Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 10:05 AM   #1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,155
U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...cpw&refer=home

Purchases fell in all regions of the country. They dropped 5.4 percent in the Northeast, 5.9 percent in the Midwest, 1.2 percent in the South and 6.4 percent in the West.

``We're more likely nationally to see a soft landing rather than a bubble bursting,'' said Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ``People are finding it more difficult, with higher mortgage rates, to buy a home. Rents are starting to go up again.''
Sam is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 10:10 AM   #2
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,146
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

I feel so lucky to have sold my NJ overpriced home back in april. In fact my realtor friend told me the other day that after my house sold that was it the neighborhood sales just stopped dead! Nothing has sold ! In addition there are 75% More homes on the market and every week two more show up for sale all now with prices UNDER the 490,000 mark for the exact same house that mine sold for 513,000.
dumpster56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 10:58 AM   #3
Dryer sheet aficionado
janeofalltrades's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 37
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

We bought our condo (California) new in 2002, sold it in 2005. At the time we bought it the builder was pricing each floor $50k more as you went up the stack.* In Feb of this year a neighbor that lived 2 floors above us and had bought shortly after we did sold her condo for $17k less then we had sold ours. Identical floorplane and upgrades, however she originally paid 100k more for hers.

I realize our selling price was over inflated when we sold. And our neighbor sold her condo for more then she bought it for, but thats a 117k drop in the selling price within 10 months.
__________________
Jane
janeofalltrades is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 11:04 AM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
73ss454's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: LaLa Land
Posts: 4,698
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

We listed our house in NY in April of this year. We had 3 different agents in and they gave us selling prices of 679K to 699K. Similar homes sold last year for about 670K or so.

To make a long story short we accepted a 570K offer this month. A house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it at a given time. Sort of like stock market timing. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. It's just time for us to move on.
__________________
Work is something you do to get enough $ so you don't have to....Me.
73ss454 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 11:10 AM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
tryan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,594
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Rents are starting to go up again.
This is true ... just increased the rents 5% on 2 units and no a peep from the tenants.

Not all bad!
__________________
FIRE'd since 2005
tryan is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 11:14 AM   #6
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Crownsville
Posts: 3,709
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Just for kicks I looked up my old zipcode of 21114. I sold my condo back in November 2004 for $185,000, when prices were still on the upswing. They peaked out at around $240-250K the following summer. I found a unit similar to mine on the market for $245K. If anyone's interested to see it, it's MLS #AA6077847. I don't think you can paste a property link directly from realtor.com.

So it looks like they've stalled, but haven't started to fall. Yet. However, I noticed there were like 225 properties for sale in that zipcode. Back when I sold, realtor.com usually pulled up around 90-100. So inventory is definitely up. And I doubt they're getting multiple offers and bidding wars within a couple days of listing, like what happened back when I sold!

When things do soften, I wonder how hard my old neighborhood is going to fall? The condos were built in 1973, and not very well. We were starting to have sewer backup problems from tree roots, and the windows in many units were in desperate need of replacement. The association always had problems budgeting. And for awhile we were in danger of losing our master insurance policy on the community. When I left, my condo fee was about $240 per month. I wonder what it's up to these days?
Andre1969 is online now   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 12:49 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
kcowan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49
Posts: 7,677
Send a message via Skype™ to kcowan
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

What bothers me is the claimed 1.2 million jobs in RE that the boom generated. Realtors claim they are moving to commercial construction. But I don't beleive it! Watch for an acceleration of the downshift in the economy once the ripple effect happens.
__________________
For the fun of it...Keith
kcowan is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 12:51 PM   #8
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,146
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre1969
Just for kicks I looked up my old zipcode of 21114. I sold my condo back in November 2004 for $185,000, when prices were still on the upswing. They peaked out at around $240-250K the following summer. I found a unit similar to mine on the market for $245K. If anyone's interested to see it, it's MLS #AA6077847. I don't think you can paste a property link directly from realtor.com.

So it looks like they've stalled, but haven't started to fall. Yet. However, I noticed there were like 225 properties for sale in that zipcode. Back when I sold, realtor.com usually pulled up around 90-100. So inventory is definitely up. And I doubt they're getting multiple offers and bidding wars within a couple days of listing, like what happened back when I sold!

When things do soften, I wonder how hard my old neighborhood is going to fall? The condos were built in 1973, and not very well. We were starting to have sewer backup problems from tree roots, and the windows in many units were in desperate need of replacement. The association always had problems budgeting. And for awhile we were in danger of losing our master insurance policy on the community. When I left, my condo fee was about $240 per month. I wonder what it's up to these days?
Its there look up the mls #. Looks like they are kicking in 10K toward closing costs.

The market is getting soft awfully fast. Prices will hold until people decide I GOTTA MOVE cause I need a job! Then when the first few slash prices watch out. seriously, when I was selling I knew I could ask 100,000 less and still make a large profit, I was the original owner, BUT so many bought at 150 to 200 thousand higher on resales that thiose people are well in trouble if they have to move.
dumpster56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 12:53 PM   #9
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,146
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by kcowan
What bothers me is the claimed 1.2 million jobs in RE that the boom generated. Realtors claim they are moving to commercial construction. But I don't beleive it! Watch for an acceleration of the downshift in the economy once the ripple effect happens.
I believe that there are an awful lot of BAD realtors out there. It was like the Honda saleman ! THEY SOLD THEMSELVES!

Houses did for a few years, not anymore. You better have a realtor that has been in the business for a good while!
dumpster56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 01:23 PM   #10
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Crownsville
Posts: 3,709
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Looks like they are kicking in 10K toward closing costs

That's a far cry from when I sold my place. The only way they asked for closing help back then was to offset it by offering to pay more, effectively rolling the closing costs into the loan.
Andre1969 is online now   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 02:31 PM   #11
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 501
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

HEY HEY HEY HEY.... stop all of this non-sense talking. You guys scare my wife... we got all of our eggs in ONE basket. Yes it is real estate. it's the only thing keep our marriage going.

SO please stop scaring my children and my wife. We are banking on real estate for our children's future education. I don't want them to stay at my house forever.


what you guys are saying is that 'there is NO bubble, like the stock drop in 2000 but what we got here is a 'slow and small leaks of the overpriced real estate market, right?? OK thank god, i get to continue to sleep with my wife for a while. The last time the stock market crashed i slept on the couch for almost two years.

thanks all

enuff
Enuff2Eat is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 05:04 PM   #12
Full time employment: Posting here.
Arif's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 761
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
The last time the stock market crashed i slept on the couch for almost two years.
Need more pillows (for you and the soft landing)?

BTW- I'm heavy invested in RE and starting to turn bearish on areas that didn't even benefit from the bubble pricing. Sticking to rentals for now and limiting rehab projects.
__________________
You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
Arif is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 05:51 PM   #13
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 699
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
Purchases fell in all regions of the country.
Gee, I thought all real estate was local.

But, interest rates aren't... Oops.
bpp is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-23-2006, 09:36 PM   #14
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,543
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

don't even think it's the rates

wife and i make $120,000 per year. did the math and we can't afford a $350,000 home in the NYC area with a $100,000 down payment and a toddler

$1500 mortgage payment
$500 taxes
$500 insurance and utilities
$600 car payment
$300 train ticket
student loans

add in child care expenses, food and other things and that is pretty much all the income we have and nothing into a rainy day fund. told her if she wants a house then we'll wait till the child in planning is going to start school and then buy. property taxes also include free baby sitting service, aka after school activities and bus
al_bundy is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-24-2006, 06:06 AM   #15
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 184
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by al_bundy
wife and i make $120,000 per year. did the math and we can't afford a $350,000 home in the NYC area with a $100,000 down payment and a toddler
This has to be a very common predicament.* *I don't know NYC area - but $350 has to be a modest house at current levels.* *For the "numbers not to work" with a great total income and solid down payment -- has to mean that here's going to be a "decade of readjustment".

Just so "boggling" to me.*
Delawaredave is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-24-2006, 07:59 AM   #16
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,798
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

We recently sold my house for about 100,00 more than we paid three years ago. I went to Realtor and noticed many of the houses that were on the market whe we sold are still there. Some have dropped their prices others are just languishing. It seems we sold ours just in time.

I remember the end of 2005 there were fewer homes listed for sale total, than there are now in my old house's price range. I'm glad I got out when I did. The prices went up almost as much in the last three year as I was hoping to sell for when I retired 15 years from now.
__________________
You don't want to work. You want to live like a king, but the big bad world don't owe you a thing. Get over it--The Eagles
lets-retire is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-24-2006, 08:26 AM   #17
Moderator Emeritus
Nords's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,856
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by al_bundy
told her if she wants a house then we'll wait till the child in planning is going to start school and then buy.
The authors of "The Two-Income Trap" say this is exactly what drives housing prices-- parents looking for good schools & good neighborhoods.

Lending is looser and more spouses are working, so couples essentially can tap more funds (affording them is another issue!) and are able to bid up the prices. But as the U.S. birthrate continues to decline, who knows?
__________________
*

Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."

I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
Nords is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-24-2006, 08:31 AM   #18
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,898
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Everyone seems to have a story about a house for sale that won't move. My ex *has our old house in Ohio on the market where it's been sitting for four months with two price reductions, from $310K to $295K to 284K. And this is a house in a formerly hot neighborhood with excellent schools that has had significant improvements and upgrades in the last two years.

My sister's place in MD has also been sitting with no offers for four months, a house that has been upgraded beautifully, with a deal for closing costs attached. They have also reduced the price.

What is going on?? The cause has to be more than interest rates going up to 6.5%. That's not a high interest rate! *I think this is a case of self-fulfilled predictions. There has been so much hype about the housing bubble for the past 2-3 years that now that interest rates have increased a little, buyers are waiting for the big drop. I think they are going to have to wait a long while. Sellers are not going to give up their appreciation and go upside down on the sale if they can at all avoid it.
Zoocat is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-24-2006, 08:42 AM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
The authors of "The Two-Income Trap" say this is exactly what drives housing prices-- parents looking for good schools & good neighborhoods.*

Lending is looser and more spouses are working, so couples essentially can tap more funds (affording them is another issue!) and are able to bid up the prices.* But as the U.S. birthrate continues to decline, who knows?
I never really understood that. Yeah, its nice to be in a place with good schools, but there are also excellent private and parochial schools in many places. We consciously made a decision to skip the hugely inflated prices that went with the nearby towns with famed school systems because the trade off between higher housing prices (and taxes) versus parochial school tuition was a no-brainer.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years
Old 08-24-2006, 08:53 AM   #20
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,155
Re: U.S. Economy: Home Sales Drop to Lowest in More Than Two Years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldbabe
What is going on??* The cause has to be more than interest rates going up to 6.5%. That's not a high interest rate! *I think this is a case of self-fulfilled predictions. There has been so much hype about the housing bubble for the past 2-3 years that now that interest rates have increased a little, buyers are waiting for the big drop. I think they are going to have to wait a long while. Sellers are not going to give up their appreciation and go upside down on the sale if they can at all avoid it.
At 6.5%, it's very reasonable.* But it's a 30% increase from 2 years ago.* The rate increase is the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

In my view, the housing bubble was never a hype.* I have been convinced of the bubble in the Northeast, the West, and in Florida for 3 or 4 years.* I believe that the cost of a house should never exceed 3 times the gross annual family income.* *That 3x ratio has been impossible in the recent past.
Sam is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:38 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.