July 21, 2007

HousingPANIC Homework: Email Miami, Phoenix, Vegas and San Diego realtors, ask them if now is a good time to buy an investment condo, and report back

Here's local market conditions (alternate reality version), courtesy of RealtyTimes.com



Today's project is to email two random realtors in these housing crash hotspots, letting them know you're out of state and thinking of buying investment property, and asking them if now is a good time to buy.

Then report back here. NO NAMES ALLOWED - no need to kick the little guys when they're down. Just report the city and what they have to say.

When picking your two to email, I'd recommend the ones with the most hilariously head-in-the-sand write-ups on RealtyTimes, like "Now is a good time to buy!" and "there are signs the market is leveling off" and this gem: "Finally a normal market. Don't believe all of the gloom and doom you here in the media about the housing market." (actual realtor quotes from Phoenix)

Enjoy!

Extra credit - try any of the other risky and overpriced cities like Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, Cincy, KC, Naples, DC, Honolulu, NYC, Boston, San Jose, LA and Sacramento

I do love RealtyTimes - it's like reading notes from the Flat Earth Society or White House PR. Always a hoot

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

for the phoenix link, read russell shaw's post. he is the most straight forward, no BS one around. his analogy of house price & IBM stock price is exactly right.

Anonymous said...

**********************************


My wife just talked to a realtor yesterday fri july 20.

Now she called about a home but the realtor gave her the, 'Now is the best time to buy'!!!!!

Can you believe this crap!!

Anonymous said...

Typical realtor marching in lock step with all the other con's!

Anonymous said...

it's always a good time to buy or sell or stay in your home

Anonymous said...

Compared to last month or last year, now 'may' be a better time to buy!

But, what about 6 months from now?

Anonymous said...

try this one. She thinks the downtown Seattle condo market is HOT HOT HOT.

http://realtytimes.com/rtmcrcond/Washington~Seattle~reu2_sherylknowles

Anonymous said...

Phoenix:

It just might be a good time to buy, but no one really knows this. However, right now there are tons of homes for sale and that means you can have your pick and negotiate a good deal. That's always a good thing. Right now ask for the seller to pay all closing costs and close it in your time frame.



GREETINGS FROM PHOENIX! Indicators show that Phoenix currently is a neutral market. Closed sales transactions are behind this time a year ago. And yet, for the homeowner there is a bright side. The median home sales price in Phoenix increased during the first quarter of 2007!


July 2007 is looking to be a good month for the local Phoenix Real Estate market. People are out there buying homes now. There are several factors that help make this a normal market: 1. Interest rates are low and banks want to lend money to qualified borrowers; 2. The unemployment rate is low; 3. AZ is a great place to live and work; 4. There is a limited amount of land for new housing, keeping pressure on the demand for re-sale homes.

This is an excellent time to purchase now as the Phoenix market is starting to show signs of stabilizing. This is a great time to purchase a home with the large amount of resale homes to choose from.

Anonymous said...

Seattle will always go up we are immuneee

Anonymous said...

"What a great time to buy. Many beautiful properties available and interest rates are at historic lows.

Seller's are entaining offers that are very beneficial to the Buyer's. The market is very active and homes are selling. What a great time to buy!"
http://realtytimes.com/rtmcrcond/California~San_Diego~dougjohnson

Anonymous said...

When sellers are desperate, it's always a great time to buy ... for them.

Prices have no choice but to drop sharply in the coming months ahead.

If you can, wait, then house debt if that is what need.

Anonymous said...

Portland thinks they're immune too. What a shock they're going to get. It'll be fun to watch the arrogant a-holes get taken down a few pegs.

Anonymous said...

I called a Miami realtor's number from the Realty Times site. I got a recording telling me to leave a message with my phone number to receive a report on the Miami RE scene. I hung up without leaving a message.

I left for about an hour. When I got back, my recorder was blinking. I played the message. It was so garbled I had to turn up the volume and play it back three times. The guy sounded smashed, but I got enough of the message to realize who it was ... "properties" . . . "what you're looking for" . . . "Miami" . . ., etc.

And mind you, he left this message about 10 o'clock Saturday night Miami time. Real hustler.

Must be a hot market down there.

Armon said...

The median price went up?

Woo-hoo! But of course that has very little meaning at all. So of the less-than-5000 houses that sold, they were more expensive homes than last month. Big deal. That's where the bigger price drops are. Can you tell us how much prices on sales were reduced from their original asking price?

For most, now is a lousy time to buy in the Phoenix Metromess...

It's a market that's neutral alright... as in: in neutral, flying downhill, brakes overheating, tires screaming, yet still, going downhill. Wheeeeeeee!

Anonymous said...

I used to watch that site 2-3 years ago. It used to be an accurate indicator of realtor sentiment.

Then one day they pulled all the negative posts! Suddenly 50+ postings turned into 5-10!

Ridiculously blatant censorship.

Anonymous said...

c'mon keith!

It's a better assignment to have folks contact a mortgage broker to see just exactly what they're approving these days.

Then for extra credit, have people pose as brokers and call appraisers to see who is willing to "hit the number" still.

Anonymous said...

I sent an email to a lady in Las Vegas and got the MAILER DAEMON message.

Anonymous said...

Seattle is different alright!

Seattle is the most tempermental local economy in the nation. Other than working at Microsoft, Seattle is mostly airplane manufacturing.
Good luck when the war ends, the airline industry goes into bankruptcy again, and the manufacturing plants get sent to Mexico or China.

Anonymous said...

From zip-realty in Miami:
" The 10-Year Treasury Note has dramatically improved this week. It is now under 5.00% for the first time in quite awhile. It is actually at 4.94% right now. As of this morning, mortgage rates were .25% better in price than just yesterday and approximately 1.125% better than just last Friday.

This is definitely a great benefit to you if you are looking to buy a home. This market move is giving you the best opportunity to lock in the lowest mortgage interest rate we have seen all year. We do not know how long this will last, so take advantage while you can.
I am communicating this excellent news to all of my clients. Today is the day to take action!"

Got to go, better take action right now. Why buy just one condo with rates that low?

Anonymous said...

Love that Phoenix realtor:
"There is a limited amount of land for new housing, keeping pressure on the demand for re-sale homes."
So they're about to run out of desert in AZ?

Anonymous said...

Uh....well.. That dog ate my homework.

Anonymous said...

I had to tell my realtor to get me off his email list, so I wouldn't start thinking he was an idiot with his rhetorical bullshit. to him, it was always a "good time to buy."

Anonymous said...

Good luck when the war ends, the airline industry goes into bankruptcy again

Retard. Aerospace and airlines are not the same thing.

Anonymous said...

I think the better test would have been about a year ago, when the market was first starting to show signs of fatigue, to see how many Realtors were milking the last dollar out of people for the highest commissions. Now is a much better time to buy than then, since now the buyers are desperate. Then it was a lunatics game. Now at least you can talk to the owner, and he may realize his futility at asking $500,000 for a $300,000 home.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Good luck when the war ends, the airline industry goes into bankruptcy again

Retard. Aerospace and airlines are not the same thing.


Retard. Check again. Who do you think makes military aircraft? The government? Why not google 'boeing military contracts' and see what you come up with before you shove your ass in your mouth shorty.

Anonymous said...

Who do you think makes military aircraft?

no one in seattle, that's for sure. your fact checker is broken. we have a little group called the "Commercial Aircraft Group". they only count as weapons when they are flown into buildings.

Anonymous said...

Some quotes I came up with in the last 10 minutes:

Seattle is the most tempermental local economy in the nation. Seattle is mostly airplane manufacturing.
Good luck when the war ends, the airline industry goes into bankruptcy again, and the manufacturing plants get sent to Mexico or China.
- my post

Boeing's Military Aircraft and Missile Systems Group is the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer. This division is based in St. Louis, but employs 3,000 people in the Seattle area,...includes engineering support for the stealth bomber, surveillance aircraft, presidential and vice-presidential transport, and the new F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

Seattle has a history of boom and bust cycles - first line from Wiki on Seattle economic history.

Continued production of several Boeing military aircraft is being threatened by tightening purse strings around the world.
-http://seattle.bizjournals.com

Boeing is the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined, with capabilities in rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems-http://www.cityofseattle.net

Suicide is leading cause of injury death in King County
-http://www.kingcounty.gov/

Ever hear about risk premiums? Ever wonder why homebuilder had discounted multiples even at the peak 2005/06?

I wouldn't pay more than 100 sq/ft in your suicidal, boom and bust-town.