‘Bad News For Out-Of-Town Investors’ In Merced
A pair of reports from California. “Sonoma County has the greatest supply of homes for sale in a decade, with a profusion of front lawn for-sale signs that illustrates the housing market slowdown. The sales total for May was the lowest in five years, helping push inventories to 2,008 homes compared with 893 homes a year ago.”
“The market slowdown has resulted in a leveling of prices. The county’s median price of $603,000 was up 1.3 percent from a year ago but down from a peak of $619,000 last summer. Many buyers, recognizing the market peaked last summer, are wary about paying too much and are backing away from making hasty purchases.”
“With twice as many homes to choose from compared to a year ago, buyers are taking their time and that puts pressure on sellers to lower prices, improve their homes and make other concessions, agents said. ‘You didn’t see that over the last few years. And as a seller they need to adjust to where the market is,’ (realtor) Rick Laws said.”
The Merced Sun Star. “Merced’s housing market is significantly overvalued and teetering on the edge of a downturn, according to a new study. ‘Even though I can’t tell you where prices are going soon, I can say that the risk of prices declining within the next three years is very high,’ said National City Chief Economist Richard DeKaser.”
“When prices dip, they’ll probably sink about 35 percent to 40 percent over a period of three years, said DeKaser. Local real estate leaders say that decline is already under way. ‘It’s already been happening, definitely,’ said Ray Rodriguez, president of the Merced County Association of Realtors.”
“Rodriguez said he first saw prices going down last fall, but he thinks the market should turn around soon. ‘I would say in our area, with what we’ve got going on, I think things will change around within the next three months,’ said Rodriguez.”
“Buyers seem to disagree. Developers and real estate agents alike have been forced to slash prices lately. Ranchwood Homes dropped the base price on new homes at its Summit Meadow subdivision in Beachwood this week from $324,900 to $314,900, said sales representative Patty Camacho.”
“‘Almost every [listing] that I have has been reduced,’ said real estate agent Mary Gamel. Gamel said she recently reduced the asking price on a McSwain house from $795,000 to $759,000 and dropped a Brimmer Road house from $355,000 to $345,000.”
“That’s bad news for out-of-town investors who flocked to Merced looking to buy and then ‘flip’ houses for a quick return. ‘To those people, I would strongly caution against buying at this time,’ said DeKaser.”
“The speculators seem to have gotten the message, said Mayor Ellie Wooten, who sells real estate when she’s not sitting on the City Council. ‘For a while there it was like a feeding frenzy and I don’t see that happening now,’ said Wooten. ‘You don’t see a lot of speculators now. They’re aware of what’s going on.’”
“Real estate remains a good investment, Rodriguez said. ‘I don’t think the bottom is going to fall out and prices will go much lower,’ said Rodriguez. ‘Over the long run, they’re going to go up. It’s hard to see how it can happen, but they’ve been going up since the beginning of time.’”
Thanks to the readers who sent in these links.
this inventory figure is from the santa rosa press democrat’s michael coit who is lazy and incompetent at best,as i told him.his figures come from coldwell banker,and according to our conversation,are not independently verified.the inventory for sonoma county was 3,470 a couple of days ago,with roughly 25% showing reduced prices,actual time on market is about 90 days.
‘I would say in our area, with what we’ve got going on, I think things will change around within the next three months,’
What you’ve got going on? You mean pollution, low-paying, service jobs, runaway illegal immigration, poor educational attainment? Wow! When can I move in? Merced IS different!!
AND
Real estate remains a good investment, Rodriguez said. ‘I don’t think the bottom is going to fall out and prices will go much lower,’ said Rodriguez. ‘Over the long run, they’re going to go up. It’s hard to see how it can happen, but they’ve been going up since the beginning of time.’”
Ahh, the eternal optimist. I guess it is a combination of utter stupidity and wishful thinking. Merced won’t go down, but Fresno, Madera, Los Banos, Modesto, and Stockton will!!
‘I would say in our area, with what we’ve got going on,’
You ain’t all that, and you ain’t got it going on…
‘Over the long run, they’re going to go up. It’s hard to see how it can happen, but they’ve been going up since the beginning of time.’
That’s it, real estate is officially a religion.
>but they’ve been going up since the beginning of time
Over the long term, so has the price of a loaf of bread. I wonder if this guy is hoarding Wonder and Roman Meal loaves under his bed?
Three months. BAHHAHAHAH. In three months this guy will be back at McDonalds!
They’ve been going up….and down since the end of time.
The only end to that sentence that would make him not be soooo stuck on stupid.
Prices in Merced will never fall, because everyone wants to attend UC Merced…
I forgot- Merced will become a cultured college town. Watch out Cambridge, MA!
The San Joaquin Valley is my old stomping grounds. There is a reason why RE in the valley (Merced, Modesto, Madera, Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, etc.) was cheap- it is not that great of a place to live. The valley has some of the worst smog in the state, crime is rampant in the larger cities, summers are hot, winters are foggy, social ills due to illegal immigration- the list goes on.
Anyone who invested in this area with the intent to flip deserves what they have coming to them- they are going ot lose their shirts. Its too bad a lot of innocent people wil go down with them- many locals stretched themselves thin to buy new homes as the mania was at the height. My cousin bought a place near Fresno for over 300k this past year: its a basic 1800 sq foot tract home. I fell bad that they will have negative equity in the place.
Brandon,
I used to live in Visalia up until late last year. I actually didn’t think Visalia was THAT bad of a place, but the surrounding valley was horrible (constant odor of cow dung, the smog obscuring the nearby mountains, the horrible taste of drinking water, high teenage pregnancy rates, poor educational attainment, illegal aliens, etc.). I felt at times that if I left my neighborhood I was venturing into a third world country.
But, it was amazing how many people thought “Visalia was different this time.” People used the excuse of massive population growth, lower unemployment (Visalia proper dropped to only 6% unemployment after being 10%+ several years earlier, likely the result of construction and spin-off RE activity), and the inexpensiveness compared to the coast. But, based on my own observations, this area is actually falling harder and faster than most in CA.
Oh, did I mention another thing to hate about that Valley was everyone drove one of three genres of vehicles:
1) scronny white kids drove massive, jacked up pick-up trucks.
2) mexicans all had the lowered Honda Civics complete with custom 8″ exhaust, reflector tail-lights, and xenon headlights.
3) the bleached blondes selling RE of course had their Tahoes or Hummers.
I absolutely hate the valley- my family in the area think I’m nuts as they believe Fresno is the center of the universe. Once upon a time the area was nice- maybe when my Dad was growing up and you could cruise the streets without worry of a drive by or carjacking.
Bottom line is that the quality of life in no way justifies the home prices. There is farmland for miles around that could be plowed under for housing- so the land shortage excuse cannot be used. It has all been mental.
You guys have given me a whole new appreciation for California !
and the surfers?
social ills due to illegal immigration
See if this job description doesn’t say it all:
Bakersfield City School District
Education Center - 1300 Baker Street
Bakersfield, California 93305
Personnel Services
TITLE: COUNSELOR, BILINGUAL/BICULTURAL
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. California pupil personnel services credential
2. Knowledge of barrio community and culture of Mexican-American
people
3. Ability to read, write, and speak Spanish fluently including barrio dialects
—-
That’s the whole list, no degree, no English skills, no American cultural sensitivity.
I think that says it all, social ills.
My wife couldn’t land a job there, despite her excellent qualifications, because she could not speak Spanish.
Why don’t these people learn English?
Thanks for reminding me why I left that area.
There is no official language in this country. Stop complaining and learn a little Spanish. Geez.
One word answer in neither Spanish or English: Quebec.
I didn’t even ask a question.
You made a provocative and ill informed statement as to the innocuousness of cultural divisiveness. Next time a little baby is mowed down in a crosswalk because the driver’s buddies helped him cheat on the Spanish California Drivers Test you remember that. And I do mean next time.
You are way, way, way out there.
How about this:
Next time a little baby is mowed down in a crosswalk because the driver’s buddies helped him cheat on the English Drivers Test you remember that.
Got it?
No, I don’t “get it.” What say you explain it. In nice civil tones. And then in nice civil tones I’ll explain how my children are exposed to Whooping Cough and Drug Resistant TB because of illegal immgration policies.
The crooswalk markings were in English. Normally even the Spanish language test covers this by testing recognition rather than reading but in this case the answers were provided so that the driver had neither reading or understanding. Don’t tell me that we don’t have an offical language just because there’s no piece of paper somewhere. A -common- language is a necessary element of a civil society. You are advocating for the dimunition of our civil order.
Got it?
All you’ll be the one defining “civil”, right? And also you’ll be defining what those “necessary elements” are for this “civil society”? Or should we just leave it to the tyranny of the majority?
Either way, thanks but no thanks.
BTW my wife used to do that exact job in a school district in Oregon. The “bilingual” in the description does imply that yes of course there is an English requirement.
chicote,
I don’t even know where to begin with you, except to say that you just don’t “get it.” We as a society of CITIZENS must decide what WE want this country to look like in the culture, language, demographics, etc. ILLEGAL Mexicans will not decide this for us. Call it racism or the tyranny of the majority or whatever you like.
What you liberal idiots don’t understand is that the wave of unwashed masses INVADING our Southern border (and it is an armed and dangerous hostile invasion) amounts to nothing more than a corrupt Mexican government exporting their poverty problem to the U.S. Nothing more and nothing less. These are people even the Mexicans don’t want. I know because I’ve got many Mexican-American friends that are citizens and are embarrassed and angry about all of the illegals in this country. It really is that simple. Yes, our corrupt government allows this because the Dems and Repubs favor the formation of an illegal class of slave labor.
People that favor unfettered ILLEGAL immigration are the new salveholders/plantation owners. You’ll also be happy to know that the ACLU, ANSWER, People for the American Way, and all other hard-left communist groups are right there with you on this point (basically all of your buddies) so you’re in good company. BTW: If I was to learn a second language it sure as hell wouldn’t be Spanish (or “maid” as some like to call it.) It would probably be Chinese.
End Rant.
Spainish (or maid as some like to call it.) That was very very funny. Chicote - My grandparents were immigrants. Thank goodness they learned English. If not I would not have an advance degree and a good job. Not require immigrant to learn English is putting them in a position of not being able to provide for themselves and become a burden on the rest of society.
chico’s just bitter because Mexico only managed a scoreless tie against Angola. Good luck against Portugal…
When’s the Raiders opening game?
And now a word from the “Doom and gloom, tin foil hat” guy! http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2005/july05/05-07-13.html
I had one more link to a story about Rep. Tancredo from CO (I believe) demanding disclosure from the administration about these agreements. Just FYI, in case you care about such matters.
they believe its their land and they are taking it back.we will have to learn the native tongue spanglish.
Yes, 160 years ago, we “stole” “their” land from them. Never mind that none of the participants from the Mexican-American War are still alive –or even their great-great grandchildren. Never mind that, at the time, California was a sparsely populated, undeveloped, barren outpost of the Mexican empire. Never mind that Mexico had forceably taken it from the Spanish before that, who in turn had conquered the Aztecs and native Americans. Never mind that the current 35 million or so (legal) inhabitants don’t want to be part of Mexico. The point is we should return their “stolen property” to them.
Yes, and while we’re at it, New England should give itself back to England, Louisiana to France, Alaska to Russia, Brazil to the Portuguese, China to the Mongols, Europe to the Italians (Roman descendents), etc., etc…
“The San Joaquin Valley is my old stomping grounds. There is a reason why RE in the valley (Merced, Modesto, Madera, Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, etc.) was cheap- it is not that great of a place to live.”
A good friend who lives in Modesto just a few blocks away from Hwy99 and Kanas avenue has to tighten his garden hose out front with channel lock pliers to keep it from being stolen; this is during daylight hours.
Hmm, probably the same wonderful individuals who show up to one of my landscape design jobs and promptly remove every single planting under the cover of darkness. Well, at least they are taking care of them…
Brandon wrote
” There is a reason why RE in the valley (Merced, Modesto, Madera, Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, etc.) was cheap- ”
Yes, I was born in Fresno in 1959 and moved out in 1985. I say it was okay until 1977. The prices of Fresno have been depressed for 35 years or so until around 2002 when the coastal locusts swarmed in and bid up prices. My parents’ house is zillowed at $268,000 and I sold it in 2001 for $80,000. It’s in a gang area. There was a mexican gang fight on our front lawn once when I was living there in the late 70s. There were two separate stabbings in my neighborhood in 1985 before I left Fresno. The police searched my parents back yard and those of my neighbors. One man who lived across the street from my parents repaired their driveway and later came running over and bleeding all over the front steps, asking to use the telephone. The man’s wife had stabbed him repeatedly. The neighborhood has hopefully changed since the late 90s. I drove through it a year ago and it does not look much different. It’s still an industrial area and section 8 housing apartments across the street. The smog, like you say, is very unhealthy. Los Angeles (downtown through Pasadena), Bakersfield, and Fresno have the distinction of being the 3 smoggiest areas in the United States. The only good thing that happened to the San Joaquin Valley in the last 30 years is the new UC Merced campus. Very sad, but true. Expect price drops of 50% to 70% in that region in the next 5 years.
“they’ve been going up since the beginning of time.”
When did the Big Bang happen? Or for the religious among us, when did God create the universe?
Oh, that’s right….1995 or was it 1997?
And on the seventh day, God created the house. And on the eighth day he had an open house and made a nice little chunk of change.
rofl
The Prophet of Merced
http://www.mercedcounty.com/doc-rrod.html
I notice he also works with foreclosed properties. That will definately be happening in Merced in the near future.
“And on the seventh day, God created the house. And on the eighth day he had an open house and made a nice little chunk of change. ”
Then he took a stud from that house and made another without thinking, only to look back and realize their was only Adam and Eve and he had overbuilt!
LOL
And on the 9th day he made the housing market correct.
Man plans. God laughs.
But — Suzanne researched this! Suzanne said that prices have always gone up since the beginning of time…!
And of course, after day 7, no more land was created, which is why real estate prices have been going up since then.
>And of course, after day 7, no more land was created
But God realized that this was OK, as he had made an incredible amount of excess inventory…
‘“When prices dip, they’ll probably sink about 35 percent to 40 percent over a period of three years, said DeKaser.’
Ditto for the rest of CA.
Gosh, that will only take us to early 2005 in prices. I’m looking for 2002 prices at least — which would be the normal cycle peak if Greensperm hadn’t put us on the needle. I suspect some pre-millenium prices for the crappiest parts of Calif.
Wouldn’t it take us back to 2002. 100% aprreciation to double, 50% depriciation to go back.
I don’t know, we’ve see plenty of places that sold for under 200K in 2002 sell for over 800K in 2005 here in the greatest state in the universe.
The house in Fresno I sold (mentioned earlier in this blog) started gains in its price in 2002 and 2003, but they were steady. From $80,000 to $100,000. Still, that’s double digit. Then the Zillow value in 2006 is $268,000 so in the last 2 years the Zillow value increased by 168%. Just in 2 years. So to get back to a more reasonable value of $104,000 would mean a 60% price cut. Recall I mentioned the house is in a bad area of a smoggy city.
I keep thinking a fall to 2002 prices also . Its seems as if that was the max. it should of gone up,(in California ).
Associated Press, Jun 16, 2:29 PM EDT
Business Profs Rethinking Ethics Classes
By CATHERINE TSAI, AP Business Writer
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Last fall, Bentley College management professor Tony Buono taught a class on corporate scandals with colleagues pitching in from finance, accounting, and even the philosophy department. The four picked through the cases of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and Shell.
At the end of the semester, the number of students in a simulated trading room who were caught in misconduct or misusing information for insider trading was significantly higher than at the beginning. The students said, “You taught us how to do it,” Buono recalled.
“For those of us who’ve spent our careers teaching this, it’s been a disappointing time,” said Buono….
(more)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TEACHING_ETHICS?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Right: is he an investment advisor or a realtor? I’d like to see his license(s)….
But isn’t he required by law to follow that up with:
“Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Returns. Neither MCAR nor its principals, agents, associates or employees, are licensed to provide investment advice. No information provided by MCAR or any of its associates should be taken as investment advice directly, indirectly, implicitly, or in any manner whatsoever, including but not limited to trading of real estate on a short term or long term basis. All biased and unsubstantiated opinions provided by Mr. Rodriguez is for information purposes only. This information is NOT a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any real estate.”
Oh, my bad –I was under the mistaken impression that giving out professional investment advice on RE required disclaimers, like selling securities.
“Real estate remains a good investment”
That’s like saying stocks are a good investment (or bad investment for that matter). Too general a statement to be of any use in such an inefficient market.
I would say in our area, with what we’ve got going on, I think things will change around within the next three months,’
Boy! What is this guy talking about. Maybe THREE YEADS and much lower . Hell, in three months wer’e looking at the worst quarter for RE business which is Sloooooow!
I would say in our area, with what we’ve got going on, I think things will change around within the next three months,’
Boy! What is this guy talking about. Maybe THREE YEARS and much lower . Hell, in three months wer’e looking at the worst quarter for RE business which is Sloooooow!
raymond rodriguez needs our input. I sent him a copy of this blog and I’m sure he would like to know more about himself by reading about it here.
http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MjgyNw==&req=NTE2NjYw&find_car_id=
What a DORK!! I wouldn’t buy crap from him!
This is one of those articles that seems to come once every few days containing some totally idiotic “yes, I’m the greatest fool” comment that everyone immediately jumps on. Case in point, Ray Rodriguez talking about all they have going on in Merced (Merced is different) and how real estate goes up forever.
Sorry, Merced sucks and smells like cow manure. Also real estate doesn’t go up forever as evidenced from the 1989 to 1995 decline. Any idiot that looks at the inventory and the nonexistant sales and concludes that three months is the end of the decline is an idiot. Giving out advice to buy now because real estate always goes up in the long run is also idiotic given the fact that you could buy House A for amount A right now, or wait a couple years and buy House A’s exact tract house replica for amount B which is significantly less than amount A. Why the hell would I want to burn 10s, and probably 100s of thousands of dollars right now? For the “benefits” of home ownership. How about the countless sleepless nights knowing that you are indeed the greatest fool to the tune of 100s of thousands of dollars?
Yeah, Rodriguez is a genius. Real estate never goes down, oh except when it does, like in the early 90s.
Also, Robert Shiller has now proclaimed that the RE bubble is the biggest since 1890 - exceeding even the run up following WWII - and that there aren’t really any fundamentals to support it.
http://tinyurl.com/gtwum
“Many economists have forecast price increases of about 5 percent this year in Sonoma County and other high-cost coastal regions.
Some economists predict prices could stabilize later this year and stick there for a year or more.”
Seems odd they couldn’t find one economist to predict a drop in prices.
You gotta read the comments at the bottom of that Sonoma article. You’ve got full-on bear realists mixed with pie in the sky comments. It reads alot like this blog would if there were some serious trolls posting.
Huggybear,
I sent you a response about Humboldt county in the other blog. Enjoy.
Yes, I did see that post Anthony, thank you.
I’ve bookmarked the website you sent, those are good stats!
“People from other states and other parts of CA still want to move to the bay area”
In other words, it’s different here.
Look, most people (sane ones, anyway) think it’s absurd to pay $800,000 for a tract house. They can’t afford it anyway.
Fitting that the symbol on the cap and gown in the local college of economics is a “crystal ball”.
Few if any of this breed can even balance their checkbooks…
In the coming depression people who can actually grow food, build things, and cure peoples ills will be in demand.
Bankers, economists, sociologists, financial advisers, brokers, and RE agents will be ditch diggers.
“Bankers, economists, sociologists, financial advisers, brokers, and RE agents will be ditch diggers.”
Pol Pot said, the hoe is your pencil, and the fields the university.
“…said Rodriguez. ‘Over the long run, they’re going to go up. It’s hard to see how it can happen, but they’ve been going up since the beginning of time.’”
So true, so true. However, it seems quite likely that this is one of those periods when prices are going to go down for five to ten years. If you have lots of money to throw away on a depreciating asset for the next few years, then by all means buy a home.
There is no housing bubble because it’s impossible to have a housing bubble and we’ve never had a housing bubble ever in history so why should there be one now and they’re not making anymore land and everyone is buying second homes and the baby boomers are retiring and this is the ownership society and real estate never goes down and renting is throwing money away and look at all the immigrants buying houses and there’s all kinds of innovative financing and the problem with calling it a bubble is that bubbles pop and we’re all going to live like the eurpoeans eventually and million dollar homes will be $4 million dollar homes and suzanne researched this. And even if there is a housing bubble which is a silly thing to think anyway MY neighborhood won’t go down because MY neighborhood is the PERFECT place to live and it will keep going up forever just not as much.
Thought it was time for this again.
Regressive price appreciation in SLO.
“When prices dip, they’ll probably sink about 35 percent to 40 percent over a period of three years, said DeKaser.
——————————————————————————
Let’s see, the economist is predicting 35-40% price declines over 3 years. The local realtor is predicting a “market turnaround” in 3 months. Who to believe….who to believe?
I glad we can all rely on Suzanne’s research.
And, Merced still has that wonderful smell of continual bovine fecal matter aromating the air. Oh, how I wish I was there to enjoy that. Especially on a day when it exceeds 100F. NOT.
I think DeKaser has some balls…very few will actually commit to a number when it involves price declines. Most stagger around, saying more conservative things like, “Well, the market is slowing down so, at worst, prices will stay on this permanently high plateau.”
I still love Lereah’s spin on things: The Fed should stop hiking rates because we have some housing that has become interest-rate sensitive!! At least CAR president Leslie Appleton admits that she is at a loss of words for the current situation.
What does Gary “FatAss in the Bag” Watts have to say about Merced?
“Real estate remains a good investment, Rodriguez said. ‘I don’t think the bottom is going to fall out and prices will go much lower,’ said Rodriguez. ‘Over the long run, they’re going to go up. It’s hard to see how it can happen, but they’ve been going up since the beginning of time.’”
This guy gets the biggest idiot of the week award. Un-freakin-believable. The stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Total baffoon…wow.
But over the long run they will go up!!! I have no doubts of that. I predict (and I am willing to put money on this) that prices will double by 2107. Maybe even triple. Of course in the short run we may see slight price reductions between 5 and 60 percent. Maybe even more in some areas. But you need to be thinking in the LONG run people!
“But you need to be thinking in the LONG run people!”
I am. But it looks too much like Tokyo circa 1989 around here in SD Y2006. My long run suggests we have fifteen years of price deflation ahead of us. That will take us out to 2020, at a price level less than half the current one. If you really believe prices will double by 2017, then I suggest you get some lowball offers in on all those 4S Ranch homes on the market while they are still available, then just wait for your future riches to materialize.
15 yrs??? Come’on GS not 15 years. Do you really believe that? You don’t think this is one of those typical every 10 yr cycles. I’m not saying by any means we are going to double back by 2017. But a 15 yr decline at half of half of where we are now? With no recovery, I got to say no way.
http://www.thegreatbustahead.com/
Interesting link rms.
The bottom line is he’s suggesting to get out of stocks in 2010 and get into money market funds and CDs, then buy only intermediate and long term federal bonds. He’s counting on demographic data, just like Harry Dent (Roaring 2000s) did. The real estate crash will be caused by two phases, In my opinion: The first phase is the depressed prices caused by foreclosures due to the ARMs based on higher and higher federal funds rates. That will be about 2006 through 2008. The second crash will be the boomers downsizing from McMansions and second homes to 900 square foot cottages in urban areas with great transportation (light rail, buses, and so forth). Combined with the second phase is the rapid drop in consumer spending and its effect on the stock markets. Also businesses will close and hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost. For now, 6 month T-Bills and 2 year treasury notes look good to me. I’ll probably be completely out of Arizona municipal bonds in 2010 and put it all into ten year notes. I will probably move some of my stock mutual funds into U.S. government securities. But I think I will still be working during the years 2010 through 2025, so I will continue to dollar cost average into stock mutual funds. Analysis has shown that during the last great depression, if you dollar cost averaged into large company stocks starting in 1929, you would have done better during the Depression than if you were solely into U.S. bonds. BTW: At the end of the first phase of the real estate crash, in 2008, I anticipate federal funds rates of 7.5%, and ten year notes at 7.8%. If my prediction is right, I think I will be able to afford to put all my portfolio into 10 year notes and long bonds. I’ll have to re-evaluate my strategy in 24 months. If I get the same income I have now for the next 5 years, I’ll be a millionaire and can afford lower risk. Probably will move to a small town in Iowa at that time, not sure.
Why didn’t you tell that lady in my URL that prices will go up in 3 months before she had to foreclose? If anyone uses that realtor they should be shot. Only a stupid ass retarded realtor would make a statement like that.
>Rodriguez said he first saw prices going down last fall
Hmmmm, how many housing markets hit the Fall Wall last year? I find it kind of wierd that many of the housing markets we’ve been talking about have hit this “wall” at about the same time (especially because it was before the mainstream media started picking up the pace on bubble coverage).
SD inventory has been steadily piling up (with some drops around the holiday season) since when it bottomed out around 3K in early 2004. We are currently at the all-time record inventory level (22K) and still growing steadily. Fall 2005 was simply when the elephant in the room had become too big to ignore.