Real Estate Market / Inflation / Recession / Depression (Castle Rock: mortgage, equity, foreclosures)

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Bargain hunters are out there and taking advantage of clobbered prices.

What till next year for the real clobbering...

[CosmicWizard]

Bideshi wrote:

I feel the same way, but the blame seems to go across the aisles, up and down and all around. Everyone seems to have somehow gotten in on the huge scam at the expense of the tax payer. Who can I punish with my vote?

Cast aside the mindset of blame and punishment. Instead send a message that you are fed up with the status quo by not voting for any candidate dictated by the DNC and the RNC. Personally, all of my choices will be write-in candidates as a matter of principle. If you are not willing to go quite that far, than simply vote for the non-incumbent challenger wether the challenger represents the democratic party or the republican party. It really makes little different because the candidates of either party will represent certain special interests, the dems a bit to the left and the reps a bit to the right. Don't expect candidates from either party to do anything that will seriously challenge the status quo. They all have too much invested in keeping the status quo pretty much the way it is.

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by Bideshi

I feel the same way, but the blame seems to go across the aisles, up and down and all around. Everyone seems to have somehow gotten in on the huge scam at the expense of the tax payer. Who can I punish with my vote?

Simple answer: vote against any incumbent. As a group, they have failed us. And as a group, they should be held accountable.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by Bob from down south

Simple answer: vote against any incumbent. As a group, they have failed us. And as a group, they should be held accountable.

I really can't fault that reasoning. They all seem to be bought and paid for by special interests. They do not represent the people.

[CosmicWizard]

U.S. House-Price Slide Eases, S&P/Case-Shiller Shows

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. house prices declined at a slower pace for the fourth straight month in June, signaling that the worst housing slump in more than 25 years may be starting to stabilize.

I like how the article uses the words, may be starting to stabilize. Maybe it is, maybe it is not....time will tell.



Consumer confidence rises

Does consumer confidence, mean that more idiots are willing to start racking up big debts that they cannot ever hope to repay?

[DOUBLE H]

New Age is right on his post from yesterday. Politicians are only concerned about two things, the first is getting elected. The second is getting re-elected.

[Sockeye]

Amen to all these recent posts! Isn't it said that a politician looks to winning the next election, while a statesman answers to the electorate? Far too many politicians these days, and far too few, if any, true statesmen.

[Mike from back east]

Federal Govt stats released this week show that home prices rose slightly in 30 states over the past year (2Q/2007 through 2Q/2008).

Colorado prices were up 1.8% and is one of 30 states with mild increases between 0 and 5%.

Biggest declines (-10% to -25%) were in FL, NV and CA.

Lesser declines (0 to -10%) were found in 17 states.

Nonetheless, we are seeing price declines here in El Paso County / Colorado Springs. House down the street sold for 20% less than the owners paid for the brand new house two years ago.

Story at: OFHEO: Home Prices Increased in 30 Out of 50 States Over Past Year - Seeking Alpha Click map to enlarge it.

From the stats, it seems things are 'awful' in 3 states, and 'bad' in 17 more. Things are 'so-so' in 30 states, many of which are getting people fleeing from the northeast and rust belt states, seeking lower prices and more warmth.

[formercalifornian]

I hate to add support to the much over-used "Real estate is local" line, but houses in my Centennial neighborhood seem to be selling briskly. The few that are sitting look to be in very poor shape. I hesitate to comment on pricing, because I'm not as well-versed on the trends in this area as I was about Castle Rock.

On that note, I took a quick look at the stats for my old CR neighborhood. A few houses have sold recently after months and months on the market. One house down the street from the place I rented is under contract for ~$285k. Last year at this time, they were asking $320k and determined not to take any less. The bank-owned property around the corner is back on the market again with a new agent. It's been on and off the MLS for two years with no takers, and it looks to be a pretty nice house. On the other end of the street, a house that sold only three months ago to a resident owner appears to be back on the market, but I haven't confirmed it with a drive-by. Not sure what the story is there. Another former neighbor's house is set for auction in November. I was very saddened to hear that as I thought they had over-come their financial struggles. On the bright side, both rental properties on my former street have been filled, and several REO's have sold to resident owners. As noted above, prices are definitely down, and it's hard to tell how the neighborhood will fare. In the case that sellers put down 15-20%, they can probably handle the lower sales price. If they financed 100%, well, they may find themselves needing to raid the 401k to make up the difference at the closing table.

Here in Centennial, things look better. Most of our neighbors are long-term owners or move-up buyers with significant assets. Could be a facade, I suppose, but I suspect most of them are more than able to ride out the current financial storm. Time will tell. As I get a better handle on things, I'll chime in with an up-date.

[Bob from down south]

House prices are indeed still falling in Colorado Springs. I just bought a foreclosed house in northern Colorado Springs...previous buyer and his bank took a six-figure loss...previous owner was in the house for just a year.

The $400K-600K market is severely depressed, especially in the more distant exurbs like Black Forest and Falcon.