HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

September 13, 2007

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

Why do you care so much about home prices and the housing market?

68 comments:

HeJustLaughs said...: Because it's an integral part of the economy and I'm hoping the bubble pops rather than deflates as I finish college in a couple years and then will probably be looking to own a home in the next couple of years after that.; September 13, 2007 10:46 AM
Anonymous said...: Because it's a real-life-reality-web-show!

I - as a computer technician, I had no prior real estate or mortgage knowledge - I've learned TONS! I have been addicted to HP for months now, I can't stop coming here everyday for my fix, it's like a housing-Britney-Spears-train-wreck you can't turn away.

Thanks Keith you got me addicted!
.
.
.; September 13, 2007 11:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Because my DH & I lost our ass on our first starter home in Texas in the 80's
Bought a SFH for 80K & 4 years later you could buy the house next door on the Court House steps for 40K (yep, they did!).

We eventually gave it back to the Bank & moved to the Midwest.

Fast forward to 2001 (older & wiser!!). Moved to D.C. & bought 2 weeks after 9/11 for 400K. Sold this house 12/06 for 700K, took 300 days but I knew the Market was tanking (again)and wanted the hell out!!!

So why do I care about the housing market? Cause it's my turn to buy a house for 1/2 price! I can rent for 1,2,3 years whatever it takes!!
MY TURN !!!; September 13, 2007 11:58 AM
Anonymous said...: The housing bubble is one of the things I watch to keep track of the deterioration of society. It is fun watching the sheep stew in their own juices. Next up, food and energy prices double and the dollar goes in the toilet. So much fun for me. :-); September 13, 2007 12:00 PM
Anonymous said...: HOLY COW that builder just cut their home prices by $100,000. 25% off sale in Phoenix underway; September 13, 2007 12:09 PM
Anonymous said...: secuities generated that have been sliced and diced, resold and multiplied 10X, and again, and again... how many times? We're still trying to figure that one out.

It's the uncertainty.; September 13, 2007 12:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I need to know when I'm going to be able to afford a home.; September 13, 2007 12:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I'm waiting for the prices to get reasonable again so that I can buy a house here in NJ.

This will probably be the only state in the union to keep going up.

Why do I stay here? lol

When a 3 bedroom, one bath, house built in 1920, in a FLOODZONE! (useless basement, flooded up to the first floor twice in 4 years, essentially a knock down) is going, and went, for 360,000.. there's a problem.

Come on 2010!; September 13, 2007 12:42 PM
Bill said...: Personally I think this hole housing thing has really been out of touch with the real US economy.

There has been no real growth in the us economy in 6 years...just debt, so people are clinging to their only asset which has some and I use that term loosely some value. It is only worth what the next chump I mean person is willing to pay for it.

A house today with a family of 4 is 50% of ones income...in most cases..even if you bought years ago..your taxes have doubled due to this false wealth effect...for me I love my home, but would walk away from it if i was in the ARM Situation...you have to, why continue to struggle for a losing asset.

Yes the IRS will send you a nice letter that you owe such and such..but you can not get blood from a stone.; September 13, 2007 12:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Because, I have 3 houses. (Well positioned I think. One paid off. 2nd with 39K to go. 3rd with 64K to go.)

I have very little other saved equity (65K). My FICO is 805.

I'm 50, if housing goes down, my total equity goes down.

If the economy goes down - ALL of us go down.

NO BAILOUT!, though. Markets should be left alone... But, it's TOO late for that isn't it.

World markets and Bernanke has already intervened. I have no doubt but to expect the same upcoming.

Real estate, secuities generated that have been sliced and diced, resold and multiplied 10X, and again, and again... how many times? We're still trying to figure that one out.

It's the uncertainty.; September 13, 2007 12:49 PM
Anonymous said...: I am here basically because I earn about 100k a year, and found that i logically couldnt afford home in 2002-now without a teaser rate in the WOrcester, Boston area. Saw my friends getting "Rich" and wondered what the hell was going on. Thanks to HP and others patrick.net etc.. I was awoken to what was going on and never bought. I look forward to buying my 3 br ranch home for 130k in 2012. THANKS HP!!; September 13, 2007 12:55 PM
Paul E. Math said...: Because I, like everyone else in the world, am a consumer of housing.

Unlike everyone else, I realize that low-cost housing is ultimately in my interest. Rising home prices are NOT in my interest.

When the entire country (except Hpers, thank Christ) is cheering something that you know to be bad, it makes you very interested in the outcome.; September 13, 2007 1:01 PM
Unknown said...: Moving DC area at the start of 2008 started looking into real estate this past December. I was originally looking at condo's in Cleveland Park for $350,000+ for 1 bedroom condo.

After being depressed as hell for a couple months over my $100K joint income meaning jack, I stumbled upon this blog and saw the light.

Now I'm looking to get a 2+ bedroom condo or townhouse for the upper 100's and invest a good 20-25% of my combined income. Starting at 25 can't hurt.

And if I can't something at my price, I'm perfectly fine renting (or subletting).; September 13, 2007 1:11 PM
Anonymous said...: I care because keeping track of real estate prices is the only way for me to figure out when it is the right time for me to buy a house and some land.

I also care because the meltdown will allow me to say "see I told you so" to every @$$hole who thinks that I should be buying asap.

I love land and being outdoors, and I hate having to live in a stuffy apartment . . . but I'm not going to impoverish myself to get into a house with a crappy 1/2 acre yard.

BTW, is that ad one of Greg Swine's "21 reasons to bank on the Phoenix real estate market?"; September 13, 2007 2:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Here's Greg Swan the idiot in all his glory

http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=114

21 reasons to bank on the Phoenix real estate market

Obviously, I consider this a profoundly silly question, but to lurk among the BubbleBloggers and their seething commentariat is to acquire an education in a slice of America invisible from this side of the sewer gratings. Notwithstanding the idiotic economic analysis, which is really no worse than the static-market fallacies paraded as profundities in the pages of the Arizona Republic, these sites — and not just HousingPanic — are infested with a cult-like fever to inflict suffering — at second hand, to be sure — on people who are in fact guilty of nothing except failing to have drunk the BubbleBlogger KoolAde.

That’s all one. I don’t care. The whole of the last century was dominated by the bad behavior of viciously angry wretches, but look where it got them. The BubbleBloggers will someday bawl balefully in private, but they will never, ever admit that they have been very publicly very foolish. You will know and I will know and in the secret chambers of their hearts they will know they were wrong all along. But as long as you don’t hold your breath waiting for that contrite admission of error, you should be fine.

Here’s where I do start to care. Whenever the subject of Phoenix comes up in a BubbleBlog, the assembled Brown Shirts pile on, for whatever reason. This is their perfect right — even though I think they’re wrong. I love this place. I came here for three months in 1988, and I could not wait to get back. The first time I set foot here, on March 13, 1988, I knew I was home. We moved here for good on April 1, 1991, and I cannot imagine living happily anywhere else. Our relocation page is my extended love letter to the Phoenix area, warts and all. I’ve been writing lovingly about this place since the day I got here, and I’ll keep it up at least until the day before I die here.

Which brings me back to HousingPanic’s question. We keep our own home sales price statistics, so we have no doubt that values are down from their high in December. How much? Right now, about 4%. Could they go lower? Certainly. Will they drop by the huge amounts HousingPanic and his flying monkeys seem to yearn for? This seems very unlikely.; September 13, 2007 2:23 PM
Anonymous said...: HA HA. That was my house in Las Vegas. Same model, 2311 sq ft built by D R Horton. I bought it for $189K in 2001. Sold for $465K in 2006. Should be $250K by 2009.

I'll give credit though, great house. Very well built. 5 years and no issues with it. If I ever buy again, D R will be 1st on my list of builders.

As to the question at hand....

I've always been interesed in finance related things. I have a degree in finance although I work in an unrelated line of work.

Plus it was just common sense that when my house more than doubled in price within 5 years it was time to take the profits and run. I lost about $400K in stock options during the tech meltdown by riding the market down. I swore to myself if I was ever in a similar position I would not get greedy and lose it again.

Now I am following it closely as piece of mind that I did the right thing. Vindication is always amazing isn't it folks?

I feel very tempted to call/write people who told me I was nuts 18 months ago and rub it in their face. But as the old saying goes,living well is the best revenge. And with $300K in the bank, no debt to speak of and contributing $15K a year into my 401K at the ripe old age of 32, I think I am living more than well.; September 13, 2007 2:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Because my DH & I lost our ass on our first starter home in Texas in the 80's
Bought a SFH for 80K & 4 years later you could buy the house next door on the Court House steps for 40K (yep, they did!).

We eventually gave it back to the Bank & moved to the Midwest.

Fast forward to 2001 (older & wiser!!). Moved to D.C. & bought 2 weeks after 9/11 for 400K. Sold this house 12/06 for 700K, took 300 days but I knew the Market was tanking (again)and wanted the hell out!!!

So why do I care about the housing market? Cause it's my turn to buy a house for 1/2 price! I can rent for 1,2,3 years whatever it takes!!
MY TURN !!!

September 13, 2007 11:58 AM

===============================
The real question that is never asked is "what will happen to our nation"?
Are we just 300 million individuals all trying to get one over on the next guy or our we a nation of citizens all with common bonds and goals?
Save the nation and f-ck making blood money off the backs of your fellow man.; September 13, 2007 2:43 PM
Mammoth said...: What? No granite countertops in the kitchen?

No way am I buying this house!; September 13, 2007 2:53 PM
Anonymous said...: eric said: "Now I'm looking to get a 2+ bedroom condo or townhouse for the upper 100's and invest a good 20-25% of my combined income. Starting at 25 can't hurt."

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

Eric my man - you're thinking about 50% depreciation in DC? You're being brain-washed by this blog - learn to be objective.

FL, Vegas, etc have ultra-rich and everyone else is poor - there's no significant knowledge-based (IE white-collar) economy there. DC Metro is the heart of the internet, has a strong private sector economy, and - never forget - Uncle Sammy. About 50% of the people in the area have at least a BS, and something like 20-25% have an MS/law degree/MBA/etc, which is the highest in the nation if I recall correctly. Prices may fall/"adjust", but outside of PG County - where you take your life into your own hands every day - there's virtually 0 chance of anything over 25%, and that 25% is for far-out VA counties like Loudon/Prince William, where the commutes into DC/etc are 2hrs or more each way.

We're outside PG in an area where almost all the schools have been built in the last 5-10 years, where they're overbuilding on roads to stay ahead of traffic volume. It's about 35-45 minutes into DC/MD/Northern VA from us on average. Our builder continues to have solid traffic: "all things considered, not bad". Why? Because location, schools, prices. Fundamentals do matter - yeah, the prices are still silly (about $150-170/sq ft for a 3K+ sq ft house including finished basement) in my opinion, but given most other places within that commuting distance and the quality of schools, not bad. :); September 13, 2007 3:00 PM
Numpty McHoon said...: How else can we keep score?

Bought in '00 for 100k, sold in '05 for 400k.

My goal is to buy it back again for 100k.

Score! If I can't, still, score!

(Hopefully the value of my bounty won't decrease significantly over time, but what's a po boy to do?); September 13, 2007 3:00 PM
Anonymous said...: The real question that is never asked is "what will happen to our nation"?
Are we just 300 million individuals all trying to get one over on the next guy or our we a nation of citizens all with common bonds and goals?
Save the nation and f-ck making blood money off the backs of your fellow man.

**** Hey news alert ****
I'm not getting "Blood Money" off my fellow man, but rather the Banks/RE/Mortgage Co's that have us all by the short ones.

The Nation is already screwed as well, but you haven't figured that out yet..these are CYCLES that are contstantly happening - when you've been around a while you'll figure this out-
You must be under 40!!!; September 13, 2007 3:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I'm looking for a vacation home to buy from one of these suckers...I mean investors.

We purchased a home early this year....I know...gloom & doom. But we put 40% down, got a 30 yr fixed below 6%, and have already knocked 7 years off the mortgage by prepaying.....Yes, we purchased a home well below our means. We also don't look at our home as an investment....that's what my 401K/Stocks/Bonds/Commodities/Annuity/Cash are for.

That said, we would like to "liberate" one of these poor souls from their beach investment in the next 4 years or so....Just in time for my kids to enjoy the ocean.; September 13, 2007 3:17 PM
Anonymous said...: I am in my mid-thirties, have sacrificed a lot to put myself through school and finally become a relatively highly paid professional, yet I cannot afford to buy what I deem an average home here in DC. It's like the rug was pulled out from under people like me. F'ing boomers; September 13, 2007 3:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Because, in the 91 California bust real estate went down and then the whole state went into recession. There was high unemployment, lots of restaurants going out of business, and fire sale real estate. Being a buyer of meaningless escapist crap and distressed real estate, this is a good time for me. I don’t like to follow the crowd, I like to buy when they are selling and sell when they are buying.AS for our nation, these are the ground rules in a capitalistic society. And for the more compassionate seller, Pollyanna spoken here.; September 13, 2007 3:20 PM
Anonymous said...: eric:

Hold off on buying anything, the condo market is gonna tank in DC Metro in the next couple years and by the time you are ready to buy, you will have saved a good amount of cash, will probably be ready to get out of DC and into an actual home, with land, in Virginia. While DC may seem cool now, it gets old really quick- they tax the hell out of you so that they can give your money to grandmothers to take care of their grandchildren (1K/month) because the actual parents have to go out and party.In exchange you get absolutely nothing in return, perhaps except garbage collection and the ringing of gunshots and street thugs late at night.

And, I feel for you cause I am twice what you are and that ain't jack either.; September 13, 2007 3:27 PM
Paige Turner said...: RE: Why do you care so much about home prices and the housing market?

Because the collapse of the real estate market, and all of its funny money derivatives, has the potential of causing the collapse of the United States.

The "free money" housing appreciation has dried up. Consumer spending is headed way down and everyone is running scared.

Will Bernanke cut interest rates in an attempt to save Wall Street or raise interest rates in an attempt to save the dollar?

Either way, we're screwed.

V.L.; September 13, 2007 3:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Because it's the biggest F-ing expense you can incur in your lifetime. Better be getting your money's worth....
$50,000 here, $100,000 there.
It ain't play money!; September 13, 2007 3:33 PM
Anonymous said...: The real question that is never asked is "what will happen to our nation"?
Are we just 300 million individuals all trying to get one over on the next guy or our we a nation of citizens all with common bonds and goals?
Save the nation and f-ck making blood money off the backs of your fellow man.

Get real. The present culture was created by the gutter ideology of conservatism which has reigned for over 40 years. To them, everyone is a "mark" to be taken to the cleaners. Their credo- "Get as much as you can, all that you can, and don't give a second thought to how you get it". We're talking about people who would eat their mothers if they thought they'd sh*t money. Radical individualism, selfishness, greed, all the most savage instincts in humans are the ones they promote and exploit.

So to answer the question, I cheer the housing crash for what it will provoke people to do to republicans and conservatives. We don't have a Siberia to send them to but I'd be happy to see them living in concentration camps in the Mojave. Or worse.; September 13, 2007 3:35 PM
Anonymous said...: because I'm friggin bitter-
everyone talking about how rich they are , because of all their home equity. driving around in their hummers.

people pressuring me to buy now, or I'll never be able to.

I want a basic home, not a mcmansion- and I can't afford it. We make 92K year.; September 13, 2007 3:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said: "Save the nation and f-ck making blood money off the backs of your fellow man."

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

Ummm...dude, that's the American(see: Republican) way. Screw the rest of the world if it gets me an extra buck or 2.; September 13, 2007 3:50 PM
Anonymous said...: $80K for a house and you walked away? What kind of mortgage payment was that $500? Even if the value of the house fell, woudln't it still make sense to live there and practically live for free?; September 13, 2007 3:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Because my stance on the housing bubble cost me my marriage. My now ex-wife tried to pull a Suzanne and I stuck to my guns. Wife left, got with a coworker, and bought a house on her own with 100% financing. I'm watching now to see if I'm going to be vindicated in then end or if I was just a "cheap bastard" as she called me....; September 13, 2007 3:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I...don't anymore. :) I own, I'm not selling for 5-10 years.

I have nothing invested in my house (save the cost for a fence and window dressings - everything else pretty much can come with us) and my rates are fixed.

I find you all absolutely hysterical and you provide my daily entertainment here at work.

For those people who swear everyone is "saving mountains of cash and won't have a mortgage" - hint: if you could do that, you'd have bought years ago. :) Realistically, people are renting, MAYBE saving a bit of $$ per month equivalent to less than the principle I'm paying every month (which, as a matter of mathematics, increases every month). So, in 5-10 when we look to leave, we'll still have plenty of $$ saved to buy another house even if we are even or have to abandon this one due to an apocalypse.

Realistically, I expect hyper-inflation to make me even in 5, up in 10. Houses are hedges against inflation. ;) Diversify, diversify, diversify. :D

Buy a house, get some index funds, save SOME cash, buy some land and/or commercial property. :P If you're old, mix in some bonds.; September 13, 2007 3:57 PM
Unknown said...: I honestly have no idea :); September 13, 2007 4:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I have this strange idea that people should live within their means. . .even a bit under. We have witnessed at least 20 years of a consumer orgy, financed by credit cards, internet stocks, and now house "investing." Did I mention the LOTTO mentality??

I want housing prices to go back to about 2 to 3 times annual earnings, so middle class people can afford a house. . .I also want to buy a decent condo in San Diego that wasn't run up double in 2 years by flippers. I did sell my house in 2006, so I am guilty of being self-serving, but I sold because I felt real estate was overpriced, and took a big chance that I was right.; September 13, 2007 4:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Some day I would like to have a dog. Dont care about the house so much, but a dog would be sweet!

Right now the dog market is all out of wack. You can actually get them for FREE. I was going to get 10, because they arent making any more dogs, you know. However I cant keep them because I rent.

Damm you "joys of debtorship!!!"; September 13, 2007 5:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I have a bet that realestate will fall 50% from peak by 2009; September 13, 2007 5:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Because the collapse of the real estate market, and all of its funny money derivatives, has the potential of causing the collapse of the United States.

===============================
Veronica, the government still has the constitutional power to place the entire financial and monetary system through a bankruptcy re organization.
They can "write off" the entire $200 trillion fake derivatives obligations. Government can shove the derivatives bubble down the throats of these hedge fund operators. They can "freeze" home mortgages and write them down to reasonable levels and no one has to lose their home.

In short we dont have to collapse and die. The General Welfare clause to the constitution still remains the "law of the land".; September 13, 2007 5:14 PM
Anonymous said...: It allows me to post my apocalyptic vision of the future.; September 13, 2007 5:19 PM
Anonymous said...: "$80K for a house and you walked away? What kind of mortgage payment was that $500? Even if the value of the house fell, woudln't it still make sense to live there and practically live for free?"

---

I believe he was talking about that house during the mid 1980s. That's a expensive mortgage back then!; September 13, 2007 5:21 PM
Anonymous said...: Even new home builders in "bubble proof" areas are discounting...; September 13, 2007 5:23 PM
Anonymous said...: FBI RAIDS CRISP AND COLE!! Remember the little boy waiter turned jetset realtwhore.

http://bakersfieldbubble.blogspot.com/; September 13, 2007 5:25 PM
Anonymous said...: So MANY reasons!

1) Facing lots of spouse-related job turmoil with two accompanying long distance moves. That's bad enough without losing our life savings several times over, which is what would have happened.

2) Saw the 1988-1994 housing collapse and saw co-workers (grown men) weeping in the break room over the strain of carrying two mortgages, one on a failed flip. Also watched former employers in development, once riding high, reduced to living in their very modest former rental units.

3) Did not really believe my own house doubled in "value" from 1994 to 2004 but luckily took the money and ran (house was a very modest condo and in a hurricane zone). I regard this not as financial genius but a lucky escape, similar to being late for Titanic's departure.

In short, I am a partly born/partly made natural real estate bear. When I look at Americans' flat incomes, I know in my bones it's not really possible for "housing values" to soar independently. At the end of the day, who will be left to buy?; September 13, 2007 5:46 PM
Anonymous said...: A mixture of my own glee and my own fear. I was lucky or stupid depending on how you look at things. I could have bought in Vegas in 2001 and sold in 2005. Could have made a lot or missed it by thaaaaat much. One can never tell exactly when the shit will roll and feeling the breath of Murphy's Law on my neck - I didn't want to get caught with my pants down.

So when I read about fucked borrowers, asshole agents, and other assorted scam artists... it's with a little bit of glee... like having a near death experience but being addicted to the thrill.

But even though I missed one guilletine... I'm fuckin scared about what's coming down the pike. I have no debt but I'm not rich. Just a regular person trying to live a decent life... don't need to be rich - don't want to be poor. So I read this trying to get a handle on what is yet to come.; September 13, 2007 6:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Glad to see that the corrupt MSM is finally catching up with HP:

(CNN) Fed can't stop recession
Even if the central bank starts to cut rates aggressively, many of the risks for the U.S. economy are beyond its reach.; September 13, 2007 6:01 PM
Anonymous said...: If the economy goes down - ALL of us go down.

Son, some of us have been preparing for this economic funk for mofo years. Bought properties overseas (including small sustainable farm to eat my own food and produce my own natural energy), all cash + metals + foreign currencies.

Next crisis: PEAK OIL + gigantic quake in California. Don't forget to pack heavily because humans turn into savages in moments of total despair. I'll be in my farm in the boonies, overseas, in a country rich in natural resources.; September 13, 2007 6:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Why do you care so much about home prices and the housing market?

Because I love this country and SOME of its people, as it's becoming a third world country.; September 13, 2007 6:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Eric my man - you're thinking about 50% depreciation in DC? You're being brain-washed by this blog - learn to be objective.

It's different in DC!

/turn sarcasm off; September 13, 2007 6:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Buy a house, get some index funds, save SOME cash, buy some land and/or commercial property. :P If you're old, mix in some bonds.

I take "trolls that are up to their eyeballs in debt but still in denial" for a thousand, Alex.; September 13, 2007 6:51 PM
Lost Cause said...: One thing is clear to me: a great boom causes a great bust. There is no way to avoid it. I am not afraid of a bad economy, since it seems like the time that I can gain most, not being born into money. I usually do good, as long as I do not go backward, making a little usually puts me way ahead lots of people.; September 13, 2007 6:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Crappy Homedebtor, are you for real?

MS degrees, good skools, gubmint money, etc. will not save the D.C. area from a price collapse in 2007 any more than they did in 1991.

Anyway, housing armageddon is already well underway here. I see a lot of "For Sale" signs around, don't you? I guess maybe people haven't been out looking because the weather has just been too [fill in the blank].

BTW, I know a lot of local bankruptcy attorneys. Why don't you and your wife drop me a line in a couple of years? I'll give you a referral.; September 13, 2007 7:11 PM
GT said...: Happy Homedebtor...
"you're thinking about 50% depreciation in DC? You're being brain-washed by this blog - learn to be objective."

so DC is different! that's what everyone tells me too! try to be objective biased homeowner. why are you posting comments on this site?
maybe DC is different, but what fundamentals have changed in the past 5 yrs to make housing prices go up in line with the rest of the country? was DC no different in 2001 and now it is?

try
novabubblefallout.blogspot.com
where there are plenty of listings of poor homedebtors asking for 30-40% off what they bought it for.; September 13, 2007 7:44 PM
Anonymous said...: I dodged a bullet selling 90% of my stocks at the height of the tech bubble, but then I got screwed when AG drove interest rates to 1% because I was mostly in cash. I missed most of the upside of the RE bubble and some of the stock rebound. Damned if I'm gonna let the Fed screw me again. Now like happyhomedebtor I am diversified and hedged whichever way things go. If we do get a huge deflation I can pour cash into RE investments, if inflation returns as the dollar tanks then my home and commodities should do well, plus since I've stayed at the shorter end of the bond curve I should be able to get higher interest rates for my cash-like positions over time. If Ben turns out to be flying "AirWolf" and drops just enough money to avoid a depression but not so much that the dollar completely collapses, then my index funds should do OK, and I can add to them and/or buy RE with the cash.; September 13, 2007 7:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Because some of my family members were trying to buy a house in San Diego several times for $690-740K and every single time I managed to dissuade them. Their pursuit of "owning" got me into researching the stability and safety of RE as investment. It just didn't make sense to have a 5K in mortgage a month when they rented for under 2...; September 13, 2007 7:48 PM
ApleAnee said...: " Anonymous said...

Even new home builders in "bubble proof" areas are discounting..."

September 13, 2007 5:23 PM

I live in SLC/Ogden area. Big front page story last week in local paper about how prices are still going up up and away in our area here. Article says Utah is "Bubble Proof". LOL. I have a map on my fridge that shows the subprime percentage of loans issued over the last 2 years state by state. Utah is at 25%. Same percentage as California. My stepson and his wife just purchased a new tract home in So. Ogden. Paid $270,000 for the home, added in $50,000 in cosmetic upgrades. (Flew in a specialist in "distressed floors" from Calif., because no one in Utah could do it to her satisfaction here). Granite countertops, Internet in every room. But they didn't finish the basement.

Had a house warming and invited the Realtor Lady to show everyone the special features of the house and how tasteful the stepson and wife are. No one mentioned the unfinished basement. All in all they spent $320,000 for 1400 sq. ft. of finished space. In "bubble proof" South Ogden, Utah.

Two 3 year old twin boys. No one talks about private school, or college or anything about the kids. Its all about Mom and Dad impressing neighbors and coworkers.
I hope Debtor's Prison makes a comeback myself.

I come here because it is the last bastion of common sense that I can find.; September 13, 2007 8:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I think it is great.

Seeing the FBs squirming.

Seeing the gloom and doomers frothing.

This is all great entertainment. And it is free!

I wish I wasn't so poor as compared to the rest of you richies, but I really don't need much so I am very happy with what I have.; September 13, 2007 9:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Part of it is personal interest in not paying a lot for shelter. Part of it is morbid curiosity. Part of it is concern for our economy and my job, too.; September 13, 2007 10:40 PM
Dino said...: Anonymous said...

because I'm friggin bitter-
everyone talking about how rich they are , because of all their home equity. driving around in their hummers.

people pressuring me to buy now, or I'll never be able to.

I want a basic home, not a mcmansion- and I can't afford it. We make 92K year.

September 13, 2007 3:46 PM

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

We make $92K. So you each make $45-50K. Newsflash Anon you're poor. Why is it people think they make $90K (or even worse $75K) household and think that entitles them to anything.

Someone making $45K a year should be a renter. Maybe if you save up for 10-15 years, get a raise here and there, then you can maybe buy.

Till then please don't bore me with your working class hopes and dreams.; September 13, 2007 11:40 PM
Anonymous said...: because I am a loser renter and I like to hang with fellow losers online. I scream and shout 90% losses every day. Yet prices in Los Angeles keep going up. Must be a conspiracy of some kind with Bush and Walmart leading it.

Gotta run, my 15 minute break is over.; September 13, 2007 11:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Ummm...dude, that's the American(see: Republican) way.

I'm sure no Democrats participated as realtors, mortgage brokers or flippers. You guys are the eternal victims of this cruel capitalism. If only this country could be socialist and give you something for nothing. Woe is you.; September 14, 2007 12:12 AM
Anonymous said...: "Because some men aren't after anything logical. Some men just want to watch the world burn."; September 14, 2007 12:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Edegar, waiting for a melt in DC, is dead on. I have watched (gladly!) as my prime fairfax county home has dropped 20+% in assessed value in one year.

Bring it on, baby!; September 14, 2007 1:43 AM
Anonymous said...: I wish I wasn't so poor as compared to the rest of you richies, but I really don't need much so I am very happy with what I have.
----------------------------------- Then you truly are a rich man!; September 14, 2007 2:58 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm not getting "Blood Money" off my fellow man, but rather the Banks/RE/Mortgage Co's that have us all by the short ones.

The Nation is already screwed as well, but you haven't figured that out yet..these are CYCLES that are contstantly happening - when you've been around a while you'll figure this out-
You must be under 40!!!

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

Where do you think that money comes from? It comes from your fellow man's promises to pay for 30 years. ALL money comes directly from your fellow man's labor.

The banks and brokers are just parasites that sit between you and your neighbor.; September 14, 2007 3:21 AM
Anonymous said...: Ummm...dude, that's the American(see: Republican) way.

I'm sure no Democrats participated as realtors, mortgage brokers or flippers. You guys are the eternal victims of this cruel capitalism. If only this country could be socialist and give you something for nothing. Woe is you.

September 14, 2007 12:12 AM
=================================
I love all this talk of "socialism" when it comes to defending the population, while at the same time you dont blink an eye when a front company like Countrywide is given $23 billion to bail out the big hedge funds who are nothing but parasites.

Imagine what $23 billion could do if it were invested in modern infrastructure, education, etc.

I have a gut feeling you'd squeel like a stuck pig if you learned that your government was about to invest $23 billion for a high speed maglev train or something of that nature.

But when you read that Country Wide is being given multi billions of cash infusions (which is a total waste) then all you can say is "well thats the free market at work, thats the American way".; September 14, 2007 9:00 AM
Unknown said...: Why do you care so much about home prices and the housing market?

I don't really. It's just entertaining. How much will prices crash? Will Happy Homedebtor have the last laugh? Will Mozilo attack Tokyo with radiation beams?; September 14, 2007 11:31 AM
Anonymous said...: because
I hate the preservationists and regulators who profited from making my lands unusable and non self sufficent or productive and compounded assessments and taxations on them until they were taxed at a value 7 times any going offers to buy and demanding more than what may have been fair market value in yearly taxations...and the price of tomatoes....; September 14, 2007 12:10 PM
Anonymous said...: http://www.cnbc.com/id/20778942

Just got to love Diana Olick!! She tells it like it is!; September 14, 2007 11:57 PM

HousingPANIC - The Housing Bubble Blog with an Attitude Problem, 2005 - 2008

September 13, 2007

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

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