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We are potential buyers. We looked for the last year while prices in our area were dropping dramatically. However, they are still out of whack with the historical price trend and the inventory is in the stratosphere.
So as I type this, I'm sitting surrounded by moving boxes in our "plan." A home we just rented. It's very nice. Great neighborhood. We'll wait our market out till inventory drops to near normal levels. It's our best guess.
More details to follow at some point when the dust settles.
Good luck to all buyers and sellers with their respective plans.
cohdane, i can sympathize with your situation. as much as i want real estate to be in line with what people earn, it's never going to happen. the governments of the world and the banks are doing everything in their power to prop up asset prices. in fact, it's going back to business as usual. i'm starting to receive tons of credit card application forms. my wife works in securitization and by all accounts, that market is rapidly being re-inflated. i've been looking for a used car and from what i can tell, no-one is interested in making a sale. i've also been scouring the rental market and i see zero evidence of the unemployment hike. in fact, our landlord has recently increased our rent.
I see signs from some lenders that they are starting to "get it" when it comes to giving their borrowers the information they need to prevent foreclosure.
Most lenders have a very "sell more stuff" mindset -- their telephone services were all set up to make it easy to get a credit card and a HELOC and auto loans when you called about your mortgage. This meant more revenues and fees IF the borrowers could stay current but obviously also meant each borrower was "deep into" debt with the lender. WHOOPS! Lenders are now seeing the light that they have to work with borrowers to get payments down to the point where borrowers can send in the payments that makes the whole thing work.
Having some phone center person tell a borrower with money problems that "I can't help you" is an invitation for the borrower to stop paying. That will trigger an expensive foreclosure and leave the lender stuck with unsellable real estate in a declining market. All-in-all a very bad situation.
If the lender modifies the loan so that the payment is manageable the lender will have cash flow and THAT is what they need...
you don't seem to get it chet, the banks don't care. any sign of trouble on the horizon gets met with a govt bailout. the problem of foreclosures had such an easy solution but then the government got involved. in new zealand when the govt withdrew farm subsidies, many farmers faced foreclosure. the banks went to the govt looking for compensation and the govt told them it wasn't their problem ie banks, go and get -----d!!!!!!
the banks then had 2 alternatives, one was they could walk in and foreclose on everyone. this would send farm prices crashing down and the banks would get next to nothing for the farms they repo'd. this would probably have driven the banks into bankruptcy. the second solution was to sit down with their clients and come to some kind of agreement. what could've happened in our situation was that the banks could've sat down with the borrower and established what the borrower could afford. the banks would then foreclose and use the amount the borrower could afford as a reserve price. if that price was met, the borrower would lose their home and the bank would get the best deal. if the reserve was not met at auction, the borrower would stay in their home at a reduced rate.
this would solve the problem of massive vacant inventory and the banks would ultimately only foreclose on the the borrowers where it was absolutely the last resort.
like i said in the first sentence though, the banks don't care. sooner or later inflation will catch up with us and home prices will re-inflate. who will be left with the biggest real estate portfolios when this happens? you, me or the banks?
cohdane, i can sympathize with your situation. as much as i want real estate to be in line with what people earn, it's never going to happen. the governments of the world and the banks are doing everything in their power to prop up asset prices. in fact, it's going back to business as usual. i'm starting to receive tons of credit card application forms. my wife works in securitization and by all accounts, that market is rapidly being re-inflated. i've been looking for a used car and from what i can tell, no-one is interested in making a sale. i've also been scouring the rental market and i see zero evidence of the unemployment hike. in fact, our landlord has recently increased our rent.
Interesting point about the car sales, 58robbo. We, too, have been car shoping for both a cheap, cheap used for our high schooler (need a 3rd car so he can drive himself to all his activities while my wife goes in different directions with the other 3) and we have also been looking for a new vehicle to trade in our second car. My wife loves hers so keeping it! But it's ridiculous. As you said, no one wants to make a sale. We are trying to "buy american" since our 2 vehicles are currently foreign, but we're finding it impossible to get any kind of reasonable deal. And forget having a trade-in. THey DON'T want your car, no matter what! We've even had several suggest we try to sell it outright. And we're wanting to buy 2 cars, one used, one new!!
I will tell you this; In our search, one dealer told us that his "Chrysler/Jeep" made 34 sales in May. They had 3 salesman go to the BMW dealer for jobs. Guess why? BMW sold 136 vehicles in May. They are on the same strip of "dealership row" in a local suburb. The car we're trying to trade in is a 2002 BMW540i. I bet the BMW dealer would give us a good trade-in on a new one! And you wonder why our "buy american" intentions are becoming less of a priority. I think that spoke volumes of what is REALLY going on in every day life. Seems not as bad as we all keep hearing on this forum and in the news. So we'll keep searching for those 2 cars and see what happens.
Interesting point about the car sales, 58robbo. We, too, have been car shoping for both a cheap, cheap used for our high schooler (need a 3rd car so he can drive himself to all his activities while my wife goes in different directions with the other 3) and we have also been looking for a new vehicle to trade in our second car. My wife loves hers so keeping it! But it's ridiculous. As you said, no one wants to make a sale. We are trying to "buy american" since our 2 vehicles are currently foreign, but we're finding it impossible to get any kind of reasonable deal. And forget having a trade-in. THey DON'T want your car, no matter what! We've even had several suggest we try to sell it outright. And we're wanting to buy 2 cars, one used, one new!!
I will tell you this; In our search, one dealer told us that his "Chrysler/Jeep" made 34 sales in May. They had 3 salesman go to the BMW dealer for jobs. Guess why? BMW sold 136 vehicles in May. They are on the same strip of "dealership row" in a local suburb. The car we're trying to trade in is a 2002 BMW540i. I bet the BMW dealer would give us a good trade-in on a new one! And you wonder why our "buy american" intentions are becoming less of a priority. I think that spoke volumes of what is REALLY going on in every day life. Seems not as bad as we all keep hearing on this forum and in the news. So we'll keep searching for those 2 cars and see what happens.
Take Care
I agree, things are fantastic. We have watched the largest bankruptcy filings in our country's history, historic residential foreclosures, a commercial real estate market ready to implode, a national deficit that is obscene, a collapsing bond market and a devaluation of the US dollar.
Some of these anecdotal posts are ludicrous.
Look, nobody is telling you to hide in a bunker, but let's call a spade a spade. The economy is in the proverbial sh(*&er. Our treasury secretary is in China being dressed down by the Chinese government because we have become China's *****. But, some will come on the forum and tell people that all is well in their town.
Best advice is to educate yourself and be prepared for the tough times ahead because they ARE coming. All of the catchy Obama slogans and blank checks can not change the inevitable.
BTW, I am personally having a great year in sales thanks to the increased government spending. But, this simple anecdote does not change the the facts.
I agree, things are fantastic. We have watched the largest bankruptcy filings in our country's history, historic residential foreclosures, a commercial real estate market ready to implode, a national deficit that is obscene, a collapsing bond market and a devaluation of the US dollar.
Some of these anecdotal posts are ludicrous.
Look, nobody is telling you to hide in a bunker, but let's call a spade a spade. The economy is in the proverbial sh(*&er. Our treasury secretary is in China being dressed down by the Chinese government because we have become China's *****. But, some will come on the forum and tell people that all is well in their town.
Best advice is to educate yourself and be prepared for the tough times ahead because they ARE coming. All of the catchy Obama slogans and blank checks can not change the inevitable.
BTW, I am personally having a great year in sales thanks to the increased government spending. But, this simple anecdote does not change the the facts.
the point i tried to make is that none of it makes any sense. used cars, real estate, equities and the majority of the retail sector should've crashed. it hasn't happened. the governments answer to this crisis is to make more credit available so we can spend more. ultimately they're begging for inflation because it solves the problem of financial sector insolvencies, clears the negative equity in the real estate market and can once again present the people with the illusion of growth.
the fine line they tread is that it might be irreversible once it gains momentum
I agree, things are fantastic. We have watched the largest bankruptcy filings in our country's history, historic residential foreclosures, a commercial real estate market ready to implode, a national deficit that is obscene, a collapsing bond market and a devaluation of the US dollar.
Some of these anecdotal posts are ludicrous.
Look, nobody is telling you to hide in a bunker, but let's call a spade a spade. The economy is in the proverbial sh(*&er. Our treasury secretary is in China being dressed down by the Chinese government because we have become China's *****. But, some will come on the forum and tell people that all is well in their town.
Best advice is to educate yourself and be prepared for the tough times ahead because they ARE coming. All of the catchy Obama slogans and blank checks can not change the inevitable.
BTW, I am personally having a great year in sales thanks to the increased government spending. But, this simple anecdote does not change the the facts.
I agree, things are fantastic. We have watched the largest bankruptcy filings in our country's history, historic residential foreclosures, a commercial real estate market ready to implode, a national deficit that is obscene, a collapsing bond market and a devaluation of the US dollar.
Some of these anecdotal posts are ludicrous.
Look, nobody is telling you to hide in a bunker, but let's call a spade a spade. The economy is in the proverbial sh(*&er. Our treasury secretary is in China being dressed down by the Chinese government because we have become China's *****. But, some will come on the forum and tell people that all is well in their town.
Best advice is to educate yourself and be prepared for the tough times ahead because they ARE coming. All of the catchy Obama slogans and blank checks can not change the inevitable.
BTW, I am personally having a great year in sales thanks to the increased government spending. But, this simple anecdote does not change the the facts.
So if we're not to "hide in a bunker", then what is it that you are suggesting we do as a nation? Stop spending, even if able, stop living in the same comfort, if able, and that we shouldn't try to help this nation rise up, if we are one of many millions who can? How can anyone who has a dime to their name NOT be investing in our markets right now, not buy a home to live in, all because it's so bad, and getting worse, so why bother? Whether you think it's all a ficticious ploy to "over inlfate" our economy or simply trying to bring it back to a prosperous one, life will and is going on!
So if we're not to "hide in a bunker", then what is it that you are suggesting we do as a nation? Stop spending, even if able, stop living in the same comfort, if able, and that we shouldn't try to help this nation rise up, if we are one of many millions who can? How can anyone who has a dime to their name NOT be investing in our markets right now, not buy a home to live in, all because it's so bad, and getting worse, so why bother? Whether you think it's all a ficticious ploy to "over inlfate" our economy or simply trying to bring it back to a prosperous one, life will and is going on!
Yes, life will go on. Hopefully, back to a time in our country's history where people did not feel entitled. How about a time when people actually saved enough money to buy a house with > 20% down or when a purchase was put off until it could be paid in cash instead of revolving credit.
My point was that we should not be spoon fed by the government or corporations on how to live our lives and spend OUR money (although, I get this sickening feeling that the gov't will soon be reaching deeper into my pocket).
There are places to put your money that will help you prosper in the falling economy. IMHO, at least for now, real estate and much of the stock market are not the best places.
In these times, the best thing that we can do is to live a simpler life, invest wisely and save, not spend on overpriced garbage in an attempt to reinflate the bubble.
So if we're not to "hide in a bunker", then what is it that you are suggesting we do as a nation? Stop spending, even if able, stop living in the same comfort, if able, and that we shouldn't try to help this nation rise up, if we are one of many millions who can? How can anyone who has a dime to their name NOT be investing in our markets right now, not buy a home to live in, all because it's so bad, and getting worse, so why bother? Whether you think it's all a ficticious ploy to "over inlfate" our economy or simply trying to bring it back to a prosperous one, life will and is going on!
You do what you have to do for your particular circumstances. It's as simple as that.
Those who have the proverbial 'dime' to their name and truly understand the current artificiality of the financial markets are not buying into the hype.
'Sheeple' who have caved and bought into the hype have lots of company.
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