US House Prices
#48
Re: US House Prices
Local to me ..somebody wanted to moor a gambling boat at a place called
Clarks Landing..... it went to the planning committee and permission was given ...
It was just amazing that the head of the planning committee was Mr Hap Clarke ...owner of Clarks landing....
And nobody saw anything wrong with it ...
Clarks Landing..... it went to the planning committee and permission was given ...
It was just amazing that the head of the planning committee was Mr Hap Clarke ...owner of Clarks landing....
And nobody saw anything wrong with it ...
#49
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,276
Re: US House Prices
Local to me ..somebody wanted to moor a gambling boat at a place called
Clarks Landing..... it went to the planning committee and permission was given ...
It was just amazing that the head of the planning committee was Mr Hap Clarke ...owner of Clarks landing....
And nobody saw anything wrong with it ...
Clarks Landing..... it went to the planning committee and permission was given ...
It was just amazing that the head of the planning committee was Mr Hap Clarke ...owner of Clarks landing....
And nobody saw anything wrong with it ...
#50
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 15,019
Re: US House Prices
there is no more land available where we live and so keeps our house prices very buoyant. we just sold one house last week after having it for 18mths and made an excellent profit on it.
#51
Re: US House Prices
Yeah, we're working inside the loop/downtown at the moment where supply is pretty much fixed, and demand is ongoing....out west theres way too much development and still too much space for my liking..
#53
Re: US House Prices
Yeah, I guessed what you meant - like I say, thats why we started moving in to the center. The margins on the rentals aren't fantastic, Ok, but not fantastic, but the market is a bit more "manageable" I think..
#54
Former Floridian
Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Back where I belong
Posts: 574
Re: US House Prices
Speaking from someone who works in the construction industry in SW Florida, I'd have to say it's very scary. I often am sitting here with no work to do because the builders have stopped setting up new contracts for a while.
I have also been the victim of a massive decline in existing home sales. I had a home here, and couldn't afford it anymore what with our taxes doubling and insurance tripling, so we arranged with the bank for it to be sold through a short sale. Even the appraiser raised his eyebrows when I told him how much we'd bought it for. Kind of look that said, "Well, aren't you two just a couple of suckers?"
Anyway, that fell through so we chose to give it back voluntarily instead of the bank dragging us through the courts to get it.
I have also been the victim of a massive decline in existing home sales. I had a home here, and couldn't afford it anymore what with our taxes doubling and insurance tripling, so we arranged with the bank for it to be sold through a short sale. Even the appraiser raised his eyebrows when I told him how much we'd bought it for. Kind of look that said, "Well, aren't you two just a couple of suckers?"
Anyway, that fell through so we chose to give it back voluntarily instead of the bank dragging us through the courts to get it.
#55
Re vera, potas bene.
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Cape Cod MA..Davenport FL
Posts: 2,405
Re: US House Prices
Same on the Cape...no more new homes here...there was a lot of building here a few years ago ..but new homes do not sell well...people like the older homes...they look more like they belong here and are easier to heat and cool...
#56
Re vera, potas bene.
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Cape Cod MA..Davenport FL
Posts: 2,405
Re: US House Prices
Speaking from someone who works in the construction industry in SW Florida, I'd have to say it's very scary. I often am sitting here with no work to do because the builders have stopped setting up new contracts for a while.
I have also been the victim of a massive decline in existing home sales. I had a home here, and couldn't afford it anymore what with our taxes doubling and insurance tripling, so we arranged with the bank for it to be sold through a short sale. Even the appraiser raised his eyebrows when I told him how much we'd bought it for. Kind of look that said, "Well, aren't you two just a couple of suckers?"
Anyway, that fell through so we chose to give it back voluntarily instead of the bank dragging us through the courts to get it.
I have also been the victim of a massive decline in existing home sales. I had a home here, and couldn't afford it anymore what with our taxes doubling and insurance tripling, so we arranged with the bank for it to be sold through a short sale. Even the appraiser raised his eyebrows when I told him how much we'd bought it for. Kind of look that said, "Well, aren't you two just a couple of suckers?"
Anyway, that fell through so we chose to give it back voluntarily instead of the bank dragging us through the courts to get it.
#57
Re: US House Prices
I have also been the victim of a massive decline in existing home sales. I had a home here, and couldn't afford it anymore what with our taxes doubling and insurance tripling, so we arranged with the bank for it to be sold through a short sale. Even the appraiser raised his eyebrows when I told him how much we'd bought it for. Kind of look that said, "Well, aren't you two just a couple of suckers?"
#58
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 15,019
Re: US House Prices
Thats a bummer to be sure.. The property tax thing here can be crippling...makes you wonder what people complain about with the council tax in the UK. We're "lucky" here that our property tax can "only" be increased by a maximum of 10% annually - course if they used that 10% every year it would soon mount up. But the appeals procedure is pretty reasonable too - we're in a new house, and I appealed it this year and got a 15% reduction on last years taxable value.
#59
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 21
Re: US House Prices
Weeks? Try years. And as you allude to, the lending "standards" we've seen over the last few years are extremely unlikely to return for the forseeable future, and it was that credit bubble that's driven prices up. The net result is that there are simply fewer qualified buyers out there and inventory is steadily increasing. It may be "Buyer's Market" in that there are less buyers than sellers, but that doesn't equate to it being the "good time to buy" that realtors love to claim. In fact, with prices relative to income and rents still at historic highs in many areas, prices would have to fall considerably from current levels to make buying attractive, imo. My prediction: a "seller's market" won't return for at least half a decade.
#60
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: US House Prices
Ah yes, the "they're not building any more land" line that realtors know and love... while I can well believe that such areas will be more resilient than others, the idea that they will be immune to the downturn over the next few years is optimistic, imo. They are not some kind of island, and as prices drop in surrounding areas, the increased differential will eventually drag down prices in the more desirable areas too. What has driven prices to current levels is a cheap and easy credit bubble, and that credit bubble has been prevalent everywhere. Now that credit is less cheap and markedly less easy, things are changing.