[kort677]

Originally Posted by tallrick

If I had my way, interest rates would be 10-15%. People have to stop relying on debt and build some real wealth. With the terrible financial mess the US is in, those higher interest rates are in the future.

that's one sure way to bring the economy of the entire country to a grinding halt, you'll get your cheap housing because nobody would be able to afford to buy anything.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by UKOK

Makes sense. You might also consider short term municipal rollovers for your non retirement savings. They reset every 7 days and are currently paying around 4%, but are triple tax free. Most banks sell them in lots of 25k, but they never advertise them.

a whole 4%??? you can do better with a money market account, in fla you have no need for triple tax free bonds, that's a NYC thing

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by kort677

a whole 4%??? you can do better with a money market account, in fla you have no need for triple tax free bonds, that's a NYC thing

Sigh. My post was to SKB who I don't think is in FL yet.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by UKOK

Sigh. My post was to SKB who I don't think is in FL yet.

that explains a lot

[SKB]

Thanks UKOK,
The thing is since my husband works for the Fed Government and we are currently posted overseas we claim our residency in Florida anyways.

Thanks anyways for the tip

[kelly3120]

I'm back for a little!
...moving is fun in 85 degree weather! ...ummm NO!

We are keeping most of our furniture at the old house ...for staging reasons(I'm not renting furniture to stage ...BLEH!) and moved my business and daily stuff to the new house.

the house is gorgeous w/ cherry wood floors(until we put furniture in ...I'm gonna start a dance studio ...those floors need a pitter patter of little toes ....JUST JOKING). ....my dogs pitter pattering feet better not leave scratches ....any thoughts on how to prevent doggie feet from scratching floors? ...he's a 20 pound Aussie and is pretty light on his feet, unless he does a wheel-y. My husband said suck it up and forget about it. I told him "ok, I'll let Cody walk all over your trans am and then we will talk". HA! ...we are just play'n

....so instead of me reading all that I've missed can someone catch me up? or is it the same ol same old ? seems like alot to read

I have another question. I didn't log out of this the whole time I was MIA! ...does that matter after a few days? will it log me out on it's own?...just wondering. It didn't but I was wondering if it was suppose to.


I still hold my position ...and some graphs nychiefsfan showed(which ones you ask ...hell if I know) that things are going up ...like the Kelly said. I said things are back to normal ....for a normal market =)

[SKB]

Welcome back Kelly, I hope the move is going well for you. Send pictures of the new house!!!

Do you have a cement patio? If your dog spends time outside on a cement patio his nails should naturally be worn down. I know for my big dogs their nails never need clipping except the dew claws now and then.

Not sure on the log in thingy.

[kelly3120]

no cement patio ...but we run daily....maybe they are already rounded and I don't know it. I've kept him off the wood so far because he's a silly circle machine in new circumstances

when I find my camera I will send pics =)

[nychiefsfan]

Houses Still Unaffordable For Many Americans, Study Finds
June 11, 2007

Sales have slowed and prices in some areas are falling, but the price of a single family home is still beyond the reach of many potential home buyers, according to this year’s State of the Nation’s Housing report from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Meanwhile, the study finds the market struggling under a cloud of sharp drops in housing demand and an oversupply of homes. After years of setting records, housing starts and sales fell in 2006 and are on track to end this year even lower.

Homebuyers on the margin of qualifying for mortgage loans finally pulled out of the market despite the availability of creative mortgage products that helped them keep up with higher house prices, the researchers said.

“As buyers left, home sales fell and house price appreciation slowed in some areas and fell in other areas. Investors and second homebuyers also started to leave. The air went out of the inflated housing market as higher home prices and interest rates finally tempered demand,” said Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. “Many buyers are now waiting on the sidelines hoping prices will fall.”

The problems in the housing market put an end to the big lift that the economy enjoyed since the 2001 recession. In the latter half of 2006, the drop in home building was so drastic that it shaved more than a full percentage point off national economic growth.

Though builders cut back on housing starts, the numbers of vacant homes for sale rose by more than 500,000 from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2006 and continued to rise in the first quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, the tightening of credit standards in the wake of worse than anticipated subprime loan performance is further dampening demand.

It is unclear how the wave of subprime loans with steep initial discounts that originated at much lower interest rates will perform when the discounts expire and the loans reset to higher interest rates, the study authors say.

Already, homes entering foreclosure increased by about 75,000 from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2006. Until some of the excess inventory is absorbed by the demand cycle and credit conditions stabilize, housing will continue to struggle and home prices will fall in more areas.

Affordability the Biggest Challenge
Still, the nation’s largest housing challenge remains housing affordability, the study found.

“In just one year the number of households spending more than half their income on housing increased a startling 1.2 million to 17 million in 2005,” notes Rachel Drew, Research Analyst.

“Even if prices or rents soften for a period of time, the nature of US labor markets, the regulatory restrictions imposed on residential development, and the fiscal limits of government assistance to cost-burdened households will make affordability a long-term challenge.”

Some Americans try to escape these cost burdens by taking longer commutes and incurring higher travel costs, while others double up or live in substandard housing or undesirable neighborhoods. The prospects for a substantial easing of these problems are unfortunately dim.

However, the report concludes that, in time, the housing markets will recover.

“While it will take time to work out current loan problems and work off the oversupply of homes, the long-term outlook for residential investment remains strong,” said Eric S. Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center.

Largely, as a result of a record number of new immigrants arriving in the United States in the 1990s and larger numbers entering this decade, net household growth is poised to accelerate by about 2 million to 14.6 million households 2005-2015. In addition, incomes and wealth stand higher for most households in real terms than ten years ago.

This should translate into solid growth in both new construction and remodeling spending over the next ten years compared with the last ten.

Houses Still Unaffordable For Many Americans, Study Finds

[nychiefsfan]

The last cycle yielded nineteen consecutive months of YOY home price declines followed by an additional twenty two months
after a short three month positive respite.