Do you feel local real estate is improving?

[car54]

Real estate certainly doesn't seem to be improving in Pontiac Michigan! Did y'all read that the Pontiac Silverdome was sold for $583K...yep, less than a decent house would cost you in NOVA! Sheesh, I'm sure glad I didn't hear about it....my wife would KILL me if I brought home a domed stadium!

Things must really be bad up there when an 80,000 seat domed stadium on 127 acres sells for so little. Can you imagine what a 127 acre tract in Fairfax County would go for? I've been reading about a new phenomenon called the "urban prairie" where abandoned factories are just allowed to go away....like you'd see on the "Life after People" series.

I'm sure glad this isn't 1939 with Hitler menacing the world. American manufacturing might is largely what saved us...and now it's gone...sold out by the corporate suits in pursuit of the next quarter's profits. Sad.

[CAVA1990]

Actually a good government make-work jobs program would be to bulldoze the non-farm areas of the mid-west, turn it back to its natural state and populate it with buffalo and antelope.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by car54

Real estate certainly doesn't seem to be improving in Pontiac Michigan! Did y'all read that the Pontiac Silverdome was sold for $583K...yep, less than a decent house would cost you in NOVA! Sheesh, I'm sure glad I didn't hear about it....my wife would KILL me if I brought home a domed stadium!

Just tell her it's a Valentine's Day present...

[Guamanians]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Actually a good government make-work jobs program would be to bulldoze the non-farm areas of the mid-west, turn it back to its natural state and populate it with buffalo and antelope.

And then have Ted Nugent play a 3 day concert/hunting event
What would PETA say?

[snorkey]

what do u think dc area will be like after the gov't credit for buying houses expires this spring?

[Guamanians]

Originally Posted by snorkey

what do u think dc area will be like after the gov't credit for buying houses expires this spring?

This is a good question. In many ways this area is shielded from the national issues, but there are still issues. I think that the overall way that we live could have an impact. People are a little more frugal these days, and that applies to houses as well. The McMansions of 2005 are no longer a cool status symbol, or perhaps regular Joe's just don't care if they are. Keeping up with the Jones's isn't important anymore. Another problem with the suburbs is transportation, and the cost of gas. People already hate driving an hour or more to work, but $3 gas will hit a nerve! Not to mention the HOT lanes & construction, and the rising cost of toll roads & public transportation. With all of this considered, I think that real estate inside the beltway will remain in higher demand than the outer 'burbs.

1 last note: if rental prices go up too much then qualified buyers will jump back into the market. I personally think that home prices need to drop 15-20% to intice buyers back full-force. But, rising rents could bring them back into the market sooner.