Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I GUARENTEE, if the media starts reporting that "THE BOTTOM IS HERE", and nothing but, people will immediately become convinced we've indeed hit it, everywhere and start buying because now if they do, their homes won't lose value when they walk away from the closing!!! GET IT NOW?
It would be irresponsible for the media to make this up. I have seen the question of whether we are at the bottom brought up in the media. What more do you want? I'm sure when there is credible evidence you will read about it... in the media. Newspapers, etc. do not exist to reverse real estate crashes. They simply report what is going on. Sometimes they are lazy, in which case you need to find a better media outlet.
Where you and TexasHorseLady should really be placing blame is on people who may overreact to the media.
Now I think TexasHorseLady's perspective is based on her locale. In Austin, we didn't have the huge run up in prices. So over on the Austin board agents are out of breath from telling everyone for the last year that the Austin market won't go down very much, if at all. And many of them have been blaming the media for the decline in Austin because, again, the Austin market "shouldn't" be going down. (Nevermind that agents don't hesitate to quote national historical real estate appreciation numbers when trying to convince you that real estate is a good investment.)
But the problem is that, while bubble markets are certainly going down farther and faster due to their irrational increases, the credit problems are nationwide. Countrywide, for example, was very active in Texas. Even local and regional lenders who were not exposed to the bubble markets have tightened up their underwriting. Austin is not protected from those problems. Austin also had a lot of California investors come in over the last few years as that market became overpriced. So as those investors get into trouble back home they may need to liquidate.
The point being that while real estate is local, in many ways, it can be affected by things happening in other markets.
It would be irresponsible for the media to make this up. I have seen the question of whether we are at the bottom brought up in the media. What more do you want? I'm sure when there is credible evidence you will read about it... in the media. Newspapers, etc. do not exist to reverse real estate crashes. They simply report what is going on. Sometimes they are lazy, in which case you need to find a better media outlet.
Where you and TexasHorseLady should really be placing blame is on people who may overreact to the media.
Now I think TexasHorseLady's perspective is based on her locale. In Austin, we didn't have the huge run up in prices. So over on the Austin board agents are out of breath from telling everyone for the last year that the Austin market won't go down very much, if at all. And many of them have been blaming the media for the decline in Austin because, again, the Austin market "shouldn't" be going down. (Nevermind that agents don't hesitate to quote national historical real estate appreciation numbers when trying to convince you that real estate is a good investment.)
But the problem is that, while bubble markets are certainly going down farther and faster due to their irrational increases, the credit problems are nationwide. Countrywide, for example, was very active in Texas. Even local and regional lenders who were not exposed to the bubble markets have tightened up their underwriting. Austin is not protected from those problems. Austin also had a lot of California investors come in over the last few years as that market became overpriced. So as those investors get into trouble back home they may need to liquidate.
The point being that while real estate is local, in many ways, it can be affected by things happening in other markets.
Again, no one is BLAMING the media, that would be silly. We are saying that their choice of WHAT they report, BESIDES the facts, is limited to sensationalism bacause that's what sells the DRAMA! And unfortunately you are correct and it's what we ARE trying to say- PEOPLE have overeacted to what they have been listening to, daily, because the media has dramatized EVERYTHING by only reporting the doom and not the brighter side of anything. Especially the real estate market. You NEVER here them tlaking about the 100's of real estate closings daily or that home buying is going on because if they did, God forbid people would start buying houses again instead of waiting for their "bailout" or "credit", or "bottom" to do so.
You NEVER here them tlaking about the 100's of real estate closings daily or that home buying is going on because if they did, God forbid people would start buying houses again instead of waiting for their "bailout" or "credit", or "bottom" to do so.
Well, which is it? Are lots of people buying houses right now, or do we need people to "start buying houses again."
It is not the media's job to be a cheerleader. Yes, they have to make decisions about what they report, and the fact that there are still some closings simply is not news.
I suppose that you also think that the headlines should be "Dow drops 700 points, but 4 companies go up!" Sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn't it?
Well, which is it? Are lots of people buying houses right now, or do we need people to "start buying houses again."
It is not the media's job to be a cheerleader. Yes, they have to make decisions about what they report, and the fact that there are still some closings simply is not news.
I suppose that you also think that the headlines should be "Dow drops 700 points, but 4 companies go up!" Sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn't it?
Agreed, but still doesn't change my mind. Dow drops 700 pts. does not have to be repeated over and over and over again, with "OMG, another horrible crisis for out nation" as this is what is done, daily! So they continue to talk about the real estate crisis, even though as someone pointed out, it only makes up for about 4% of our home owners and the lack of paying their mortgages. I don't know about you, but this exageration makes me think I'll be seeing people "Homeless" on the streets, hunting for food and water and driving through our streets with abandoned cars and houses, becoming delapitated. This is what the media puts in the minds of some- just read the other threads on this forum and those that think the "greater depression" is near and even the "end of the world" is near. It's created paranoia and panic!!!
Agreed, but still doesn't change my mind. Dow drops 700 pts. does not have to be repeated over and over and over again, with "OMG, another horrible crisis for out nation" as this is what is done, daily! So they continue to talk about the real estate crisis, even though as someone pointed out, it only makes up for about 4% of our home owners and the lack of paying their mortgages. I don't know about you, but this exageration makes me think I'll be seeing people "Homeless" on the streets, hunting for food and water and driving through our streets with abandoned cars and houses, becoming delapitated. This is what the media puts in the minds of some- just read the other threads on this forum and those that think the "greater depression" is near and even the "end of the world" is near. It's created paranoia and panic!!!
I'm confused, because you seem to be alternating between blaming the media ("It's created paranoia and panic") and not blaming the media ("Again, no one is BLAMING the media"). I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say the real estate crisis only "makes up for about 4% of our home owners," but clearly decreasing values and increasing difficulty obtaining loans affects many more than 4%. And not because of the media. We already have a huge homeless population, and there are a lot of people who believe that the media doesn't focus enough attention on that problem. Maybe they are trying to make the housing situation in our country seem rosier than it actually is!
I'm confused, because you seem to be alternating between blaming the media ("It's created paranoia and panic") and not blaming the media ("Again, no one is BLAMING the media"). I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say the real estate crisis only "makes up for about 4% of our home owners," but clearly decreasing values and increasing difficulty obtaining loans affects many more than 4%. And not because of the media. We already have a huge homeless population, and there are a lot of people who believe that the media doesn't focus enough attention on that problem. Maybe they are trying to make the housing situation in our country seem rosier than it actually is!
Austin willy, I give up trying to explain. You take everything I say, literally, and twist into something I am not saying. My last post was an "addition" to what I have already said about the media and it's "persuasion" on the doom. It says nowhere that the blame is theirs because of home prices, only that home prices have been affected MORE and longer because that's what everyone has been told, in a generalized way, where home values are concerned. There are still many, many markets in our nation who are seeing VERY LITTLE of what the national picture created has been reported as. So if someone moves from California to Illinois, they are under the impression that the home that's priced at $500,000 is 50% overpriced because that home of NO similarities in CA is. Understand now? Hopefully not all have trouble understanding what I mean.
There are still many, many markets in our nation who are seeing VERY LITTLE of what the national picture created has been reported as. So if someone moves from California to Illinois, they are under the impression that the home that's priced at $500,000 is 50% overpriced because that home of NO similarities in CA is. Understand now? Hopefully not all have trouble understanding what I mean.
But if what you are afraid of is true, that the national media has expanded what some believe is a strictly local or regional problem into a national problem, then why is it that Illinois has seen very little of the decline (assuming that you are correct about that)? Based on your belief, Illinois should be way down too because.
I just don't see any objective proof that even the smallest amount of the decline in the market can be directly attributed to the media.
But if what you are afraid of is true, that the national media has expanded what some believe is a strictly local or regional problem into a national problem, then why is it that Illinois has seen very little of the decline (assuming that you are correct about that)? Based on your belief, Illinois should be way down too because.
I just don't see any objective proof that even the smallest amount of the decline in the market can be directly attributed to the media.
It's like buying into the stock market because you think it has bottomed, only to lose half your investment when it falls more. There is nothing that can prevent house prices from falling more. A lot more.
so it is not possible 2 keep rentin 4 the rest of my life
Why not? Many people do.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
