How is the credit bubble affecting your city?

[Helena]

Lots of homes for sale in the Dallas area.

We didn't see the huge spite in prices as
in Florida, California, etc... but homes here
are overpriced just the same.

And, now credit will become more difficult.

It's not going to be pretty.

 

[kcowan]

Sales are slowing, especially in condos, but prices are holding. No more bidding above list price though. More inventory, longer listings time, more selection. Declining new housing starts.

Luxury cars seem to continue selling well in spite of sky high gas prices.

Retail sales seem to be at traditional summer levels (slower than fall).

 

[bssc]

This article talks about how the Phoenix markets as seeing a lot of foreclosures in the fringe markets.

 

[megacorp-firee]

They are holding a '1st auction' of 100 homes in Las Vegas. The home prices in the Chicago area are at lows and nothing seems to be moving.

 

[pfpelican]

Mortgage problems hit Houston | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

 

[kumquat]

I am wondering how the RE market in Canada is doing.
Is any one of the Canadians here care to share?

Here in the west the bubble is still inflating. Everything sells quickly, usually above the (already inflated) asking price.

 

[rpow53]

slow-real slow

here in north central california,solano county, things are very slow, my home on the market for 5 months and not even 1 offer. priced right at 50k below last years price and still willing to nego. but no offers. realtor is baffled also,says he has never seen it like this in his 20+ years exper.

 

[ziggy29]

I'm out in the country, but the nearest metro area is Austin. It is holding up extremely well; in fact it's one of the strongest housing markets in the country right now. YOY prices are still up and homes are selling quickly for relatively strong prices in many neighborhoods.

 

[haha]

In Seattle the media is still bullish, as are realtors of course. But I see lots of "reduced" signs on properties, and yesterday I heard on the radio that prices for homes and condos were up less than 2% year over year in June.

On the theory that if you aren't growing you are shrinking, I'd say the next step is some shrinkage.

There is a lot of the usual blather about land constrained markets, relative lack of building, etc., and I guess this is mostly true. But it didn't stop Tokyo's bust in the 90s, and it hasn't stopped San Diego from falling prices this year.

The main floor I can see here is that employment is strong leading to high rents which at some not too distant point I would think would start to support condos at least. I did read in yesterdays’ Seattle Times that many of the jobs created in WA during the past year were not "living wage" jobs.

Ha

 

[Zoocat]

The whole Denver area is totally down the toilet, especially the Aurora area where there are lots of blue collar workers who cannot afford to lose a house. It's really a sad state.

 

[missionfinder]

If someone can't afford to lose a house they shouldn't purchase one with an ARM, interest-only, 40/50 year mortgage, or non-qualifying loan. All of those are signs you couldn't afford the house in the first place. Ignorant and/or stupid buyers/speculators and mortgage companies all have a hand in this one.

 

[jazz4cash]

Mortgage problems hit Houston | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

From the above article:"buyers with bad credit or little money for a down payment can't get loans.

............................imagine that!!

 

[Webzter]

So, the owner of house across the street from us overextended (managed to mortgage up to $292 on a house that could fetch $285 in a good market). It foreclosed and the bank listed it at $270 (to give another lens, we've been fishing at $280). After a few months on the market, they've dropped to $250.

That's gonna hurt the ol' comps

 

[VoyT]

Central Indiana: We've been hurting for a while with foreclosures and slow sales in many area. Now seeing the slowdown in the "popular" suburbs. I know one fellow who's sweating because his new house is nearly built and he hasn't had a nibble on his current home.
Funny though, there are still plenty of high-end condos going up, and the strip malls keep coming, though they never seem to fill completely.

 

[haha]

So, the owner of house across the street from us overextended (managed to mortgage up to $292 on a house that could fetch $285 in a good market). It foreclosed and the bank listed it at $270 (to give another lens, we've been fishing at $280). After a few months on the market, they've dropped to $250.

That's gonna hurt the ol' comps

I am trying to understand what you mean. Did you bid $280 on this place, perhaps before it went into foreclosure? Why wasn't your bid accepted?

Also, can you say where this is?

Ha

 

[jazz4cash]

Washington DC
Very, very spotty, but pretty bad overall....many problems beneath the surface. Very popular topic for the local newspapers. Very glad not to be buying, selling, or refinancing.

 

[HFWR]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/080907dnbushousing.1379519a.h

"Pre-owned home sales dropped 3 percent from a year earlier with 8,549 homes sold, according to new statistics from the North Texas Real Estate Information System.
Pending sales for August were also down about 5 percent.
Median sales prices were up a scant 1 percent, but that increase is mostly due to the fall-off in sales of low priced homes, analysts say.
With July's decline, total home sales are down about 6 percent from the first seven months of 2006.
At the end of last month about 50,000 homes were listed for sale through the Realtors' multiple listing service. That's 5 percent more than a year earlier. And the average time it takes to sell a house in the Dallas-Fort Worth area - 69 days - is about 8 percent longer than last year.
At current sales rates there is about a 7-month supply of pre-owned homes on the market."

 

[maddythebeagle]

There is a 900k house down the road that has been reduced into the 800k range from what I hear....The owner is the widow of a local manufactured house business...My impression is that they are in financial trouble.....What I find funny about all this is it isnt "poor" people that nec. are getting in trouble...

 

[Achiever51]

A house in my Michigan neighborhood just sold after being on the market for more than a year. The last owner purchased it for $475,000 four years ago. Last year, the family relocated to California and tried to carry both mortgages while this house was on the market. Originally listed for $499k, I understand they rejected several offers submitted slightly below the asking price.

Fast forward one year later: The house just closed at $347,000

In a near by neighborhood, I just attended a foreclosure auction on a home appraised at more than $900,000 -- in an area of $1 million+ homes. Lots of interest at the auction...but the highest bid was $650,000.

Ouch.

 

[ndfmnlf]

I am relocating from Illinois to Sacramento, California in 6 months. I will have to sell my house in Illinois and rent in Sacramento until the dust settles down. The problem is, my Illinois house may sit on the market for at least a year given how sluggish things are. Which means I will be losing money paying mortgage interest on this house while simultaneously renting in another part of the country. I have enough liquid assets to pay off my mortgage. I wonder if I should just pay it off now...then sell the house. That way the mortgage interest will not be a drain on my pocket. BTW, I can't rent the house out due to existing covenants in my subdivision prohibiting this. Your comments are appreciated.

 

[happy2bretired]

I know a good portion of you guys don't like reality TV but I started watching a show called "Flipping Out" on BRAVO last night. That guy has to be in trouble right now. He owns 4 or 5 fixer uppers at a time and they are not the run of the mill houses either. He usually pays about a million for one and try to double his money after fixing them. I just can't imagine doing something like that right now. I think he said he only had $125,000 at one point during the program last night. It's insane.

 

[Sue J]

I'm pretty sure these are actors, not actual flippers with their money on the line. It seems to be a parody of all the house flipping shows. If you look at it as a parody, it's HYSTERICAL!

The guy's OCD, the assistant having to answer the phone with that ridiculous script, the whole LA vibe. It reminds me of the movie LA Story.

 

[W2R]

I am relocating from Illinois to Sacramento, California in 6 months. I will have to sell my house in Illinois and rent in Sacramento until the dust settles down. The problem is, my Illinois house may sit on the market for at least a year given how sluggish things are. Which means I will be losing money paying mortgage interest on this house while simultaneously renting in another part of the country. I have enough liquid assets to pay off my mortgage. I wonder if I should just pay it off now...then sell the house. That way the mortgage interest will not be a drain on my pocket. BTW, I can't rent the house out due to existing covenants in my subdivision prohibiting this. Your comments are appreciated.

If I were you, I'd price the house low, fix it up and "stage" it, and offer to pay closing costs. If it needs a new roof, have that done, and think about letting the buyer negotiate to keep the appliances. Do your homework and find a top realtor to help you sell it. Then lean on him, gently.

If you can manage to sell it, even at a lower price, it could still be to your advantage under the circumstances.

If you pay off your house, you'd be losing investment income from the money you used to pay it off. Since we are talking about perhaps a year, I would suggest not bothering at this point and instead, putting all of your effort into selling it.

 

[haha]

Since we are talking about perhaps a year, I would suggest not bothering at this point and instead, putting all of your effort into selling it.

I second Wants2Retire's advice. The first cut is the kindest. Price the thing to sell, get your money and head west with a clear head.

Ha

 

[citrine]

I agree with Ha and Want2Retire.....price it to sell and get rid of it. The more attractive the price, the more response you will get. It's always good to end one chapter of your life before starting another.