[LewLew]

We need a collective Three Stooges slap across all of our faces in this spend now-pay later society........

That quote is great!

" I am still very angry that this housing bubble has taken thousands of dollars from my pocket, and I did not take out a loan, or speculate on any properties."
Yes, unfortunately the economy effects everyone ..... not just those directly buying and selling homes. It will get better...I know it seems like it will never get better..you may never get every last cent you are referring to back; but if your home experienced spike in value (I know you didn't buy or sell during the boom), it was a false sense of security. It's like the Ed McMahon envelope that says you COULD be the winner of 1M dollars. My friends and I always say "shoulda' sold then I guess". Remember that unless you bought at the height, and are trying to sell now...no real value was taken out of anyone's pocket. I know I'll get blasted...but I'm speaking from experience as well. We lost 98K on our last sale. Haven't looked back...life's too short, and moving on.

[LewLew]

I am still very angry that this housing bubble has taken thousands of dollars from my pocket, and I did not take out a loan, or speculate on any properties.

Let me clarify...the money we lost was the false inflated value. Not true hard cash out of pocket. True hard cash we lost was 15K less than we paid for it (bought in the height of the market), and 25K to our ho hum real estate agent for her sign in our yard.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by LewLew

I am still very angry that this housing bubble has taken thousands of dollars from my pocket, and I did not take out a loan, or speculate on any properties.

Let me clarify...the money we lost was the false inflated value. Not true hard cash out of pocket. True hard cash we lost was 15K less than we paid for it (bought in the height of the market), and 25K to our ho hum real estate agent for her sign in our yard.

If we substitute the word "resources" for "money", then the loss to the economy, and to many otherwise really productive individuals as well, is much more than a realized capital loss on a property sale.

This credit bubble is associated with a massive misallocation of human and natural resources in the US, reflected in the loss of its low/mid-tech manufacturing, massive inflation in non-tradeables like health and education, a huge trade deficit, chasing oil in Asia through costly wars, a national debt approaching $10 trillion, currently 65% of a year's worth of GDP, most of which is debt-spending anyway, rising taxes for basically the same services at the local government level, and, last but not least, the financial and moral depletion of the former "golden age" middle class.

Quite a price to pay for home-debtorship sold to the masses in the guise of home-ownership.

We all lose, especially those who would have invested their resources - financial and intellectual - in enterprises more productive than selling overpriced, energy-guzzling houses to each other at a time when global competition for energy is soaring.

But those with potentially more productive ideas got squeezed out by this massive misallocation of resources.

[mystree]

I am still very angry that this housing bubble has taken thousands of dollars from my pocket, and I did not take out a loan, or speculate on any properties. There is no way I can forgive anyone for this real estate bubble. The bubble has destroyed some of my favorite places, chased most of my friends away, and turned me into an angry person. The only home from the front line is a hard, swift crash. Right now it's like peeling duct tape off your skin, slowly. Just soak it in alcohol and rip it off. Get the pain and suffering over with.

I can't blame you there.

[jsherman9901]

Originally Posted by Ten

1. A $2 Trillion dollar total eventual write-down already's affected the economy. Citigroup alone loses $11 Billion. This is already a global issue, so no worries about local ripples.

2. The reason this happened is the Fed. It's been printing cash out of thin air for decades. In short, paper is not money.

3. The new Bernacke cycle is well underway: "Stimulate" the ailing debt economy by printing more cash. More cash devalues the dollar. A devalued dollar needs stimulation. Re-stimulate as needed with even more cash. Repeat.

The problem is in effect already a government problem. The worst possible long term treatment is therefore government making it all go away by way of stimulating not the economy, but the very thing that's ruining the economy.

The US government and private sector have no hard currency. Every dollar in the nation is an instrument of debt, going back to the $9,000,000,000,000 national debt.

Without other nations trading us their goods for our debt, what do we have?

I'd like to send this post to everyone I know. I think you did an outstanding job of summing up the fundamentals of the financial disaster which has been foisted upon us by our irresponsible government. Thanks for posting.

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by Hero

yeah you really can't blame those who fell into this bubble. At the time you were a fool for renting than buying and if you don't buy now, you never will. The way prices was going up back then, anyone would believe that.

One more thing to consider in realtion to this and the housing bubble. There are many unsuspecting souls out there who will find themselves a statistic in these numbers. Even if someone bought a home they could afford in any part of FL...if someone dies, loses their job, gets ill...etc. In Florida, a home could take a year or more to sell. Without income, even the once affordable home will become unaffordable. We have to look at the entire economy, and know that the housing bubble is part of the whole picture. Everyone in the foreclosure pool didn't buy an overvalued, overmortgaged home. 20% of people in construction have lost their jobs, without another job in site. Even if they spent under what they could afford, with no income coming in, and not being able to leave b/c their home won't sell...they can get dumped in the foreclosure pot. It's a problem that will effect even some of you out there...who are pointing fingers at the over-zealous, keep up with the Jones' homebuyers. This state's economy is effecting everyone, event those who were conservative. If you have a stable job, a roof over your head, and a paycheck coming in that pays your bills, you should be very very thankful right now.

There are those out there who priced their home 100K under value b/c they have to get out, but are still not selling. Thus, their bank accounts continue to be drained, and they aren't even trying to do anything except move and find work. The big picture is not selective.

[MINNIEMEME]

CJFlorida There our only a few that can say it any better . We did the same thing The guy next door told me sat prices will go back up in a few yr's to 40 to 50% again I almost fell of the rocker lol Where they get these idea's as there nothing to support this in my mind .

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by MINNIEMEME

CJFlorida There our only a few that can say it any better . We did the same thing The guy next door told me sat prices will go back up in a few yr's to 40 to 50% again I almost fell of the rocker lol Where they get these idea's as there nothing to support this in my mind .

Minniememe: I think that guy was correct. A few years is a long time in the real estate world. Look at the difference from 2005 to today. I think CJ was referring to the overoptimistic people who are speculating by this time next year, we'll be back to normal. I do agree that is very unlikely, but....in a few years time, we will see a rebirth of the FL real estate market for sure. No, houses won't increase 200% in 2 years, but they won't be dropping that much either. It will return to a normal market where people must live in a home for over 5 years to see a nice return.

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by MINNIEMEME

CJFlorida There our only a few that can say it any better . We did the same thing The guy next door told me sat prices will go back up in a few yr's to 40 to 50% again I almost fell of the rocker lol Where they get these idea's as there nothing to support this in my mind .

Wow. He must have information that we don't!

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

Wow. He must have information that we don't!

Can I ask where you get your information that this area will never go up in value, that the housing prices will remain at 160K for years and years? I'd like to know where that data came from too please.
Thanks!