[tallrick]

It's nice to know that someone's actually doing research instead of just praising the RE market and using the excuse that "they are not making any more land". The out of control debt the US used to finance years of consumption is going to bit us in the end. I for one welcome deflation- it may be the wake-up call people need to stop spending beyond their means and start investing in the future. I want to see real wealth created, not funny money in a floating house.

[firemed]

The Multiple Listing Service is a real estate agent’s bible. But it has also become a tool for fraud. Real estate agents say they are sometimes asked to raise the list price of a home. In mortgage fraud cases, that allows a broker to pay the seller at the original list price and keep the rest of the money as cash back at closing.”

“The false sales information means other sellers can end up overpricing houses that then get stuck on the market, and other buyers can end up paying more than they should.”

Real estate sales listings are easy targets for abuse - 07/01/2007 - MiamiHerald.com (broken link)

[mrodr001]

I went to buy a house and the guy told me that he would give me 20,000 in cash for buying his house. HA ha ha ha ha ha. The house market is like a leaking water balloon. Soon they will play the water balloon toss and it will pop. Ha HA Ha ha ha. I do not feel bad for all those people that tried to make a buck. You know why? Because of them my property taxes have doubled. It will soon come down. HA HA HA HA HA.

[lillys57]

I live in Ocala, FL., horse country, and even though the market has slowed, our values here are still rising. That tell's me the market here was under-valued to begin with. Florida is still one of the top places people want to move to so I'm not too worried as we will be listing soon. Our value here is in the acreage more than in the house. I don't think it will take 5 to 10 years to turn this around with great interest rates still in place and a good economy...it's just supply and demand.

[maslozhir]

Houses in Palm Beach cost 350K average .
PITI + HOA on house like this will be 2,900 /mo
That is almost 60% of my monthly 5,000 net incom .
To feel comfortable with 2,900 /mo payment my net
incom must be 8,700/mo or 104K after taxes .
Is 104K /year looks like average to you in Palm Beach ?
I will buy , when PITI will be 1,500/mo . That means
prise have to go down to 200K . Or vages go up .
May be it never gona happen , then I will rent ,
which is I do now . Or I will get out of this county and
go north to S.Luci .

P.S. Sorry for my english & spelling . I'm still working on it .

[flgrammie]

I've lowered the price on my house in Boca Raton by $60,000. Still no bites.

[T_Slim]

Originally Posted by tallrick

It's nice to know that someone's actually doing research instead of just praising the RE market and using the excuse that "they are not making any more land". The out of control debt the US used to finance years of consumption is going to bit us in the end. I for one welcome deflation- it may be the wake-up call people need to stop spending beyond their means and start investing in the future. I want to see real wealth created, not funny money in a floating house.

I welcome deflation too. I check the Jacksonville craiglist just for anecdotal evidence and it's just mind boggling. I don't think anything good is gonna come out of this bust--except lower prices for the buyers. This is going to end bad. Property tax reform or lower interest rates will not save the housing bubble. If the feds lower rates, the dollar is toast. Interesting times we live in.

[nychiefsfan]

Originally Posted by T_Slim

I welcome deflation too. I check the Jacksonville craiglist just for anecdotal evidence and it's just mind boggling. I don't think anything good is gonna come out of this bust--except lower prices for the buyers. This is going to end bad. Property tax reform or lower interest rates will not save the housing bubble. If the feds lower rates, the dollar is toast. Interesting times we live in.

No one knows, exactly, what will happen as a result of the largest housing bubble (and bust) in the history of existing home sales. The NAR won't want the finger pointed at them for being the cause of our next recession. The Fed is caught in the middle by trying to control inflation. They're unsure whether to increase or decrease interest rates, so they kept them the same.

Inflation is one of the reasons why people aren't buying right now. Our US dollar is worth less and less each day. It wouldn't surprise me if we see an influx of foreigners bidding on homes soon.

Here's a link that will give you daily reports on what direction the economy is heading:
Reports from Briefing.com - Markets Data Center - WSJ.com

Today's reports include: Personal Income, Personal Spending, Core PCE Inflation and Construction Spending.

[JimKing]

Ocala is indeed a bubble market. There are currently over 8000 properties for sale in Ocala, not including for sale by owners. That is almost 4 times the historic numbers.....and growing each month.

There are over 300 rentals available in Ocala. Houses that sell list for $200,000 and over can be rented for $800-900/month.

Ocala is as much a bubble market as any other. It amazes me that almost everyone who is going to put their house up for sale says the same exact thing...."my market is different, I'm not worried."

The denial is unbelievable.

[Obrero]

Just another example of the insane disparity between the rental and sales market. You can buy this house in The Founders Club for $1.5 million:

House for sale

Or you can rent the same house for $3,900 a month:

House for rent (http://www.weichertrents.com/search/realestate/PropertyListing.aspx?P=12828700&search=bkr&cityid= 45676&minpr=3500&minbr=3&minba=2&pg=5 - broken link)

So, if one was to buy the house with a very generous $500,000 down payment your monthly payment would be:

Mortgage: $6,519 (30 years 6.8%)
Homeowners: $708 (8,500 a year)
Taxes: $1,259 ($15,000 a year)
Association: $300 (a guess, it's probably more)

Grand monthly total to buy: $8,786

Grand monthly total to rent: $3,900

I know one can also deduct interest payments which is not included in the figures above. But, also don't forget there is an opportunity cost for putting down the $500k which could generate $23,000 a year in a 4.5% cd.