It’s Probably Nothing

16 Replies to “It’s Probably Nothing”

1. Saw a thing on the TV….a Florida Real Estate gal getting interviewed.
   She declared that some condos were cheaper than a car but she didn’t specify the car…..probably implying a new car.
   Should be interesting to see how Maobama/Oblama spins that…..

2. Housing prices (and housing demand) were hugely and artificially inflated by the Community Reinvestment Act that required banks to give mortgages to people who didn’t qualify. All that’s happening now is they’re finding their actual market driven value again. The prices will necessarily have to drop below that point for some time till the glut of home inventories is used up.

3. “She declared that some condos were cheaper than a car but she didn’t specify the car…..probably implying a new car.”
   Trade you two Volts for a decent condo?

4. Just a matter of time until the Canadian real estate bubble bursts. Canadians are smug and think it can’t happen here. It will.

5. On vacation recently we met a couple from Florida.
   They are trying to sell their condo that was purchased for $200K. Says they would be satisfied with an offer for $80K now.

6. Well, frankly, it doesn’t bother me. My own home in Alberta is paid for, and I bought it to live in, not as an investment instrument. So if the market value rises or falls, it matters little to me.
   And a glut of cheap homes on the market down South means that those who do have jobs can get into a home at a reasonable price.
   Right now, a winter get-away home in Arizona is looking like a real possibility for me.

7. willard…being a good socialist,you didn’t offer them some way to make the taxpayer buy their condo for 500K?? I am so ashamed of you.But then,the Yanks can use the zero’s food stamps and unicorn farts to buy stuff,can’t they? If ever there was a time to isolate ourselves from the yanks(trade,money,markets)this is it. But the black guy will make it all good,right?

8. Justhinkin, just where the hell do you get the idea
   I’m a socialist???
   You really do need help. Project much??

9. And BTW the way,it CANNOT be lower then the nadir.”Journalists” don’t even know how to use language now.And why am I not surprised.

10. That’s about right, I am 9 years into a 30 year fixed and about to refinance to a 15 year fixed. The interest rates are good, but had an appraisal done right before Christmas and my $187,000 two story brick is now worth $140,000.
    Arrrrrggggggg,,,,,,

11. We live in a modest Comox box here in the Comox Valley. Mortgage paid off 18 months ago. Sure is nice to have that $1000 / month extra now. Housing and mortgage price variations won’t directly affect us, however if things get too extreme I’m sure it will affect us to some degree.
    mid island mike

12. Pop goes the weasels.

13. The Banks have never taken the Hair Cut on all those bad Mortgages…The Courts have interfered with foreclosure and the Housing Market just sucks up the Fed money keeping folks in homes that they are not paying dime one…Need a Conclusion, ugly for some banks, or Housing will continue to be in a vacuum..
    Freddie & Fannie need to be eliminated! Enough Crapo
    It is a Fact in MHO that the US Congress knew what they were doing, and the leading economists where pushing ZERO down/Bad Loan ownership as a way for poor folks to gain wealth (the system would just recycle the bad loans without damage to the economy)…THE GRAND PLAN FAILED!

14. Slap Shot
    Better to axe the question:
    “What were they thinking?”

15. (sigh) This is another example of the financially innumerate – and barely literate, as Justhinkin pointed out – MSM at work.
    The housing index was artificially set at 100 in 2000. Today, it’s at 137.5. That’s an annual gain of just over 2.9%, compounded, which is better than “official” CPI figures. As one might expect, house prices do slightly better (not much) than inflation, as typically populations expand, new houses have to built farther from city centres, and older homes (closer to the centre) rise in price to reflect that. If you bought a home in 2000, chances are you’re not underwater today.
    There was a bubble in the mid-“oughts”. Prices rose far too quickly because of artificially (and fraudulently) cheap mortgages. The whistle blew, and the bubble popped. This is normal. And, as is also normal, after prices overshoot to the upside in the bubble, they’ll overshoot to the downside after the bubble. The only people surprised by this are the ones who have zero understanding of financial cycles.
    I wouldn’t be buying a house in the US today for investment purposes. However, if I had a reasonably secure job, a decent downpayment, and expected to live in the home for ten years or more, I would have no qualms about buying a house to live in. With mortgage interest deductibility, I’m sure the after-tax carrying costs are equal to or less than rent, and in ten years, I’m confident I’d be in a plus position.

16. Just had friends return from a holiday in Arizona. Malls are empty and lots of cheap housing everywhere. Discussions in Arizona about a two tier property tax like Florida where out of staters pay a lot more.
    It is all about demographics. Boomers will be down sizing either by choice or for medical reasons. If for medical reasons they will relocate closer to big hospitals. The shock will be how little their homes will bring in relation to what they expected. How many people have factored an inflated home value into their funding plans for retirement? The process of devaluing will turn into the same tidal wae that swamped Home Depots 15 to 20 years ago. Is your Home Depot as busy as it was even 3 years ago? I doubt it.