Negative Home Equity Statistics (foreclosure, to rent, mortgages)

[HenryHelmhazzard]

Update on our refi appraisal:

We were charged extra due to the square footage of our home ($350 estimate, $425 actual) for the appraisal.

Including time spent outside the building, the entire visit of the husband and wife appraisal team was less than 12 minutes- we were watching the clock. They were together the entire time, her taking a digital photo of each room, and him taking sparse notes. I never once saw a tape measure, inside or out.

As they went to leave, they took 30 seconds to verify a few statistics: they got the bedroom and bathroom count wrong, and we had to correct them. Not a single question on age of roof, AC, improvements, etc.

The odds of this ending well for us are slim at best.

[Dreamy46]

Latest negative equity articles:

Nearly half of Tampa Bay homeowners underwater on mortgages - St. Petersburg Times

One in Four Borrowers Is Underwater - WSJ.com

U.S. Homeowners with Negative Equity by State

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Dreamy46

Latest negative equity articles:

Nearly half of Tampa Bay homeowners underwater on mortgages - St. Petersburg Times

One in Four Borrowers Is Underwater - WSJ.com

U.S. Homeowners with Negative Equity by State

This can't be true about Florida. Because according to several posters life is perfect here and there is no crime.....lol.

[rogercobb]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

This can't be true about Florida. Because according to several posters life is perfect here and there is no crime.....lol.

That is a truly frightening map. I knew the situation in Florida wasn't good yet had no idea that over 40% of homeowners have a negative equity. With the exception of Michigan it always seems to be the sun belt states that have the biggest real estate crashes.

[Dreamy46]

Originally Posted by rogercobb

That is a truly frightening map. I knew the situation in Florida wasn't good yet had no idea that over 40% of homeowners have a negative equity. With the exception of Michigan it always seems to be the sun belt states that have the biggest real estate crashes.

Which goes to show you that all the people that keep claiming that it's a great time to buy (or those that listened to them), and that we've hit the bottom are going to get their heads handed to them.

2006:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubsd-tWYmZw

2007:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLKft2YiNtE

2008:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34cW_lw-osk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIZqTUal6As

2009:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5UDz6MuWR4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8thAJJaeUw

[Big House]

The sad thing is, is that many home owners that had equity in their homes, have been making payments for decades, and have done nothing wrong have lost a huge amount of equity just because of the deflating home values in Florida. Some properties have lost 60% and more of their value. That alone will certainly push property owners into a negative equity situation, and their other financial circumstances doesn't have to change a bit!

It will certainly be a long time until prices begin to correct, and then even longer to recover. There are great buys out there right now because of the huge deflationary housing price factor. No new homes are being built to compete with the market. So once the inventory is sold off, the prices will bounce back sharply, the construction industry has been knocked back on its heals and that work force is veritually gone or will be by the time property values begin to improve ((which again will be a loooong time)). But it will eventually recover. It is certainly a buyers market right now. Anyone that has to or needs to sell in the near future are going to suffer!

[Dreamy46]

Originally Posted by Big House

The sad thing is, is that many home owners that had equity in their homes, have been making payments for decades, and have done nothing wrong have lost a huge amount of equity just because of the deflating home values in Florida. Some properties have lost 60% and more of their value. That alone will certainly push property owners into a negative equity situation, and their other financial circumstances doesn't have to change a bit!

It will certainly be a long time until prices begin to correct, and then even longer to recover. There are great buys out there right now because of the huge deflationary housing price factor. No new homes are being built to compete with the market. So once the inventory is sold off, the prices will bounce back sharply, the construction industry has been knocked back on its heals and that work force is veritually gone or will be by the time property values begin to improve ((which again will be a loooong time)). But it will eventually recover. It is certainly a buyers market right now. Anyone that has to or needs to sell in the near future are going to suffer!

I would beg to differ that home prices are going to bounce back sharply for several reasons, the foremost being lending. The only reason prices were able to shoot up to begin with was because of loose lending. So, it stands to reason that the only way prices could return is for lending to get loose again. Do you see that happening in a financial sector getting constantly tighter regulation? Next is Interest rates: do you see zero percent interest rates for banks lasting forever? Every 1% rise in interest rates causes a 10% drop in home prices. Is the government going to keep writing $8k checks to get people to buy? Am I going to pay you the $8k in the form of a price increase considering that I just gave you that money with my tax dollars?

As for the equity, there's nothing sad about it. Every single person you see paraded around on the news tapped that equity in the form of a home equity loan, and they're responsible for the consequences. A lot of them even had the mindset that they never had to pay the money back.

The equity situation regarding people's homes is a lot like gold at this very moment and marriage. You can take the wedding rings off your fingers and sell them for nearly $1,100 per ounce (read - my home has no meaning to me other than money and I'll sell at anytime), or you can keep the rings on your fingers and miss the boom (read - my house is my home and it's sacred). Selling the rings signifies that it's all about the money. Keeping them, on the other hand is making a statement that you value what they represent and that you won't be swayed by foolish trends perpetrated by criminals. Or, you can pawn the rings (read - take out a home equity loan) for an exorbitant interest rate and sit around pretending that you're going to redeem them (your house).

Whatever you choose, there's nothing sad about it for those of us watching your behavior.

[Dreamy46]

Nice read today from the Washington Post on strategic defaults:

The Nation's Housing: Walking away from a mortgage - washingtonpost.com

[Dreamy46]

Pretty shocking read on the food stamp situation:

"While use is greatest where poverty runs deep, the growth has been especially swift in once-prosperous places hit by the housing bust. There are about 50 small counties and a dozen sizable ones where the rolls have doubled in the last two years. In another 205 counties, they have risen by at least two-thirds. These places with soaring rolls include populous Riverside County, Calif., most of greater Phoenix and Las Vegas, a ring of affluent Atlanta suburbs, and a 150-mile stretch of southwest Florida from Bradenton to the Everglades."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html

[Dreamy46]

Same-day flippers.

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