[sami]

Almost all houses eventually sell especially in a place like sunny Florida. Plenty of people are born and emigrate and they need houses....plus people moving from one place to another. Right now it is a buyers' market...yet reasonably priced houses with "extras" like the seller paying the buyers' closing costs and/or giving a real estate agent bonus if the house sells usually helps get things rolling.........................Oddly enough, reasonably priced houses with an extra or two added usually sell within a few months in my working class area of Saint Petersburg (west central FL) called Lealman. I guess people want (need?) houses and some ARE willing to lower their sights to a lower class but decent area so they can get into any house and build equity....... And many wind up staying..... I got a lot of house for the money near everything with less expenses (such as property taxes) than "better" areas........ Yes, houses may go down, but they will go up again....and then some!

[elfyum]

Good point - it seems that the lower priced homes arent being affected as much. It's all the condos & very high priced homes/areas that are harder to sell. It's still taking alot longer to sell - compared to when WE bought & houses were barely on the market a few HOURS befoe they sold!
But even though it's a buyers market now, there is still high appreciation. (Our house is up at LEAST 35% from when we bought it 16 months ago!) Glad we got in when we did! PLUS the interest rates are quite a bit higher now... I think it's all just leveling out... The only people in "trouble" are the ones who bought to flip & have those adjustable rate mortgages!

[sami]

In my working class section, some of us learn from the mistakes of others. Like I said, houses usually move in 3-4 months and sometimes less. However, one house is really nice on a double lot....that has not sold because people who have the money to buy it buy in a "better" area. Another house had one bedroom plus a bonus room.....without a closet, the bonus room could not be called a bedroom.....and most buyers would not look at a one bedroom.....It did sell....but the owner could have gotten a little more or sold it faster. Yet she still sold it within 3 months. Another house was a wood frame mess that an investor fixed nice, but he overpriced it and it took about a year to sell and he had to give several concessions. On the other hand, my area sees relatively brisk sales as long as you realize it is a buyers' market and don't get greedy! Oh yes, our houses do not appreciate as fast as many areas, but they do appreciate very nicely, thank you.

[Muggy]

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/08/Tampabay/Shift_in_home_market_.shtml

http://sptimes.com/2006/08/08/Business/Home_glut_brings_pric.shtml

One of the realtors interviewed said that the insurance crisis is to blame. I hope the state gets this under control or the fallout will be huge.

[sami]

Hi Muggy. Houses go up and down and up and...... Interest rates rise and fall.... Who remembers 18% mortgage rates? Utilities go up. Salaries never seem to keep pace. I guess the lower classes will always struggle and the upper classes just can't seem to have it all. I guess that there will always be a crisis or two to keep us on our toes and life will never be as easy as we would like it to be. LOL

[nRitzy]

Originally Posted by Muggy

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/08/Tampabay/Shift_in_home_market_.shtml

http://sptimes.com/2006/08/08/Business/Home_glut_brings_pric.shtml

One of the realtors interviewed said that the insurance crisis is to blame. I hope the state gets this under control or the fallout will be huge.

I agree with that - My husband accepted a job in Florida in June but during some of my research and being directed to this forum he reneged on the job offer because of the high insurance rates. We would be down there right now except for that. We'd be paying more for insurance than for our mortgage and currently we pay $510 per year in New Hampshire. So maybe in a few years we'll move down there when the insurance rates get under control or we can pay cash for a house and self insure.

[Muggy]

Here is another good site for anyone interested in this topic:

http://www.thehousingbubbleblog.com/

[movingwest]

I voted and it's real scary for me as I've got my farm for sale at what I'd figure was a very reasonable price. I'm in the real estate market as a title examiner and I know my daily work load has droped considerably here in GA. I do hope it will pick up soon so I can move.

[BeckyInLAF]

We have owned a title company in DE for 22 years. The last 15, we have been run ragged, but the last 8 months have seen a major decline in turnovers. We made our money on refinances when that was so hot, and bought a house in FL a year ago. Paid cash and then the market screeched to a halt. Just the right time for us, as we are retiring in two weeks to move to FL for good. Homes are just sitting here now; glad we are going to rent our DE home because so many can't afford to buy now.

Becky in DE/FL

[Muggy]

I am still interested in your opinion if you haven't voted yet!