[Audacious]

Ok, there is so much back and forth here re RE crashing or stabilizing. I bought houses in 2002, still have, still giving a nice return and do not plan to sell for another 8 to 12 years. Hopefully that will preclude me from being attacked as realtor....I AM NOT A REALTOR.

RE has gone up and down for a hundred years but overall has gone up. I'm sure the folks in 40's thought it would return to more affordale prices as in the 30" and I'm sure that you can add 10 years to each of the above right up to today.

Florida has just seen a major runup in the last few years, unprecedented and unsupportable. The market has made a correction, houses including mine are down about 30% from 2005. I really don't care because I am not a flipper and have no plans of selling now. What everyone seems to be forgetting is that THE MARKET in each area determines the price of housing. The realtor does not, the bank or appraiser do not, blogs do not nor do newspapers. The BUYER and the SELLER determine the price. If all the doom and gloom were true then NO ONE would be buying or selling anyhting.

The markets in Florida that have seen strong gains last year some stayed stable and others tanked. Wide based strokes of a brush cannot give an accurate description of what is going on in YOUR market area. EG> foreclosures in Michigan are through the roof. Did the bubble casuse it NO! The tanking domestic auto market caused it. But the data is included in those wide brush strokes. The same in Ohio and parts of NY.

Basically, what I'm trying to tell you boys and girls is to keep yer eyes open for your market. Look at what is going on re any industry, major building projects etc. Establish WHY YOU want to buy or why not. What is the best move for YOU! You are the only person in the world who knows what is best for you.

Opinions are like a%&holes everybody has one. The doom and gloom group has theirs and the time to buy group has theirs. Both groups cannot tell you what is going on in your market.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR EYES!



Yikes! I'm gonna get clobbered by both sides for this one

[Margel]

I think you are right on with this one. If you listened to everyone on this forum about everything, you would want to hide under your bed most of the time. Real estate in Florida is correcting itself...thank God, and as long you are looking for a home instead of making a "killing" in the market, you will be fine. The bottom line is buy what you can afford so that you are not house-poor when you get there. I know a lot of people prefer renting, but for me personally, I think is a waste of money. I would rather pay to own my home then give to someone else and not have to uproot my children yet another time. I know that isn't for everyone and that is why there are houses to buy and houses to rent.

[Prichard]

Well, one correction and then onward...

If all the doom and gloom were true then NO ONE would be buying or selling anyhting.

This is incorrect. Doom and gloom or no doom and gloom, people are always buying and selling. Many people becaue quite wealthy in the 1930's investing in real estate, despite the doom and gloom depression. My grandfather was one of them. Unfortunately, he lost his wealth in the late 1940's and never really recovered after that. Easy come, easy go he used to say.

Value is a tricky thing. The more homogenous the product, like condos, townhomes, or cookie-cutter houses in large neighborhoods, comparables are great indicators. The more you move into the higher-end stuff, then values become much, much more subjective. For example, what would a 5,000 sf custom house built in the 1970's on an acre on one of the Winter Park lakes be worth? $2,000,000? $4,000,000?

You can crunch the numbers and come up with a rough estimate, but the real question is what is it worth to someone interested in buying it. It's also dependant on how custom it is, functionality, obsolecence, condition, etc. But beyond that, it is also much more dependant on finding the "right" buyer and on how motivated the Seller is.

[Hondax]

Originally Posted by Audacious

Yikes! I'm gonna get clobbered by both sides for this one

Blogs or Forums are not REAL WORLD, in that the information is often given for effect not substance, much like our beloved Newspapers. Either things are GREAT or more than likely, NOT GREAT, aka, NEGATIVE. Why would I report on normal? Very boring you know!
As easy as it is to get "caught up in the moment" remember even this heavily populated Forum is but a drop of water in a sea of swimmers who will never cross our path.IMO

[LKJ1988]

I opened my eyes a while back, sold the house my parents left me on the water in Tampa bay and paid cash for a much smaller house in Pasco.

No mortgage,no insurance and cheap taxes around $720 a year for taxes.

My parents had a reverse mortgage on the house they left me, the taxes in 2004 were $5000, flood and HOI was around $2000, this was just before all the hurricanes, the house sold within two hours of planting the sign in the front yard.

So now i am pretty much bill free!

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Prichard

Well, one correction and then onward...



This is incorrect. Doom and gloom or no doom and gloom, people are always buying and selling. Many people becaue quite wealthy in the 1930's investing in real estate, despite the doom and gloom depression. My grandfather was one of them. Unfortunately, he lost his wealth in the late 1940's and never really recovered after that. Easy come, easy go he used to say.

Value is a tricky thing. The more homogenous the product, like condos, townhomes, or cookie-cutter houses in large neighborhoods, comparables are great indicators. The more you move into the higher-end stuff, then values become much, much more subjective. For example, what would a 5,000 sf custom house built in the 1970's on an acre on one of the Winter Park lakes be worth? $2,000,000? $4,000,000?

You can crunch the numbers and come up with a rough estimate, but the real question is what is it worth to someone interested in buying it. It's also dependant on how custom it is, functionality, obsolecence, condition, etc. But beyond that, it is also much more dependant on finding the "right" buyer and on how motivated the Seller is.

it all comes back to the basics,
location
location
location
and mix in some quality and amenities and then you've got something, those people that bought multiple cookie cutter homes in questionable areas or who bought multiple condos are the ones who got caught chasing the big bucks, the game isn't fair and only people who exercise due diligence and clear unemotional thinking will manage to come out ahead
like I keep saying, real estate is on sale and if you can afford to jump in, jump! you probably will not see a better time to buy

[INeedAChange]

it's only a matter of time before Florida makes a comeback. It's such an amazing state with so much to offer that it can never go into a permanent decline.

[nychiefsfan]

Don't buy now because THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!

It kinda boils down to what kelly says. If you can afford to buy a house right now and plan on keeping for a long time, do it.

There are a bunch of us who are middle to upper middle class who can't see paying for a home at today's prices. That's okay, too.

It's alright to agree that we disagree.

[carolac]

What is a reverse mortgage? Congrats on debt free!

Originally Posted by CHASLS2

My parents had a reverse mortgage on the house they left me, So now i am pretty much bill free!

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by carolac

What is a reverse mortgage? Congrats on debt free!

A reverse mortgage is when a lending istitution pays you monthly and then when you sell you home they get what they have given you back, with interest of course. You have to have a large amount of equity or be free and clear on the home to do this.