[Lisa Allen]

Hi Jammie and everyone!
Re this thread and many others I have read about folks in FL having a hard time selling their house right now and their frustrations...You are not alone!!!!!! We can all read the national trends, etc. But so you know, here in New England, homes even near the ocean are taking longer selling! I live in a community where it has been grow, grow, grow and prices UP, UP, UP, because we are near beaches and I can tell ya that for the first time in the 7 years (that I've been reading my paper front to back) I am seeing homes in the paper listed as "PRICE REDUCTION" etc... More homes staying LONGER on the market and getting less money! Even the areas that were always "immune" to this.

[bamboosmom]

Hey Lisa!
Well I think it's all over right now. People keep saying they are waiting for the prices to drop in Florida. Florida is just starting to catch up to the rest of the country. [moderator CUT]

[nk0171]

FL is not catching up, there are very few states that have rediculously priced homes and FL is one of them. GA, NC, KY, TN, SC, etc are still very affordable. THere are more states out there that you can get WAY more home for your money than here!!!!!!!! FL is waaaaaaaay over priced, if you don't think so, you are in denial!!! Thousands of people can't be wrong for moving because of the prices of homes around here. one of my neighbors just moved to TN and the other to KY.

[bamboosmom]

If you want to live there that is great. But from what has been said about those states, I would look into how a buyer that is not from there is treated.
You are pratically shunned if you don't fit in. That is great to be ignored and then end up hating it.

[Racelady88]

I just moved from FL where I was drowning in debt and could no longer afford my rising property taxes and homeowners insurance.

My house sold in 45 days (from listing to closing) because I did not try to get rich off of it.

I moved to western SC. I paid cash for my house here. The folks here have welcomed me with open arms. I feel very at home here, and am quite happy. It was MONTHS before I met my neighbors in FL, but my neighbors here came & helped us unload our stuff. Very different here.

[bamboosmom]

Hey Evey,
are you in a community? That is great to hear that people are nice. I guess it all depends on where you choose to live in SC. If you are in an area with all new people then that is great to have new friends!

[Jammie]

Lisa, you are so right. It seems that things are slowing down in a large part of the country. Housing is starting to do like ag (agricultural) land does in our area. There are periods of time that you could get well over 2,000 for an acre of land and then other times that it will drop to 500 an acre. The only thing people can do is to sell the years the price is high cause it will surely come back down again. I've seen ag property fluctuate like this a few times. It's very high right now, but with the lack of rain it will probably drop drastically by next year.

[backtofla]

sc, tn and ky i'm sure have nice areas. living in nc, i can totally relate to bam's comment. if you live in western nc, and live outside of asheville, you better be a baptist. ppl can laugh all day, but ppl are generally treated differently than locals. the reason i say "outside of asheville" is b/c asheville is the exception. a lot of ppl living in the asheville area are from somewhere else, so if you are gay or hippie, or whatever, you'll fit right in.

also, not to knock ky or sc, but they certainly arent one of the most desirable states to live in, statistically speaking. so it should be cheaper there. hey, i am sure you can get a great deal on a house in jackson, mississippi or columbia sc, but i wouldnt live there. just my $.02

[bamboosmom]

That is so true backtofla.
You can also get a home in West Virginia at a great price but there isn't anything to do there. I have my Uncle and Aunt living there. Nothing to do at all except watch the potatoes grow! But it is a beautiful state.

[josephhawkinson]

Hi there,
What a lot of people do not (want to) understand is that prices went up from 2000-2005 in an unnatural way. Please do not try to justify it. Salaries went up only about 15%, if that and people are talking about 100% or more appreciation at home values. Who is going to pay for these? Where are the high paying jobs to pay off these mortgages? Please look at the facts and historic data, not "my neighbor sold it at this much" mumbo jumbo.

Currently many regions (CA, MA, FL) are overpriced. prices need to come back to realistic levels. Comparing NE house prices with FL does not make sense because, NE has a better economy with high paying jobs and very restrictive permits that kept the supply down (until recent years).

Does it make sense? I do not want to be offensive, just facts and figures , rest is emotional "I say so because it works for me"