Housing Slump Getting Worse

nywoodwizard

Housing slump to continue
The U.S. is facing its worst housing downturn since the Great Depression. » What are the hardest-hit cities?





http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/pa...g_outlook.html

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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

HomeGuard

It's only as bad as he media makes it out to be, if they would stop reporting bad and find some good stats to spread the economy would be in full gear and people would still spend like crazy. But doom and gloom sells papers, which sells ads.

Unfortunatly many Americans have a pack mentality (just watch stock prices day to day, if the media hypes something everyone buys and then turns and sells as soon as they hear a bad report) then everyone wonders why they can't get ahead its because they let an article tell them that they better not make a purchase,invest,start a business ect, because the country is on the fast track to becoming the next ethiopia


Honestly take a look at your personal finances and at those around you and tell me we are really that bad off.

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JustaFramer

If you have ever read any books the stock market. The good ones will tell you that any time there is a sharp rise in gains there will alway be a correction. Which is what is happening in the housing market the true market value is coming to roost.

There are quite a few plats being built right now around here but they were in the works in 06. I see alot of land cleared but nobody is jumping at actually getting the houses built at a fast pace.

LNG24

Interesting that "Moody Reports" this and "Moody Reports" that. The Only quote from the National Asso. of Realtors is that Home Builders are CONTINUING to BUILD! (adding to inventory sure, but keeping us working too) Everything else was pure speculation.


I love this, it is so true. I was selling houses like crazy when the media was saying Its a Hot Market and what were people paying OVER ASKING PRICE! Waiving Inspections, Mortgage Commitments and a dozen other safe guards just because the Media Said to!

Today, when you can get a home at 25% off Asking Price AND Mortgage Rates are LOWER, there isn't a Buyer in sight! Why? Because the MEDIA says Don't Buy. I'd like to ask them, WHY? People buy homes to LIVE IN. They are great investments...OVER 15 years! Even 7 years. Housing has always outpaced other Long Term Investments, but somehow we turned a place for us to raise our families into a Short Term Investment.



The Stock Report said today that Housing HAD NO significant effect on any other market. Now, Oil Prices, they have had a HUGE effect! So how come we don't hear the reports as to WHY we are paying $3.50 per gallon.


HEY, DID you hear Ford is discounting their heavy duty trucks 25%

LNG24

Oh, and for the record. New Home Sales are Down, Home Prices are Down, HOWEVER Existing Home Sales are UP

Ahren

I'm all for keeping a positive attitude, but the artcle is not news to me. I've been feeling the slowdown since this spring. There have been zero spec. houses going up here, and there are houses sitting on the market unsold for about a year now (new houses and existing ones). All of the lumberyards I use have laid off tons of people. Now that the holiday season is over, I now see a bunch of major retailers and chain restaurants going out of business in my area.

And you can't just look at the bottom line when you're looking at stocks. Just because a stock price stays the same or goes up, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company is doing well. There are tricks that they use to keep their stock prices stable in order to keep up shareholder confidence. One trick a company may use is buying back it's own shares. I have a feeling that when fourth quarter earnings are reported, and the SEC and the Banking Commission really get to the bottom of a lot of the fraud that's going on, the news is only going to be more gloom.

Jeff Knutson

Negativity spreads negativity.

Everyone's reality in life is the story that one tells ones inner self. If you want to change the reality change the story. From the Book "Mind of a Millionnaire"

oldfrt

This is always good news for anyone doing remodeling.

If people choose homes that aren't quite what they want because of the lower pricing on existing homes,they may decide to add on or upgrade as they need or can afford to.
I really haven't felt the pinch yet,but do agree, to a point with the mob mentality.
If you've been through a couple of downturns ,than the fear of spending money on a project shouldn't go hand in hand with the drop in new home sales.
We seen it before, and after it's over, the surge that follows usually means higher prices as demand increases.
Now is probably a better time to get projects done for those that need them and remember how prices rose.

On the positive side,lower prices, as this current market is now dictating,will open up the market for more buyers and things will even out.If the market continued at it's previous rate,there would have been less buyers anyways.
I just received the revaluation on my home,built 6 years ago,and the reassessment increased over 60% in five years.Putting this into prospective,the value of my home would have doubled in less than 10 years.(about 18,000 a year)
The prices on new homes were climbing faster than people's incomes and this would surely have folded in on itself anyways.

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ultimatetouch

I am keeping a positive attitude about everything and will contiue to push into the new year. I have a good amount of work to carry us to spring.

The problem I see for remodeling is the fact that many people dont have equity in there homes due to overpaying. There will be many more forclosures this year. Banks are making it very hard to get money right now unless you have a lot of collateral and cash.

I hope for the best. We hardly saw a single house for under 300,000 1yr ago. Now we see houses for under 200,000 here. Thats kinda scarey. How could people not think this would happen. REaltor whores selling everything and anything and mortgage people making the payments affordable to anyone.

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Ultimatetouch
Illinois Remodeling Company, Kitchen Remodeling Chicago, Room Additions Illinois

woodmagman

I am saying this as a outsider looking in, Your political and media machine has a way of selling negativity and project a doomsday attitude like no other country in the world……My advice turn off the news and wave at your neighbours on the way to work in the morning.....be a little more positive.

Putty Truck

In related news, the big banks are getting beaten to the ground!

They estimate 100 Billion dollars lost already in high-risk loans. They never mention the hundreds of billions they made in the last few years, but hey...they are losing ground quick.

kevjob

most of my printed ads doorhangers, postcards etc target new HO and I am very specific about targeting certain areas neighborhaoods areas I have worked a lot etc... starting an ew campaign to mail out 3 mile radius of every job we do this year.

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Kevin
Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling Denver

oldfrt

This is quite true on recently bought properties.I remember at the end of the last surge,a friend had bought a new home and lost all his equity within one year, ($30,000)because of falling prices.

The people who have owned their homes for awhile (10-15 yrs)do have equity and may be ready for upgrades and maintainence,so now would be a good time to borrow.Rates are fair,and may get better.
For those that lost equity,if they have a fair rate,they have to hang in there till the next boom.
I always blamed the Realtors too,but the mortgage Co.'s were the real culprits here.

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ultimatetouch

There are tools in place to help people make a move. Like low financing. Hey I am about to buy a new house. I will be doing a fulll renovation and addition. I am not planning for the worst, we will surge ahead. I will keep promoting and take anything I could get my hands on. If I have to get back into the field and work I will. As long as the works coming I will delegate and chase new customers.
People wont sit on there hands for ever. All the good deals out there and low financing in place. Hopefully new buyers will come in and wash out all the forclosures.

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Ultimatetouch
Illinois Remodeling Company, Kitchen Remodeling Chicago, Room Additions Illinois

deckman22

What's bad for the new home building industry around here is good for me as I don't build decks on new homes. Instead of buying new homes people will be fixing/adding on to their existing homes which is good for us deck builders. It is hurting those who build for new home builders. I talked to a buddy of mine last friday who was going around to various courthouses filing liens as one of his builders folded oweing him 25K. The strong companies are still building here.

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Putty Truck

What slump? I agree it's the media being manipulated by the big money to force the feds to lower the rate.

The "boom" did not sustain itself for more than a few years. Look at the track slut KB Homes. Their stock price rose in 01/04 and dropped in 01/06, okay? Two years of maniac slum building and that's it.

A few years of cheap money and selling high risk loans to illegal aliens doth not make a boom. Not even a bang. The whole thing was to bolster the global post-9/11 economy and as always, the feds failed miserably.

I'm glad its over and sincerely hope all these flippers and newbies go running back to their mommas right now.

Tiger

You don't have to look very far to see that the housing and real estate market is in the pits. Look in your local newspaper where the foreclosures are required to be published. Ask your realtor friends how it's going & see their long faces. Notice how long the neighborhood homes have been on the market, or pulled off the market without being sold.

I'm no economist, but my personal opinion is...mortgage bankers wrote a lot of loans that went bad. Rather than let the banking industry bankrupt the country, the Fed printed tons of paper money. When that happens the value of the dollar drops compared to every other currency in the world. It makes their products worth more and ours worth less. Most noticeable is oil because we see it at every gas station sign. When basic goods cost more, we get inflation. The Fed is keeping interest rates low to combat inflation.

Even though interest rates are low, the banks can no longer write marginal loans. In fact, they aren't able to write many loans that have historically been fine. One realtor told me "It's a great time to buy with cash". Not many people have that kind of cash laying around.

The good news is that since the dollar is devalued compared to other countries, tourism is up. The US of A is a cheap vacation.

Dave

SelfContract

Dollars now go down. USA products' prices for export to other countries will go down. Forein countries begin to order more US products as compared to orders from other countries, ie., steel, textile, automobiles, etc., until US manufacturing production/sector will go up, US companies hiring more employees, employment rate will go up, people will has more $$ & savings, personal spending start to go up, foreign tourists come into US more, foreign investments into US up, retail sales will go up, finally housing buy/construction go up, business over produced, things start to go down again, inflation...laid-off...etc..

This is a business cycle. Up then down... down then up...up then down... etc. ..for already two centuries in US history. Nothing new, and nothing to worry.

Positive News + Negative News = Neutral Thinking (no worry in minds)

FramingFanatic

Yeah its known as the boom and bust cycle. The feds lowering interest rates, and printing mass quantities of money are all mechanisms to stimulate areas of the economy into the boom part of the cycle.

JustaFramer

I was just out in the back country aka as where the big fields used to be before the last part of the boom. And about a 1/2 mile from the main drag of bothell. I seen alot of empty lots in housing tract. Also seen a bunch of lots for sale. Have seen prime lots for sale since 01.
Of course these are not money makers at the moment like they were 2 years ago.