Interesting reading in the Delaware Wave today... (Wilmington, New Castle: sale, real estate market)

[rossc]

No good news I'm afraid, but since a lot of you are house hunting, I thought you might find it interesting.

"Foreclosure filings in Delaware up 38%"

Foreclosure filings rose 38% average from this time last year providing another sign that troubles in the sub-prime mortgage market will continue. Filing are up 34% in New Castle County, 43% in Kent County and 54% in Sussex County (theres a surprise). The deputy bank commissioner expects another 50% increase in filings in 2008. Nationally, it is estimated that 17% of mortgage debt outstanding, or $1.4 Trillion, is at risk of default.

For you house hunters, now is a good time to snap up a foreclosure at auction. Speaking from experience, don't waste your time with reserve auctions. The banks try to get recover their money which is usually at or more than market value. Banks that have a lot of foreclosures are usually more interested in getting out from under the mortgage than recovering every last penny.

"Home construction rates plummet?

Construction of new homes fell to the lowest level in more than a decade in July as builders continue to struggle with the steepest housing slump since 1991. The commerce dept. reports that new construction is down 20.9% since this time last year. Builders are slashing prices and offering incentives to unload record levels of unsold homes. The problem has been worsened by the high foreclosure rate which is dumping even more homes into a glutted market.

Again, for you house hunters, read between the lines. Don't buy into the hype and BS that the builder is telling you. They are hurting and many of them are in financial trouble. They NEED to sell that house more than you need to buy it. If you can't get the deal you want, move on. You WILL find a builder who wants to sell a house. I for one and glad that these builders are sitting on these new homes. This is what we need to get prices back down to where they belong.

On a totally unrelated topic.....

What does a federal government with an overly inflated DHS budget do when it has too much time on it's hands?

It decides that chicken houses in Delaware are a potential terrorist target. That's right. I has to read the article twice to make sure it wasn't written in satire. This is our federal tax money hard at work. Evidently, because chicken houses store large amounts of propane for heating in the winter, the government sees that stored fuel as a potential target. The idiocy of our government never ceases to amaze me.

So back to house hunting...I wouldn't buy a house next to a chicken house. Osama probably has a scud trained on it as we speak.

[elizamary]

Originally Posted by rossc

This is what we need to get prices back down to where they belong.

On a totally unrelated topic.....

What does a federal government with an overly inflated DHS budget do when it has too much time on it's hands?

. Evidently, because chicken houses store large amounts of propane for heating in the winter, the government sees that stored fuel as a potential target. The idiocy of our government never ceases to amaze me.

So back to house hunting...I wouldn't buy a house next to a chicken house. Osama probably has a scud trained on it as we speak.

The sale of homes has been spiraling out of control for the past few years. People were biding more that the asking price out of desperation.
Since the end of last summer, we have seen a slowing up and now an almost halt.

it's a shame about the forclosures but how can people take a mortgage that knowing they can't pay. Or an mortgage that does NOT have a fixed interest rate.???????????

The mortgage companies are hugely to blame but so are the consumers for not being realistic and wise. After all, this is a a huge investement.
I just don't understand this at all.

As far as our goverment goes, this is par for the course. A bunch of jackaxx's

[rockky]

Yep, rossc...foreclosures in Sussex County?!?! No. How can that be?!? There are tons of people who have $800,000 to $1M to drop for housing in southern DE!?! I apologize for the flood of sarcasm.

The infrastructure isn't there, the health care isn't there, and the jobs aren't there. One of these days, I'm not sure the beach will be there. Every year they seem to do more and more beach revitalization.

I still love the place. I loved it more when it was quiet, less crowded, and slower. Yeah. Sometimes I'm one of those PITAs who has the "I've got mine, now go away" attitudes. Too much...too fast...no planning. It could have grown better and more safely, but it's too late for that now. Had greed not been a motivator, the quality of life may have been taken into consideration.

The chicken house terrors....LOL! I thought maybe you were kidding. Nope. It's the Feds...not the state. Now there's a new twist. Most of the old houses around the beach areas are gone. From Ocean View (where the industry began, btw) to Frankfort, Roxanna, and on down to Selbyville most of what is still standing is in ruin.

When we were planning to build our place 18 years ago, we had to make sure we were away from any chicken houses. The smaller operations were still up and running then. Those folks made much more $$ selling off the land to developers. Who can blame them?

[hc7612]

Interesting. As someone who is now looking to buy a new home in the next 6 months, I am pleased. However, we will have to sell our home on this end, I am sure for much less than it is worth. Now that I have been looking, I am amazed by how little house you get for the money in Delaware. Yes, here in Pa., we pay very high property taxes, but in comparing the 2 markets, we expect to pay at least $300,000 more to get a house that is even comparable to the one we own now. That is extremely disappointing.

[peeweeaz]

Folks who are in the best position to buy a house now are those who, apparently, had a crystal ball and sold for huge profits a couple of years ago when the real estate market was on fire. They moved into apartments waiting for what is now occurring nationally - the housing crash. They going to walk in, negotiate a good price, and bank the rest. Good on 'em. Meanwhile, those of us who have to sell a house to buy another house are wondering why we didn't have crystal balls.

[rossc]

I figured it out. Evidently the terrorists have figured out that we worship our chickens, and my killing them all, they will bring America to it's knees. They will just need to be quick about it...So the chicken plants don't get them first.

[elizamary]

Originally Posted by hc7612

Interesting. As someone who is now looking to buy a new home in the next 6 months, I am pleased. However, we will have to sell our home on this end, I am sure for much less than it is worth. Now that I have been looking, I am amazed by how little house you get for the money in Delaware. Yes, here in Pa., we pay very high property taxes, but in comparing the 2 markets, we expect to pay at least $300,000 more to get a house that is even comparable to the one we own now. That is extremely disappointing.

Really? where are you looking? I found the opposite when we were looking.

[elizamary]

Originally Posted by peeweeaz

Folks who are in the best position to buy a house now are those who, apparently, had a crystal ball and sold for huge profits a couple of years ago when the real estate market was on fire. They moved into apartments waiting for what is now occurring nationally - the housing crash. They going to walk in, negotiate a good price, and bank the rest. Good on 'em. Meanwhile, those of us who have to sell a house to buy another house are wondering why we didn't have crystal balls.

That was an idea I 2 years before we moved but my husband wouldn't hear of it. I tried to make him understand but his mind was closed ........Shut!

Anyway, it still worked out. We had to take a cut on our home too. But I was just so happy we sold it.

[hc7612]

Originally Posted by elizamary

Really? where are you looking? I found the opposite when we were looking.

We are looking at the nicer suburbs around Wilmington metro. There seems to be a shortage of new construction, and what there is seems to be very over priced for the quality. We are in Berks. Co. Pa. currently, where property taxes are high, but nice homes are not.

Heather

[Gone-2-Beach]

It's not just Delaware. It's a nationwide issue because of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. I am experiencing similar statistics in New York, which is unprecedented and will continue for the next two years until all the ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) are reset.