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The only information I have is to reference the Great Depression. Many of the draconian socialist measures being implemented now by the Fed and the government are reflective of what the New Deal tried to do in the 30s. Regretably, like the New Deal, it will only make matters worse. But it will assure an election win to whomever dresses up as Santa Claus best.
Interesting statistics regarding the great depression and the current statistics. They don't appear near what they were when the great depression began. Is this recession another Great Depression? | Salon
I respect your opinion, and currently am disappointed in all the presidential candidates.
Interesting statistics regarding the great depression and the current statistics. They don't appear near what they were when the great depression began. Is this recession another Great Depression? | Salon
I respect your opinion, and currently am disappointed in all the presidential candidates.
I respect yours as well
We are entitled to our opinions. We are not entitled to our own facts!
I think comparing the Great Depression to today leaves out a few things:
1. We're much more global now
2. Credit/debt is more widespread now and most Americans have debt
3. We don't produce most of our goods anymore
4. Both corporate and financial interests influence our government today
I don't think it's a straight apples to apples comparison without some extrapolation for the changes between those two times.
I disagree with both comments. I think your numbers have no basis. Houses won't decrease in value by 80%. It's virtually impossible.
I disagree also. In the 80's when this happened, houses did not decrease in value by 80%. I'm not sure of your process for providing information.
Tell that to the good folks of Prince William County, VA - A Washington D.C. suburb. The median price has fallen 30% in the last 12 months alone. If you do the research and calculate how much they have fallen from the peak, I'm positive that it will be closer to 40%.
MOJO 1979: Tell that to the good folks of Prince William County, VA - A Washington D.C. suburb. The median price has fallen 30% in the last 12 months alone. If you do the research and calculate how much they have fallen from the peak, I'm positive that it will be closer to 40%.
There are areas of the country in which real estate prices were over stated in the past two years and those are the areas suffering the biggest bubble burst and foreclosures. IMO the real estate market was so ridiculously over priced then and now it being corrected. The real question is how much were the houses in Prince William County BEFORE the peak.
Last edited by Mickey421; 04-13-2008 at 11:10 AM..
Reason: lacked quoter
There are areas of the country in which real estate prices were over stated in the past two years and those are the areas suffering the biggest bubble burst and foreclosures. IMO the real estate market was so ridiculously over priced then and now it being corrected. The real question is how much were the houses in Prince William County BEFORE the peak.
Exactly.. my house in the DC suburbs doubled in value in less than three years (I sold it 3/2006). It's since fallen in value ~20%, but it's still worth ~50% MORE than the price I paid for it in August of '03.
Exactly.. my house in the DC suburbs doubled in value in less than three years (I sold it 3/2006). It's since fallen in value ~20%, but it's still worth ~50% MORE than the price I paid for it in August of '03.
Finally someone who understands! So many people are yelling "the sky is falling" because they were the ones who bought during the peak. The media is feeding the frenzy and all real estate is suffering.
If people would look at the cost to rent for the next couple of years, while they "wait" for the big burst, they aren't saving any money. The mortgage rates will rise again and they will end up paying more.
I honestly don't understand why people continued to buy when prices had gone so crazy. Maybe they were hoping that prices would continue to rise?
Here's a real life example - I bought a modest 2-level townhouse in 1997 for $85K (it was a mess, market value for nice ones was $95K). At that time, there were some people who had bought at the last peak and owed $120K and wound up walking away from their mortgages. I owned the townhouse for about 5 years, put a fair amount of money into it and sold it for $165K in December 2002. I just looked online and the same townhouse sold in June of 2006 for $354K! We are talking about a 2-level, 1500sf townhouse, no garage, built in the 1970's. Now there are a TON of those same townhouses listed for as little as $150K (foreclosures/short sales)! What happened to the market there is completely ridiculous, and that's why there are such huge corrections.
I honestly don't understand why people continued to buy when prices had gone so crazy. Maybe they were hoping that prices would continue to rise?
Here's a real life example - I bought a modest 2-level townhouse in 1997 for $85K (it was a mess, market value for nice ones was $95K). At that time, there were some people who had bought at the last peak and owed $120K and wound up walking away from their mortgages. I owned the townhouse for about 5 years, put a fair amount of money into it and sold it for $165K in December 2002. I just looked online and the same townhouse sold in June of 2006 for $354K! We are talking about a 2-level, 1500sf townhouse, no garage, built in the 1970's. Now there are a TON of those same townhouses listed for as little as $150K (foreclosures/short sales)! What happened to the market there is completely ridiculous, and that's why there are such huge corrections.
And the media continually adds fuel to the real estate problem instead of reporting the facts, exactly like you did in your post. People got into a feeding frenzy buying real estate that they thought would continue to double and triple in value instead of realizing salaries and job growth could not keep up with the booming real estate market. The banks were encouraging people to take loans they couldn't afford and BINGO everyone is now afraid to buy a house. In reality there are many areas who did not increase disportionately but the media has incorrectly reported the housing crisis. Surprise, the media reporting something incorrectly.
I honestly don't understand why people continued to buy when prices had gone so crazy. Maybe they were hoping that prices would continue to rise?
If you were buying a house that had doubled in value in the last 2 years you'd have to be out of your mind if you thought that trend would continue. The economy hasn't really been that strong for that to continue to happen.
But some people my not buy and sell because they have a choice. Me for example. I'm having to move for a job. I feel like an idiot because I'm having to sell my house in a declining market. But I don't have a choice. I have to move. And silly me....i'm having to buy a house in a market that has been steadily rising for the last decade or more. I need my head examined....seriously.
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