July 05, 2007

Arizona Republic allows realtor to pen an article. Her advice to renters? "It's a great time to buy because home prices are coming down"


Here's the realtor's other gems of unbiased wisdom - prices crashing, homes not selling, and a plea to homedebtors to not add fuel to the fire. But a great time to buy nonetheless!! Hilarious!!!

Boy, you can really count on commission-hungry realtors to give that great, expert, unbiased, unselfish advice!

HP'ers, have at it. What advice would you offer to potential home buyers and Desperate Homedebtors? And what advice would you offer to ramen eating realtors on commission?

Question: What is your advice to current renters thinking about purchasing a property?

Answer: It's a great time to buy because home prices are coming down and there are a lot of homes to choose from.
Plus, the interest, the property tax, private mortgage insurance (starting this year), and any points you pay on a mortgage can be tax deductible. And since homes typically appreciate over time, homeownership is an investment that builds equity. And if you get a fixed-rate mortgage, your payment stays flat, whereas rental payments can always go up.

Q: What is your best advice for potential clients looking to sell their properties right now?

A: Since there is a record number of about 53,000 homes listed for sale on the Arizona Multiple Listing Service, and since only 10 percent of these properties are currently selling, my advice would be that if they do not have to sell their home right now, don't put it on the market. But if they do have to sell, their house must be in "parade-ready" condition. And it must be the most attractively priced property among comparable homes in the area. Plus, they need a Realtor who will pull out the stops when it comes to marketing their home, and who will do everything possible to make it stand apart from the competition. Otherwise, the chances of the home selling in this market are remote.

Q: What housing/real estate trends do you foresee in 2007 for the West Valley?

A: No one has a crystal ball. But based on the Arizona Multiple Listing Service data, there's about a $40,000 gap Valleywide between the price of homes being listed and what they end up actually selling for. I believe this gap is going to have to narrow before sales pick up, which means that home prices will have to come down even more than they already have.

67 comments:

Anonymous said...

Realtors are like someone being asphyxiated. As individuals or as a collective they'll do anything. They will beg, plead, bite and try to gouge the eyes out of their assailant. Nothing is above or below the methods they'll employ. Everything is 'on the table'.

Anonymous said...

Anons,and trolls will buy a truckload of that.How many houses are you buying this year Anon?

Anonymous said...

She has a good point. In this market, you really do need a Realtor. A well-trained, highly educated, real estate professional who can decorate your driveway with a leased luxury car, tie balloons to the For Sale sign, and greet marks with a surgically-enhanced face that exudes professionalism and success is required these days.

blogger said...

Anyone who bought a home in Arizona today unless it was at 50% off peak price would be bankrupt in a matter of months if they tried to sell

We'll be crashing through multiple "bottoms", for years and years

Anonymous said...

Who are all theses renters?? Are there millions of us who sold and are and bubble sitting??? NOT - only a few. . .can these renters afford 20% down and a 6.6% 30 year fixed? NOT . . .the "mythical renter" who is just "dying to buy" is just that - a myth. . .wait until the real estate industry figures this out - everyone who wanted to buy a house DID. . .back before 2006. . .

Anonymous said...

"This is just another graveyard they can whistle by," he said, referring to Wall Street firms. "Eventually they're going to be overwhelmed. Interest rates are going to rise across the spectrum, and spreads are going to widen considerably."

Anonymous said...

Advice buy a house but offer 50% less than listing. Anywhere in the country - really - even in place that have'nt seen crazy volitility.

Markus Arelius said...

Typical feedback from a realtor. At the beginning it's "great time to buy a house" and at the end the realtor concedes that price declines have a way to go.

Nice.

"You're going to lose your shirt, but I don't care. I need that commission check in order to buy more Kraft mac&cheese. I'm getting so sick of Rahmen."

Anonymous said...

prices going up = buy before you are priced out forever

prices going down = buy because prices are going down


so when is it not a good time to buy?

Anonymous said...

David and Larry Yun said...
She has a good point. In this market, you really do need a Realtor. A well-trained, highly educated, real estate professional who can decorate your driveway with a leased luxury car, tie balloons to the For Sale sign, and greet marks with a surgically-enhanced face that exudes professionalism and success is required these days.

July 05, 2007 3:33 PM
================================================
You forgot the fashionable Bluetooth device in the ear!

Anonymous said...

El Toro poo poo!

The Thinker said...

Her obviously inconsistent comments just drive home the point that Realtors generally work for the sellers and not the buyers. A buyer would be foolish to heed the advice of a Realtor, that would be like asking a BestBuy sales associate if now is a good time to buy a flat screen TV.

Anonymous said...

Here's some "no bullsh*t" talk from Warren Buffett...

The rapidly growing trade in derivatives poses a "mega-catastrophic risk" for the economy legendary investor Warren Buffett has warned.

In his letter Mr Buffett compares the derivatives business to "hell... easy to enter and almost impossible to exit".

Some derivatives contracts, Mr Buffett says, appear to have been devised by "madmen".

The profits and losses from derivative deals are booked straight away, even though no actual money changes hand. In many cases the real costs hit companies only many years later.

This can result in nasty accounting errors. Some of them spring from "honest" optimism. But others are the result of "huge-scale fraud", and Mr Buffett points to the US energy market, which relied for most of its deals on derivatives trading and resulted in the collapse of Enron.

Anonymous said...

And now that Arizona is outlawing illegal labor (isn't this redundant?), I wonder what will happen to the demand for housing.

I can tell you in the inner DC burbs, almost ALL demand is from immigrants (recent or illegal). Most of these folks don't earn much; at my friend's party last week, I was the only native person and the only person making over 35K other than my fiancee.

Anonymous said...

Someone linked to this Washington Post article recently, but let me paste an excerpt re: illegal labor and housing demand in DC burbs.

Frequently, homes entering foreclosure have been converted into rentals as owners try to find a way to help cover the mortgage. That is a good option for some owners, but in the worst cases, former family homes are turned into transient lodging.

Five unrelated people are living in a house facing foreclosure in Manassas. One of the tenants, Cristian Mendes, from El Salvador, said that the owner, who lives in the house, is losing it to the bank because his boarders have lost their construction jobs and can no longer pay rent.

"I've been here four months, but I'm looking for another place to go -- I have to," Mendes said in Spanish. "I'll be on the road."

The door to the front of the house was propped open with a rope attached to the front railing to signify it would accept anyone passing by who wanted to rent a room. Tenants wandering in off the streets have plenty of options in Manassas: At the Global Foods grocery nearby, there were more than 35 handwritten fliers, most in Spanish, offering rooms to rent in homes.

"It's creating a whole subculture of boarding rooms," said Jose Luis Semidey, a Tysons Corner mortgage broker and real estate agent.

Anonymous said...

Just got back from the FL Gulf Coast trip.

Tampa, Bradenton/Sarasota, Ft. Myers a complete and total real estate basket case.

Never seen anything like it.

Filthy Sarasota newspaper rag a total cheerleader for the real estate industry. Shamless propaganda.

Anonymous said...

But REALTORS (TM) look into your eyes!

Anonymous said...

Isnt FL at 50% off now? Or is that just a few auction homes.

FL is the new CA - everyone will be copying thier trends!

RJ said...

"Pull out the stops" to sell a house in this market means "drop the price 5-10% below everyone else. We had to sell the house of a deceased relative. What finally moved the house was a 50K drop in price "below market." It's a race to the bottom!

Anonymous said...

Advice to Potential Home Buyer:

Do not buy. Wait until the cost to rent vs. own is roughly the same when you honestly factor in taxes, insurance, and upkeep/maintainence + any additional fees. Also this must be a fixed rate loan for 15 - 30 years.

Advice to Desperate Home Debtor:

Eventually Rent vs Own costs WILL become roughly equal. House prices will come down to that point. Face it. With that fact under your belt you should be able to evaluate your position honestly. How screwed will you be if you wait for that to happen. Get out now if you can afford to, slash your prices WAY below comps.

Anonymous said...

We'll be crashing through multiple "bottoms", for years and years

succinctly put, it's what I've been trying to convey, just never got the right words together.

Every person affected by this will have a personal bottom to hit. Some of them, if they had indeed had their 'personal bottoms' hit [by their mother, a caring friend, anyone smart enough to spank an idiot] would not be buying a house for many years to come.

But the spankings are coming.
'they're not listening..., they're not listening still..., perhaps they never will'

Anonymous said...

My advice to the realtor: It's a great time to shut the f*ck up.

Anonymous said...

what else is she supposed to say? don't buy a house, don't use a realtor?

Anonymous said...

I can tell you in the inner DC burbs, almost ALL demand is from immigrants (recent or illegal). Most of these folks don't earn much; at my friend's party last week, I was the only native person and the only person making over 35K other than my fiancee.

July 05, 2007 5:04 PM


===================================

How the hell do you know that? Did you ask everyone what they make? And only native person? Um again, did you ask for birth certificates from everyone there?

Man you sound like a real idiot.

Anonymous said...

I need that commission check in order to buy more Kraft mac&cheese.

As we called it back in college, kraft smack and squeeze.

Anonymous said...

Homes burn in Gilbert
Elias C. Arnold
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 4, 2007 10:21 PM

Firefighters responded late Wednesday to a two-alarm fire southeast of Loop 202 and Higley Road in Gilbert.

Multiple houses under construction in the 1300 block of South Wade Drive were reportedly burning when fire crews arrived shortly before 10 p.m.

No further information was immediately available.

Anonymous said...

I live in AZ and people around me are actually saying that they are hearing that RE will take off again!! I keep telling them its supply and demand and there is no way possible that prices will go up. They are all saying that they are going to be realwhores here soon. Oh well...

Frank R said...

My advice to realtors:

There are plenty of openings in the McJobs program. However, McDonald's will actually expect results from you, so it may not be suitable for a realtor after all.

Anonymous said...

Amazing that this stuff qualifies for news. How do Realtors get away with saying now is a great time to buy a house? Even the NAR pulled its ads saying the same thing after everyone rolled their eyes at them.

Where is David and Lawrence chiming in on this article?

Housing prices are on skis on a huge double-black-diamond downslope - now is not the time to buy.

As someone once said the nice part about housing bottoms is that they are flat and long. You'll know when its a good time to buy and you'll have plenty of time to act on it.

Frank R said...

Oh Dear God, not more of the 'buy for the tax deduction' nonsense!!!

Spend one dollar to get thirty cents back? What a great deal! NOT!!!

Frank R said...

Multiple houses under construction in the 1300 block of South Wade Drive were reportedly burning when fire crews arrived shortly before 10 p.m.

Brings new meaning to the term "fire sale," eh? Having lived in Arizona, world capital of shysters and con artists, I'd bet that was set by desperate homedebtors who couldn't get out of their contracts.

Anonymous said...

If we assume most realtors are diligent professionals "who will pull out the stops when it comes to marketing their home, and who will do everything possible to make it stand apart from the competition", then won't most houses by default not stand apart because they are all marketed the same?

If we assume the reality that most realtors are complete morons then isn’t it preferable to do a FSBO than pick through a sea of imbeciles until you find a competent realtor?

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:13 - your castigating the inner DC fellow (anon 5:04) makes you sound like an idiot. Do you have your full faculties? Can you see? Can you hear? If so, do you really need a birth certificate to make an informed judgment that someone may be a recent immigrant if he/she keeps humming La Cucharacha and eating tortillas? Or were you there?

Unknown said...

Just remember the Az Republic derives a lot of their revenues from the R.E. industry.So they are bought and paid for.Should be a disclaimer after every article they publish on Real Estate.

Anonymous said...

Oh what a hot boiled in 120 degree mess we have. I flipped my houses in Phoenix, now I just watch from the sidelines the slow motion car wreck, that just keep son happening time and time again.
It is a continual train wreck, and finally some home debtors have figured this out and priced below each other. Well when you are done, I will be there with a small check to pick up the pieces.
For 39 cents on the dollar. The same way I did it when the technology bust occured except that was like ten cents on the dollar. Excuse me my 12:00 realtor whore is underneath my desk, with her lips ready.

Anonymous said...

That realtor is right on the money. Our here in CA we just had a big property auction - most of the buyers are investors increasing their portfolios. Those that have want more, and do not want anyone else to have.

My realtor has me holding out of the market for now, but he will let me know when the time to buy in is ripe. I'm a little nervous cause house prices are starting to go up again...

Anonymous said...

How the hell do you know that? Did you ask everyone what they make? And only native person? Um again, did you ask for birth certificates from everyone there?

Man you sound like a real idiot.


I am going to jump in with the others and say you ARE THE BIGGEST IDIOT THAT HAS EVER TRIED TO FLAME ME.

At the party, we talked to eachother!!! The content of the conversation was enough for me to know the attendees were from Russia, Chile, Mexico, Nigeria, and Lebanon. Their jobs included an unemployed cook, an extremely desperate realtor, and various low level positions in the hotel industry. You can find out what any position pays by doing some research or (like me) looking at payroll data for our massive hospitality holdings.

Even if the content of the conversation had insufficient for discovering these facts, I could have figured most of this out using 'inductive reasoning.' Or, for you politically correct folks out there, being racist. Ha, ha, ha, ... Must be rough going through life with half your brain atrophied.

I repeat: I have been flamed (unsuccessfully) by many people but you sir are the stupiest person yet. Good luck with that mortgage payment, I am guessing you make 20K per year. And, yes, this one is kind iffy but given your acumen, I think 20K would be an extremely generous allowance from any employer.

Now, who sounds like an idiot? (Or were you just trying to be subtle and call me racist?)

Anonymous said...

Keith, I'm a big fan of the blog, and have been watching the housing situation very closely. I live in Los Angeles, and sold my first home in March of 2006. I have been renting ever since, but will probably end up buying in 2008. Home prices in Burbank, CA have been holding somewhat steady, but have dropped considerably from their highs in 2006. However, people ARE still buying, and it is because, regardless of the subprime fallout, you can still get %100 financing.
I'm starting to think that getting 100% financing with a fixed rate 30 year interest only and a second prime loan, is the way to go. If you plan on staying in the house for 10 years plus, you are probably going to be able to ride out the protracted slump that we will see in the coming years.....15 years is a long time, and if you can get that loan at 6%, it might not be a bad idea to take advantage of such loose financing while it is still available. If interest rates rise sharply in an inflationary crises, prices will drop considerably, however the cost to get a loan will rise considerably. So maybe that 750K house will drop to 450K, but you will be paying 9 - 10% for your mortgage....possibly more. I'd rather play with the bank's money, and let inflation take its course over 15 years......
thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Questions:
Why is there so much human trash and phony scum concentrated in Arizona and Phoenix/Scottsdale in particular?
What sin have I committed that has trapped me in this steaming,sweating low-life shithole?
Lord, what do I have to do to escape this horrific living curse of a place?

Anonymous said...

Caught on a real estate broker's sign yesterday (midwest):

"Foreclosure Sale" in black letters on a yellow sign.

Haven't seen that before. First time for everything. And the area is a decent, relatively prosperous (or was) area.

Anonymous said...

Forecast:
1. FACT: Iran is dependent on external international oil development or they will not have enough production to export by 2014. 10 years from now Iran and US will be friends. Oil prices will drop

2. FACT: Baby Boomer housing demands (2nds) and next generation home buyers and illegal immigrants will create housing demand that outpaces current housing inventory over next 10 years.

3. "Over Time" real estate does appreciate. Especially when leverage is taken into consideration. Buy smart, plan well and you can see phenominal returns on your leveraged investment.

Sorry to all you naysers, you are drinking the koolaid, not the other way around. It is amazing how people can brag about how smart they are while earning investment returns that barely keep up with inflation. Don't ask me to add to your social security when you can't afford to rent in your old age!

gregoryw said...

http://tinyurl.com/2uhmjg

Funny how all of these brand new $750,000 houses keep going on fire. Couldn't have anything to do with the payments, could it?

Anonymous said...

Frank@NeverColdCall.com said...
Oh Dear God, not more of the 'buy for the tax deduction' nonsense!!!

Spend one dollar to get thirty cents back? What a great deal! NOT!!!

July 05, 2007 6:36 PM

-----------------------------------

Rent for $2000 and get $0 deduction. Buy for $2000 of which $1500 is interest and get 30% $450 in tax savings. Yea, a great deal indeed.

Not saying now is a good time to buy, but you can't discount the tax advantage like that either.

Anonymous said...

AZhostage said...
Questions:
Why is there so much human trash and phony scum concentrated in Arizona and Phoenix/Scottsdale in particular?
What sin have I committed that has trapped me in this steaming,sweating low-life shithole?
Lord, what do I have to do to escape this horrific living curse of a place?

July 05, 2007 8:22 PM


===================================
STFU. If you don't like it move. Simple really.

Anonymous said...

sinis said...
I live in AZ and people around me are actually saying that they are hearing that RE will take off again!! I keep telling them its supply and demand and there is no way possible that prices will go up. They are all saying that they are going to be realwhores here soon. Oh well...

July 05, 2007 6:30 PM

-----------------------------------

I also live in AZ, and I know where that is coming from. Basically, what I have seen is that the recently released census figures of both businesses and individuals moving here is increasing. Gilbert alone grew by 74% in 2006, Phoenix just passed Philly for 5th position. Now, before I get flamed by someone claiming that is all illegal immigration and those people do not buy homes. Realize that illegals don't fill out census forms. They would not get near a census taker in a million years. They are afraid of them. So what remain are a lot of people, a lot of inventory and all needing a place to live. Prices have come down very little here except in the fringes. The people that are not getting foreclosed by their liar loans are just telling buyers "You don't want to pay, then find someone else to buy from, I am not going to sell". The builders are building less. The math will catch up, maybe not for a year, but it will catch up. I strongly doubt that the big "blood in the streets scenario" will happen. A correction, yes, 50% no way! As far as the big impending death of Wall Street etc. That won't happen either. There are too many smart, rich people with money in both RE and Stocks to let that happen. It is a good ole boys club in Wall Street, and you better believe they are not going to let Joe Six Pack "Flipper" and "Joe daytrader" effect their lifestyle. This RE cycle is simply that, a cycle. A shakeout of all the amateurs. If you don't think so, just sit back and watch. But make up your own mind about buying. If you don't buy - realize that you may lose, if you do buy or sell now - also realize you may lose, but either way, don't use a realtor. Use a service like help u sell or buy owner. At least then you are looking the seller in the eye, and making a deal based on straight talk and not all the manipulation of the middle men.

blogger said...

Arizona and population growth:

Past performance does not guarantee future returns

Say it with me

Past performance does not guarantee future returns

People moved to places like Nevada and Arizona why? Because of jobs. What accounts for the job growth? Housing! Now what happens when housing goes poof? Jobs go poof. What happens when there are no jobs? Population loss.

The great population gainers will see a serious boomerang effect now that housing has collapsed. Even the uncounted illegals may go home

Just watch. And you'll be amazed. "Where did all the people go" they'll say in Phoenix. "Where did all the people go"

Frank R said...

Why is there so much human trash and phony scum concentrated in Arizona and Phoenix/Scottsdale in particular?

Because it was World Headquarters for the real estate ponzi scheme. Every shyster, huckster, and hard-luck loser looking for a chance to make a quick buck flocked there.

It's a shame because it was a nice place to live pre-2002 or so.

Frank R said...

Rent for $2000 and get $0 deduction. Buy for $2000 of which $1500 is interest and get 30% $450 in tax savings. Yea, a great deal indeed.

Three thoughts:

1. I don't qualify for the so-called "tax break." It gets phased out at certain income levels, and for a single person like me it's not that high - $135k/year. If I were married, maybe, because they get it up to $300k. But I'm not.

2. I rent for $3,500 and half of that is home-office deduction. If you "own" all you can do is depreciate a portion of your principal payment for home office, and we all know there's no principal for the first several years of a mortgage - 7 years on a 30-year. And, you wind up paying most of it back when you sell the house. My dad found that out the hard way when he sold one house to move to another and the IRS sent a huge bill asking for all the home office deduction money back.

It's the same reason I lease a car for business use instead of buying one. Buy = $15,000 depreciation over 3 years. Lease = 100% deductible.

3. You conveniently left out the fact that a house is a depreciating asset right now. The loss in value will far outstrip any tax saving you might get, real or imaginary.

It's like what I tell salespeople who try to approach business owners and say "my product is tax-deductible." All business owners (successful ones, anyway) know it's stupid to buy something for a tax break, because an expense is an expense, period. It's smarter to save a dollar than to spend it and get a .30 cent reward for it.

Anonymous said...

Keith,

Answer your own question in reverse - "where WILL all the people go"?

Back to the midwest with the "great" economy there? Not!

Back to California with the high taxes there? Nope!

Back to the east coast with the high cost of living? No.

Maybe over to Florida where the housing bust is twice as bad? I don't think so.

So I guess all these jobless masses will just camp out somewhere in Nebraska, eating grass and waiting for someone to save them.

Watch what happens now that businesses can't hire illegals - some of the former real-estate workers WILL take the low-paying service jobs to make ends meet, as wages rise in those positions to find people. Gee, the busboy or cook at Chili's might be an American again now.

-jz

Anonymous said...

Rent for $2000 and get $0 deduction. Buy for $2000 of which $1500 is interest and get 30% $450 in tax savings. Yea, a great deal indeed.

--

Well aren't we a rocket scientist! Give $1,500 to the bank to save $450 in income tax? Brilliant! Plus, you can only deduct interest when you ITEMIZE. Depending on income, dependents and other factors, some people make out better with the STANDARD deduction.

Go build a rocket ship, Brainiac!

Anonymous said...

No jobs in the Midwest? That's news to me. I'm currently working and have had two job offers the past month without even looking. I only make $60K a year, but it's higher than the California median and the cost of living is 50%. Is it really worth it living among millions of illegal immigrants and eating Ramen noodles just to say that you live in the land of fruits and nuts?

Anonymous said...

"Rent for $2000 and get $0 deduction. Buy for $2000 of which $1500 is interest and get 30% $450 in tax savings. Yea, a great deal indeed."

--------------------------

Except that it's more like buy for $4000, and that's without factoring in depreciation (dropping home prices).

Anonymous said...

It's 115 degrees in Phoenix today. Why would ANYONE want to live there???

Anonymous said...

"1. FACT: Iran is dependent on external international oil development or they will not have enough production to export by 2014. 10 years from now Iran and US will be friends. Oil prices will drop"

-------------------------

ROFL!! I suppose 2.5 billion Chinese and Indians will just go back to riding bicycles and donkeys. Ever heard of a global economy?

Anonymous said...

"2. FACT: Baby Boomer housing demands (2nds) and next generation home buyers and illegal immigrants will create housing demand that outpaces current housing inventory over next 10 years."

----------------------

Sure, Paco the leaf blower operator will be buying that $800K McMansion on his $8/hour wage! (But hey, it's under the table!)

And how are a bunch of ageing Boomers, who are rapidly approaching retirement but haven't saved nearly enough, going to be paying for second homes? By taking second jobs at WalMart perhaps?

Anonymous said...

"3. "Over Time" real estate does appreciate. Especially when leverage is taken into consideration. Buy smart, plan well and you can see phenominal returns on your leveraged investment."

--------------------

Actually, "over time," real estate returns are just about ZERO in real terms. Sure, home prices have gone up a lot faster than inflation over the last few years. What goes up must come down.

Buy smart? Oh, you must mean wait a few years, at least, for prices to reach fundamental value, or even overcorrect to the downside. I agree with that.

RJ said...

Anon said:
"Forecast:
1. FACT: Iran is dependent on external international oil development or they will not have enough production to export by 2014. 10 years from now Iran and US will be friends. Oil prices will drop"
----------------------------------

Iran's "external international oil development" is coming from China which is also helping arm Iran with state of the art air defense systems. Iran and the U.S. will not be friends unless we succeed in a regime change, "cancel" the contracts with China, and post a large military presence. Furthermore, oil prices will not drop unless there's a major depression which destroys demand.

And as far as real estate's appreciation, as Robert Shiller pointed out, from 1890 to 1990 appreciation on residential real estate was essentially zero after adjustment for inflation. A home is not an investment. You want to make money, buy income property. The massive run up in prices will correct to the mean because it represented excess credit/artificial demand, not real value.

Anonymous said...

"People moved to places like Nevada and Arizona why? Because of jobs. What accounts for the job growth? Housing! Now what happens when housing goes poof? Jobs go poof. What happens when there are no jobs? Population loss."

----------------------

That's the "self-perpetuating downward spiral" phase. And what happens when there is no more water and no more cheap electricity to run all those air conditioners? How much will that McMansion in Phoenix be "worth" then?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous pussy said:

STFU. If you don't like it move. Simple really.
----------------------------------
Nice.., real nice. Spoken, (written) like a genuine useless, phony underachieving piece of Arizona shit found crawling in places like Scottsdale.
How do you wipe the shitty sweat out of your dirty crack in this heat wave or do you lick it off?

Anonymous said...

Best Buy clerk: Now is a great time to buy a flat-screen TV.

Car Dealer: Now is a great time to buy a car.

Doctor: Now is a great time for surgery and/or prescription drugs.

RealtWhore: Now is a great time to buy (or sell) a home.

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith, this is another gem for you to post about two realthores back stabbing each other on deals and posting fake sex ads on Craiglist to get even. It's getting ugly out there!

http://tinyurl.com/2rcp8w

Anonymous said...

"Rent for $2000 and get $0 deduction. Buy for $2000 of which $1500 is interest and get 30% $450 in tax savings. Yea, a great deal indeed."

Actually this claim is not totally accurate. Most of the interest is paid at the beginning of the loan. As you progress into the loan, that deduction amount reduces substantially.

Also, you can save much more money by renting and then use the savings to lower your AGI by investing in investments such as monies or by maxing retirement accounts like 401(k), SEP IRA, etc. Please remember that most home buyers can't give 20% down, so they end up paying expensive PMI, which is not tax deductible. Condo assessments, HOAs, and expensive home insurance neither.

So, next time a realtwhore or FB tells you that the tax deduction is a huge incentive to buy a home, you know it's a lie.

Anonymous said...

keith said...
Arizona and population growth:

Past performance does not guarantee future returns

Say it with me

Past performance does not guarantee future returns

People moved to places like Nevada and Arizona why? Because of jobs. What accounts for the job growth? Housing! Now what happens when housing goes poof? Jobs go poof. What happens when there are no jobs? Population loss.

The great population gainers will see a serious boomerang effect now that housing has collapsed. Even the uncounted illegals may go home

Just watch. And you'll be amazed. "Where did all the people go" they'll say in Phoenix. "Where did all the people go"

July 05, 2007 10:18 PM


This I have been seeing. Walmarts are no longer crawling with ten million screaming kids and their illegal families. Home Depot and Lowes are also DEAD, even on weekends! I don't see RE going up in AZ like some fo my friends around me are saying. In fact a lot of neigborhoods, newly developed, have either gone down the shit tubes due to no buyers, no renters, or only a few spec houses exist and the rest of the area is not developed.

Anonymous said...

Oh, forgot to mention that several friends of mine are also teachers and have been commenting that several students have indicated that they will be moving soon back to Mexico as their parents are illegal aliens and CANNOT find work. My brother also works commerical construction and has said that the owners have shit canned all of the illegals due to the new immigration laws in AZ.

Anonymous said...

That's the "self-perpetuating downward spiral" phase. And what happens when there is no more water and no more cheap electricity to run all those air conditioners? How much will that McMansion in Phoenix be "worth" then?

July 06, 2007 3:14 AM


Tucson electric power has indicated that they will be increasing elctricity costs 20% in the next year or so.

Anonymous said...

Well, of course realtors like to get their commission. On the flip side though, wouldn't you rather buy a house now and save money instead of later when prices go up again?

Anonymous said...

FSBO Louisville said...
Well, of course realtors like to get their commission. On the flip side though, wouldn't you rather buy a house now and save money instead of later when prices go up again?

July 13, 2007 7:55 PM

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No, I'd rather buy a house later when prices have come down by 50% or so.