening. It appears that the lack of enthusiasm among buyers has spread to sellers, instead of causing them to panic. Many sellers clearly have the patience to wait for better times and are unwilling to drop prices to dispose of their homes.’”
The Bakersfield Californian. “Bakersfield’s residential real estate market continued to weaken in August, further shifting from a sellers’ market to one favoring buyers, according to appraiser and local housing observer Gary Crabtree. As further evidence of what he called a ‘weakening trend,’ Crabtree noted that sellers overall accepted less money than what they originally asked for. ‘All of this, in spite of continued declining mortgage rates,’ he wrote in a note accompanying the report. ‘I have noticed that more sales are now requiring seller concessions to consummate the sale, indicating the buyers are losing purchasing power and need financial assistance just to pay closing costs.’”
The Ottawa Citizen in Canada. “Six months ago, Diane Osborne put her parents’ Ottawa condominium apartment on the market for $209,900. Today, the asking price for the second-floor unit is $189,900 and ‘all reasonable offers shall be considered.’ So far, there have been no offers, reasonable or otherwise. Mark Hartley keeps a close watch on the condo market, both as an agent in Kanata and as an owner, with his wife, of a pair of downtown rental units. ‘We had ours appraised about two or three years at about $300,000 or so, and we just had them appraised again a year ago at $260,000,’ he reports.”
“And the market keeps getting softer. Condo sales across the city were down 19 per cent in August from the same month a year earlier, the Ottawa Real Estate Board reported.”
NTD TV on China. “According to Chinese media, property sectors in China are facing a serious financial crisis. Over 40% of property sectors’ debt ratio has exceeded 100%. Some companies’ Net Gearing Ratio increased to over 300%. In China’s second and third tier cities, ghost towns are everywhere. Recently, a director of property management bureau has published an article in Xinhua website. He said that the quantity of houses in newly designed areas is scary. According to national statistics, at the end of last year, projects of new cities in new areas can take a 3.4 billion population. To add up an existed 7.3 billion populations in urban areas. It reaches 4 billion populations in total. It means China’s cities can take over 50% of the global population.”
“Niu Dao, China-based economic commentator: ‘That’s all of its purchasing ability. Once the purchasing ability is consumed out, it will collapse. It happens sooner or later. The Chinese Communist Party has difficulty sustaining itself. If it cannot carry on, it should hand over to other people. But it won’t do so. If you kill me I will kill you, the entire society is at unrest.’”
“Now property developers are escaping because of fund chains being broken. Tragedies of jumping off the buildings often happened, incidents of owners of properties going for appeal is taking place one after another.”
China housing for everyone!
“According to national statistics, at the end of last year, projects of new cities in new areas can take a 3.4 billion population. To add up an existed 7.3 billion populations in urban areas. It reaches 4 billion populations in total. It means China’s cities can take over 50% of the global population.”
The numbers in that passage don’t really add up, but they seem to suggest on the order of 3bn plus empty new housing units in China. Is that figure plausible? If so, what is to become of so many empty domiciles in a closed country?
how can they possibly build that many units? incredible
Greatest financial mania in the history of mankind, and the MSM is almost entirely missing it (60 Minutes excepted). How can they persistently ignore this story?
About a lifetime ago, the media ignored the intentional starvation of 30 million people in China. It wasn’t a secret, it just wasn’t part of the media script.
Do you know that 40,000 people were murdered in Sri Lanka in late 2008 and early 2009?
Did you know that the United Nations was involved in this one, too?
Most people know nothing about this.
It, too, wasn’t (and isn’t) part of the media script.
on the order of 3bn plus empty new housing units
“On the order of” is right. They probably want to cram 6-7 people in a unit, which is about 500 million units, which still sounds impossible. Aren’t there something like 100 million units in the entire US?
And what are all these people gonna drink? Or eat? I’ve heard stories that the Chinese don’t have enough bees, so they pollinate fruit trees by hand. It sounds like a little thing, but it’s a staggering thought.
130 million . 25 million of which are empty excess or defaulted.
‘The state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) is considering a loan repayment extension for 360,000 rubber growers to alleviate their financial burden caused by plummeting rubber.’
‘The loan rescheduling will allow rubber farmers to pay lower instalment amounts, said senior executive vice-president Somsak Kangteerawat. worth a combined 40 billion baht to 360,000 rubber farmers, representing 5% of the bank’s loan outstanding of around 800 billion baht. The long-term loan for rubber growers has a maturity of 10-15 years.’
‘Rubber farmers are struggling after rubber prices dropped from 100 baht a kilogramme to 50-60 baht due to weaker global demand, especially from China.’
to alleviate their financial burden caused by plummeting rubber
No worries, rubber will bounce back
‘Between 1901 and 2000, the U.S. built an entire interstate highway system, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam and just about all of its skyscrapers — to name just a few concrete-intensive things. China did all that, and almost half again, in just three years.’
‘On his blog, Gates suggested that all of this concrete had helped pull Chinese out of poverty. But all of this building has also left China with a huge and dangerous property bubble, massive ghost cities and empty housing.’
‘Between 1901 and 2000, the U.S. built an entire interstate highway system, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam and just about all of its skyscrapers — to name just a few concrete-intensive things. China did all that, and almost half again, in just three years.’
Isn’t there at least some chance the wheels will fly off a bus traveling at warp speed?
I saw this on Oprah once…you get a China house, you get a China house, you get a China house.
Reports of falling prices from every area in the country. This is positively bullish.
home-esque statement
“prices fell, and the number of homes available for sale dropped as the hot local housing market appeared to stall in early summer.
they have water there !
‘Japan’s GDP Results May Mean More Stimulus’
Yeah Ben…Negative 7.1% GDP…QE to the moon then raised taxes significantly….Japanese are putting their yen in the mattress….
‘The GDP’s decline was also larger than the 6.9 percent fall marked in January-March 2011 in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region. It was the steepest drop since the 15 percent tumble registered in January-March 2009 following the global financial crisis of 2008.’
Amazing. Through nothing more than financial engineering, they have managed to outdo the economic destruction of a 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown!
‘Japan’s GDP Results May Mean More Stimulus’
What are they gonna do? Give Japanese individuals free money? Pay them 10% to borrow?
The sad part is that while everyone knows they are pushing on a rope, they’re too afraid to try anything else.
jp in a recession since 1989
renamed New Keynesland
All told, the real estate picture im China seems far bleaker than in CA. Small wonder why so many Chinese nationals are buying and relocating in CA
‘Arizona State University housing expert Michael Orr shares in his monthly housing report that single-family sales are down 19 percent over the past year including a 53 percent drop in purchases by investors and flippers.’
‘Orr said home prices also are losing steam after some post-recession gains. He said expensive homes are the main driver of an 8 percent increase in median Valley home prices between July 2013 and July 2014.’
“Most of the median-price increase over the last 12 months is because a greater percentage of the homes being sold are in the luxury market, not because home values overall are increasing,” said Orr, a professor and economists at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business.’
‘Permits issued for the construction of single-family homes in El Paso County totaled 184 in August, a 22.4 percent decline when compared with the same month last year, according to a Pikes Peak Regional Building Department report.’
‘One possible reason for the slowdown: Some builders are constructing fewer speculative homes or those without committed buyers, Todd Anderson, president of Challenger Homes of Colorado Springs, said. “The builders I’ve talked to, we’re all a little more circumspect on inventory (speculative) homes,” he said.’
According to zillow, the median price in Colorado Springs is 200K. Problem is that outside of the Air Force Academy there aren’t that many good paying jobs, especially since former stalwarts like HP have been going through successive layoffs. IIRC, WorldCom was once a big employer in town. Much like Fort Collins, Springs looks far more prosperous than it really is.
‘After an unprecedented buying spree over the past 18 months, the single-family rental company American Homes 4 Rent is slowing its pace of acquisitions in the Triangle.’
‘So far this year, the California-based company has purchased 166 homes in Wake County, compared with 480 through the same period last year, according to Stacey Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes Triangle Multiple Listing Service data.’
‘American Homes 4 Rent accounted for roughly 725 home sales in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties last year, with 85 percent of those being made in Wake. That amounted to about 2.5 percent of that year’s total Triangle sales recorded by MLS. In Wake, the company represented about 4 percent of 2013 sales. “I don’t think they’re creating sellers; I think they’re buying up houses on the market,” Anfindsen said. “If they were not here, would we have had 800 more home sales? I think that’s up for debate.”
‘As for the company’s pace of future acquisitions, American Homes 4 Rent CEO David Singelyn said on that same conference call that it would largely depend on the availability of capital. He said the company is seeing less competition in the properties it is going after both at auction and those individual homes listed for sale.’
“I would say at the auctions, the institutional competition is less but hasn’t gone away,” Singelyn said. “And MLS, it’s definitely far less. I mean, we have cut back, and I think most of the larger players have cut back.”
As I recall these clowns are losing money.
they’re still buying-? WTF the “smart” money
‘In Georgia, houses are publicly auctioned every first Tuesday of the month on each county courthouse’s steps. As the housing market in Atlanta and across the country recovers from the crash of 2008, the auctions have become increasingly busy events. “Before the fall of 2012, these auctions were mostly vacant. No one was really trying to go after these homes, but then they were [suddenly] swamped with people bidding up houses with quick access to sizable cashier’s checks, says Rob Call, an organizer for Occupy Our Homes Atlanta (OOHA).”
‘Last March, Lauren Fetters and her boyfriend moved into a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath single-family home in the neighborhood of Grant Park. “It was kind of doomed from the beginning,” recalls Lauren, who was among the small sample of tenants polled for the OOHA report. The first two leases Invitation Homes sent to the couple contained significant typos. After a third, accurate lease was signed, they moved in and didn’t interact with the company again until November. “As long as we sent our check on time, which we always did, we never heard from them. In the winter, we started having problems with our electric, tankless water heater. Our water was not getting as hot as it should have.”
“We complained and we told them that this was a problem for us. They had someone come out and look at it that had never even seen a tankless water heater before. They had no idea what they were doing. We asked them to replace it. They said no. I asked our property manager to come out and feel our water and see what we were going through and she never did. She said that she was waiting to hear from the maintenance department to get a maintenance man to come with her to see it, because she herself couldn’t fix it. They never came and then we moved out [the following] March.”
“We hated them,” she says. “They didn’t give a crap about us as long as we sent our money in. They didn’t care about us as tenants at that address. We weren’t people to them.”
Why put in a tank-less water heater? Maybe it was already there when they bought it. But Blackstone can’t get a water heater fixed in months?
‘Despite considerable efforts to take measures to cover a portion of bad loans, Chinese banks are still suffering significantly due to the large scale of non-performing loans.’
‘A report for the first half of 2014 stated that the combined bad loans of 16 listed banks reached a value of 694.4 billion yuan (US$113.8 billion), up 102.3 billion yuan (US$16.7 billion) from the end of last year, which is higher than the newly-added 99.2 billion yuan (US$16.15 billion) recorded during all of 2013.’
‘Of this figure, the five largest state-owned banks reported outstanding bad loans of 423.5 billion yuan (US$69 billion) in total, up by 21% from the same period a year ago.’
‘Tencent’s financial news web portal reported that the Pearl River Delta is seeing worsening bad-loan problems as well. Banks such as the China Merchants Bank and China CITIC Bank reported 50% growth in bad loans during the first half of this year in the region, compared with the end of last year.’
‘Some banks have not fully exposed the risks they face, however. Zheng Aijing, an executive at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, said the industry should be cautious in view of the rise in both the bad loan ratio and outstanding non-performing loans, as banks might be exposed to hidden risks that may threaten the security of the financial system.’
‘She said that the government has a habit of putting off problems for the future by setting up asset management firms to help banks handle bad loans.’
‘The government allows shadow banking because it does not want risks to emerge, she said, adding that if the government had not turned a blind eye to shadow banking, the real economy would already be at risk.’
‘Overall prices slipped by 1.1 per cent last month compared to July, according to Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) flash figures on Thursday (Sept 4). Compared to the peak in April last year, prices have gone down by 8.6 per cent. HDB resale prices drop for 7th consecutive month.’
‘Year-on-year, resale volume dropped 3.3 per cent down compared with 1,372 units resold in August 2013; Resale volume is down 63.6 per cent compared to its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.’
‘Overall median Transaction Over X-Value (T-O-X) remains negative. According to SRX Property, HDB prices continue to face downward pressure and negative market sentiment. The median T-O-X for HDB measures whether people are overpaying or underpaying the SRX Property X-Value estimated market value.’
‘T-O-X remained at NEGATIVE $3,000 in August 2014; The median T-O-X has been negative since May 2013. For HDB towns with more than 10 resale transactions in August 2014, only Bukit Merah reported a positive median TOX of $8,000.’
‘Among relatively active towns, Bukit Panjang posts the most Negative median T-O-X. Among HDB towns with more than 10 transactions, the lowest median T-O-X were in Bukit Panjang, Ang Mo Kio, and Hougang, at NEGATIVE $ 12,800, NEGATIVE $8,000, and NEGATIVE $6,100, respectively. This means that majority of the buyers in these towns has purchased units below what other buyers who came before paid for for similar units.’
‘The latest Federal Reserve Tracking Report for New Jersey, released Friday, shows 12 percent or more of mortgages were seriously delinquent in much of Atlantic and Cumberland counties. What used to be called the growth townships — Egg Harbor, Galloway and Hamilton — all have that level of mortgages 90 days past due or already in foreclosure, the Philadelphia Fed said.’
‘RealtyTrac said zombie foreclosures in New Jersey increased 58 percent in the second quarter from the year prior, even as they declined nationwide. New Jersey had the third highest number of such abandoned foreclosure homes, at 12,170.’
‘In Atlantic County in July, sales of distressed properties — in various stages of foreclosure or not worth what’s owed on them — were 13 percent of all sales.’
‘While New Jersey’s unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 6.5 percent in July, much of the decline resulted from people no longer looking for jobs. So while the number of people counted as unemployed plunged 81,300 to 293,700 for that month, the number in the civilian labor force also plunged, by 43,500 to 4.5 million, the Fed said.’
‘The labor force participation rate, which has been at unprecedented highs nationally in this lesser depression, declined 1.2 percentage points in July in New Jersey to 63.6 percent.’
‘The jobless rate in Cape May County rose to 10 percent from 9.6 percent the month before. Cumberland County’s unemployment rate also returned to double digits, rising to 10 percent from 9.5 percent. As previously reported, in Atlantic County the jobless rate for July was 10.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent the month before.’
‘After a spectacular foul-up last month in the backrooms of Statistics Canada, is there any wonder the latest employment report by the federal agency was greeted with some skepticism. One economist said Friday’s surprising employment report “raises inevitably questions over the reliability of these figures.”
“But forgetting that, the fact that there has been no private-sector growth in the past year, that part I can believe,” said Douglas Porter at BMO Capital Markets. “To me, that speaks volumes by itself — that, effectively, we’re not getting any job growth outside of the public sector and self-employment at this point,” he said.’
“In the last year, those have been the areas where we have seen growth. But really, that’s just been a story of the last 12 months. That hasn’t been a dominant feature of this recovery.”
‘Osoyoos — it’s a name synonymous with warm water, sunny skies and playful, happy summer memories. Harris’ dream has weathered an economic recession, taken root and blossomed into a four-and-a-half star, full-service, condo-hotel property.’
‘Homes start at $199,900 for a fully furnished, luxury, one-bedroom condo unit. Harris says most owners take advantage of the fully-managed rental pool option. Two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom townhomes are priced at $589,900.’
‘Industry sources say that the sharp decline in mortgage volume seen in the June quarter, as reported by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), is unlikely to persist. But, they add that stagnant economic conditions may be curtailing debt-financed home purchases.’
‘On August 19, PlOJ reported declines in the number of housing starts - down 46.6 per cent; housing completions - down 42.5 per cent; and mortgage volume - down 55.4 per cent.’
‘James Stewart, director of the Economic Planning & Research Division at the PIOJ, said the downturn in June appears to be cyclical, given that the December quarter had a 50 per cent increase in housing starts and “there may be a lot of work continuing”.
‘However, Stewart said the decline in the value of mortgages was felt across the board. At National Housing Trust (NHT), which dominates the market, mortgage values dropped 17 per cent, while at other providers - commercial banks, other banks, building societies and the Jamaica Mortgage Bank - values “on average fell more sharply”.
‘Head of the Realtors Association of Jamaica (RAJ), Carlene Sinclair, and a broker with Property Solutions Limited, said realtors have noticed a slowing of the market. “Our members have been complaining. We are still showing, getting enquiries, but in terms of getting people to commit, that has slowed down,” said Sinclair.’
‘The sliding exchange rate is a contributory factor - construction is more expensive - but the RAJ president also cites a build-up of inventory. “The inventory is getting larger. People looking for one and two bedroom apartments also have a lot more choices. The slowness in committing may be due to this - there are so many things to look at,” she said.’
‘Sinclair noted that while home values have gone up, this does not “necessarily mean selling prices are aligned. Demand is not growing”, she said, so owners who are very motivated to sell may do so at below replacement cost.’
‘Reporter Tim Gallen and his wife, who now live in Southern California, are trying to sell their home in Phoenix. He will be writing about the home-selling process in a series of blog posts on this site.’
‘After roughly five months of trying to sell our West Valley home, my wife and I shifted gears in August and hired a property management team to lease our house. It’s somewhat jarring to know how quickly the house was leased, especially after the up and down summer in which the Phoenix housing market simply decided to freeze up at a time when the weather was scorching.’
‘As summer dragged on and our savings dried up, we reached a point where we needed someone to pay our mortgage. We simply could not afford to pay both mortgage and rent indefinitely.’
‘Our tenants moved in recently and, for now at least, the rent payments will help subsidize our mortgage. Will we try to sell down the road? Probably. But at this moment, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about it.’
‘Of course, that’s not the end of the story. Far from it. After five months of living in California – 10 minutes from the beach, 30 minutes from Disneyland – my wife and I are returning to Phoenix. Why? Well, because I’ve accepted a promotion with the Business Journal.’
‘That’s right. Just as we finally get our house leased, we now find ourselves returning and in need of somewhere to live. Life is full of irony.’
I wonder if Suze Orman (sp?) talks about such things on her tevee show.
Does she advocate having 12 months of mortgage payments saved up in case one has to leave their slow-to-sell domicile for other pastures?
Does she advocate having 12 months of mortgage payments saved up in case one has to leave their slow-to-sell domicile for other pastures?
Why would you do that? Isn’t your house supposed to be working for you?
INT house haters show— wow,lets go to a bananna republic and buy !
Nicaragua-hondurus
I see some white folks on the beach
Interesting… last year it was wall-to-wall Costa Rica. Now it’s Nicaragua/Honduras? Isn’t this where those TB infected kids are trying to escape from?
It’s easy to romanticize third world shit holes when all you see of themn are beach resorts and gated communities for the well to do.
I read a follow up regarding the crime wave in Valle De Bravo, Mexico (AKA as Avandaro). Because it is a playground for Mexico’s rich the government sent the army in and from what I have heard from my contacts the kidnappings have stopped. Of course once the boys in green pack it in and go home, I suspect it will be business as usual.
What I find most interesting about the current situation in Mexico is that on the surface Mexico now looks a lot less “third world” than it did in the 70’s, yet back then it was far safer. During the 70’s I didn’t know of anyone who had been kidnapped or escaped a kidnapping attempt. Now I know several people who have been affected, even though there are more stores, nicer cars, etc. than when I lived there. Even during the near hyper inflation days the worst that would happen to you would be a mugging.
The kidnappings began to happen when Mexico “liberalized” its economy. I have no idea if the two are related, but when Mexico stopped being so protectionist it also became less safe. And I’m not talking about the drug cartels. I’m talking about petty crime, including the so called “express” kidnappings where you are snatched and released within a day or two after a relatively modest ransom is paid.
‘That’s right. Just as we finally get our house leased, we now find ourselves returning and in need of somewhere to live. Life is full of irony.’
The tenants who leased the house in Phoenix may have to move in a year
Moving a good way to get your stuff broken or lost.
This reporter’s blog posts show they moved to CA in May 2014 knowing they might not be able to sell their house that they built in 2008. They originally planned to rent it out but thought the market had risen enough to get them out from under.
An all cash buyer offered them $46,000 less than their asking price (on a 1700 sq ft west PHX area home) which would have been a short sale.
He seems to admit that the rent won’t cover the mortgage stating “for now at least, the rent payments will HELP subsidize our mortgage.”
They are going to feed the alligator on an underwater crap shack until they go broke, all as the market continues to go down.
Wait, is he saying it’s not cheaper to buy?
And their situation isn’t atypical. Think about the millions who were herded into a depreciating asset at a grossly inflated price over the past 15 years. The numbers and losses are stunning.
“house that they built in 2008″
There’s the clue.
They built in 2008, meaning they probably bought the land at peak land pricing, and they didn’t want to sell as a short sale.
The house is on the market at a price that’s too high. There’s your reason for why it didn’t sell.
What about Sonoma County, California-1 hour north of San Francisco..
When are our price coming down. Looked at a 1500 sq. ft. home on good size lot. Outside beautiful but inside needed some updating.
Price 550K and needed 50-75K worth of work.
They most likely had over 200 people at the open house. Crazy.
Does anyone see this area going down in price?
Thanks for the advice!!!
Prices have a very long way to fall there.
Sit tight.
I’m in Sonoma Co. too and it looks like the market has stalled, lots of flips FS over 30 days, etc.and am seeing some price reductions but not a lot…YET. I tried to buy in 2011/2012 and it was hopeless, got beat by a 100% cash flipper or specuvestor several times and eventually gave up. At that time I was bidding on $250K houses, w/ $50K down the mortgage would been about $1000/mo vs. the $1500/mo. I pay in rent…but now that the same houses are nearly $400K it no longer makes sense to buy.
Am waiting for Bubble 2.0 to pop and am convinced it will happen, this blog called the 2007 pop quite accurately and convinced me to sell my last place in spring 2007….however am wondering if there will be another wave of flippers and specuvestors when 2.0 pops, do NOT want to put myself through the disappointment and frustration of competing with these locusts if prices drop to a level where buying makes sense for me.
I grew up in Sonoma County.
IMHO, there will be a significant price correction the earlier of:
1. Massive amounts of additional construction (more supply added); or
2. The next recession.
Given what I’ve seen with government approvals of new projects, the answer will be #2.
Given the fact there are millions of excess empty and defaulted houses in CA, there is plenty of inventory.
‘When it comes to purchasing a home in the Lower Hudson Valley, an increasing number of buyers are skipping the lengthy mortgage process and paying with cash. Downsizing baby boomers, the wealthy and investors bought almost half the homes sold in the New York metro area in the first half of 2014 with cash.’
‘Philip Faranda, president of the Hudson Gateway MLS, a real estate database that includes Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, sold several homes in all-cash closings over the past year, sometimes for discounts. In November he sold a Yonkers home for $455,000 in cash; the original asking price was $489,000. In September, Faranda sold a Mahopac home for $343,000 in cash with an asking price of $400,000.’
‘Westchester County Clerk Timothy Idoni said the county’s first and second quarter, $1.4 million mortgage recording tax shortfall is due to fewer homeowners refinancing and empty nesters. “What I’ve noticed is that a lot of these all-cash deals are people downsizing from a $4 million home to a $1 million home,” said Idoni. “You’re not seeing middle-class people buying all-cash homes.”
there’s still plenty empty pockets and dumb borrowed money out there. Yonkers is the armpit of Westchester co. There aren’t 10 houses there worth the price he paid for one in Yonkers..
talked to a guy there paying 14k in taxes for a 1800 sq ft house=wow
We lived in Yorktown Heights. Tax on 1600 sq. ft. when we left in 2006 was $10K, now $12K. Schools were nothing to write home about.
the school employee pensions are worth writing about
California > Got Water?
Just put a offer to a house in Los Angeles… 3b/2.5 bath townhouse.. 439k - feeling nervous !! First time home buyer
realtors are liars
I feel bad 4U.