Who are the Realtors?

[pdq]

Glad you made it on the news.

One problem that I'm seeing is quite crazy. Sales have declined in FL and others sending prices tanking. I know several families that bought in Knoxville, but still haven't sold their FL homes. Juggling two payments is never any fun. Two families have their Knoxville homes up for sale now and are going back to FL. Knox prices have risen above what they paid and FL prices have tanked to below what they have in the FL homes. Crazy world when everyone treats everything as a commodity. When you crunch the numbers though it makes sense.

[hiknapster]

Oh, yeah. I see a lot of people moving here that actually have not sold their house, wherever they are from, and don't have jobs here.

I consider that to be another "reset." This will be when all the people that bought houses here, and have another mortgage elsewhere, then realize they have their backs to a wall. That is going to drop the market down. Way down.

[bfskinnerpunk]

It would be hard to see why Knoxville would go 'way down', but perhaps the "hot" markets will take a bigger hit than expected.

Sometimes, I think if we get away with only a couple of down years (maybe a 2% drop or so).... then we'll have done ok.

I don't like to think of a house as a symbol of $$$... it takes away from the idea of a home. If I have to sell in a couple of years, and lose a few thousand, I won't be terribly broke up about it. People spend that much on those lousy Jet Skis!

[pdq]

Yep, you're right. Can you imagine making payments on two McMansions? Hahaha, some will try as many are still optimistic. I'm middleclass and quite optimistic too, but I try to do as the affluent do and they aren't buying real estate right now.

[pdq]

Originally Posted by bfskinnerpunk

It would be hard to see why Knoxville would go 'way down', but perhaps the "hot" markets will take a bigger hit than expected.

Sometimes, I think if we get away with only a couple of down years (maybe a 2% drop or so).... then we'll have done ok.

I don't like to think of a house as a symbol of $$$... it takes away from the idea of a home. If I have to sell in a couple of years, and lose a few thousand, I won't be terribly broke up about it. People spend that much on those lousy Jet Skis!

Well no one wants to loose money, any money. The real problem with say a 2% decline in home value is that it doesn't stop there. There were closing costs to start with, there are realtor fees 3-6% when you do sell, there is non-RE inflation now running around 4-5% including food/energy, and there is a declining valued dollar. Even if home prices stayed flat until you sell you'll still be taking a large loss.

[bfskinnerpunk]

My understanding is that inflation has actually been under 2% lately in spite of fears.

For myself, I consider all of the "fees" of my home purchase as the actual price of the house.

I'm starting to consider just paying off this house with my savings. That way, if prices plummet, I won't feel like I'm paying interest on a declining asset.

It's generally recommended that people *not* pay off the house, but I like the idea of making a guaranteed 6.1%...and the subsequent "low rent" of just paying taxes & ins.

I also like the idea of paying less to live in a place than I ever have in my life...and I have lived in some low rent rentals!

[pdq]

The 2% figure that they like to publish excludes necessities and food/energy. Real inflation has been running 4-5%

I think you're smart to pay off your home. If everyone did that the whole economy would crash though. Debt runs the US economy.