Hurricanes can be a good thing too! Home prices

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by Vegas Joe

I guess we do. We need something to destroy about 20% of the housing stock here.

Yeah, I understand.

Did not see any mal-intent in your prior observations.

Is large scale destruction the "best"path out? I see Detroit is actually doing that with its bottom-end waste-land housing.

And then just "move-up" the bottom-end folks and that upward pressure keeps the upper end afloat?

Other folks figure let the prices come down far enough and Someone-Somewhere-Somehow will buy them.

I see other folks advocating higher wages (as a ratio of housing cost) figuring that employed folks with money could or would buy them.

Since there are banks behind much of it, making believe the value and prices are good/higher than reality -- we either have to continue the charade or acknowledge the loss and let the banks finally go under?

I suppose time and neglect will do the job, eventually. Time and neglect have been the cause and cure of Ghost towns for some centuries, now.

[tickyul]

Can't you see.........the Fed keeps flapping their gums about another monetary injection............that is an attempt to goose both the stock market and get another housing frenzy going. Just let housing prices bottom naturally.

[bouncethelight]

Originally Posted by floridasandy

remember destroying all those perfectly good used cars didn't make the car market better. it just made it harder to get a decent used car at a decent price.

Exactly!

It's not the number of houses that's the problem - it's the math!

[Kimmie]

Along these lines, but slightly off-topic, I predict that the unemployment rate will look better on the East coast, and everyone will be really relieved until they see it was temporary construction work cleaning up after the hurricane. My brother (living in coastal NC) works marine construction and regular construction and is now excited to be getting back to work next week after being laid off...

[texdav]

Its much like those jobs created by the stimulus;not what most would call creatig a real job. Its about as effective as unemployemnt in creatig jobs. But like both it helps people get by .But in the end it will have to be paid back by higher insurance rates because that is who will pay for those jobs. To every effect there are other effects as always.