Carl leason

The Yin and Yang Of The Housing Rebound

Statistics are always fun to read, but don't necessarily apply to other states. In Florida, for example, anything priced over $350,000. is considered a luxury home ! Also, pay is very low in Fl and to top it off, FL has very high R.E. Taxes compared to average incomes and Insurance is virtually unaffordable. ! The average teacher, fireman, policeman, etc. can't afford a home so the state has come up with a special plan that amounts to "giving" the teachers, etc. a down payment ! I guess the rest of the people just have to start living in
caves !....Recent stats. show that Real Estate agents have one "pending sale" per 300 agents ! If this doesn't scare off anyone thinking of moving to FL, especially retirees, then nothing will. The averge price of a recently sold listing is about $265,000. ...So now, tell me how that relates to CA , NYC or Chicago,...it simply doesn't !
The whole "Housing Sector" should be broken down into a State by State analysis because just looking at one state is pointless when looking at the Housing Sector ! Want a real BUY, start looking at Detroit or the quad cities area, Moline, E. Moline, etc. and see how those prices compare,...You can buy a large home in those places for $60,000. But,..no jobs !
I don't look for a recovery in most states before about 2 years !
But what do I know, I have only been selling real estate for 26 years ......! LC

New Home Sales Rise, Median Sales Price Plunges

Predicting when home sales will rebound is like picking stocks and bonds that will increase. Home prices will stop dropping when the huge inventory is cut down to a reasonable size and that's going to take a while. A couple years at lest, I don't see those non - performing loans as having any real effect on sales of homes,...it just means that the idiot Mortgage brokers are going to have to start DOCUMENTING those loan applications. and banks are going to have to get serious about the fact that Banking is not a game it's a Business and meant to make a profit. It almost appears that Banks have made counting the number of loans the rule of the game but it's a foolish way to run a bank. I would rather that the banks get tough, and make people document their loans ! Lenders were very much part of the problem and I personally don't want to see taxpayer money bailing out people (lenders ) who didn't run their business professionally. LC

Housing Market in Desperation

What the conversation confirms to me is that builders are true egomainacs that think everything they build should sell immediately and that the subprime loans were a great idea, that the cost of land is the problem, etc.
In fact, most builders make a huge profit on the homes they build and got used to it during the 2001-2005 period, now that the inventory of unsold homes is gigantic, they are simply hoping that sales will start up again, but they don't seem to really have a grip on facts !
The fact is that inventory is at an all time high, that prices are still very high and interest rates are fine, it's just that many people got talked into adjustable rate loans and are now in default, and R.E. taxes have taken a big jump, which placed a huge crunch on affordability. Rentals are big business again because of the high price of homes, taxes and insurance, like those Hovnanian thinks we should all own. He conveniently forgets that even the guys who work for him, building homes can't afford the homes he builds. Not everyone can afford a $300,000-$500,000 homes guys !!! Ara , like all builders, need to get this dose of reality ! LC

Housing Market in Desperation

The "bottom" of the housing price decline will come when rentals are more expensive than buying.
Three to four years you couldn't find a tenant because of lower prices and just plain speculation, but now people are not buying because it's less expensive to rent ! Check it out,..Do the math !
Part of the problem is that in places like Fl R.E. taxes have skyrocketed and so has insurance, but in other states , GA, SC, etc. prices are much lower and sales have not declined as much. R.E. sales depends on the state and the area . Check out a condo in NYC ! Unless you have really big bucks, renting is the only option.
LC