Posted on 05/30/2011 9:29:40 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The U.S. housing market is going through an adjustment of historic proportions. Before 2006, when the housing slump commenced, American home builders regularly built as many as 2 million new houses annually, rarely less than a million. This amount was needed to keep up with new household formation, immigration, homeowners moving up, and replacement due to obsolescence. Since then the number of new houses built has dropped drastically—the seasonally adjusted annual figure announced by the federal government in February 2011 was about 400,000! What's going on?
The recession, obviously. High unemployment and unease about the economy have made potential first-time homebuyers leery of entering the market, and many have decided to wait on the side lines. Although house prices have fallen, few are convinced that they have bottomed, and no one wants to buy a house and see its price decline. The large number of foreclosed (or about to be foreclosed) houses on the market, which account for no less than four out of 10 sales of existing homes, likewise dampens demand for new houses. And those willing to take the plunge discover that, despite low interest rates, lenders who were burned by the subprime mess now require large down payments. The other chief cause for weak demand is a slowdown in household formation—the U.S. Census reports that the rate of household formation is currently lower than at any time since 1947, as people put off getting married and starting a family. According to my colleague, real estate economist Peter Linneman, the marginal household size, which has historically hovered around two or three, shot up to more than six in 2009 and 2010, the result of doubling-up and moving in with relatives.
Common wisdom is that eventually the housing market will stabilize.....
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Looks like a retread, or maybe I’ve got the letters in the wrong order. ;’) Thanks TOL.
You are in dire need of a psychiatrist. I know you’re not around anymore, but I just wanted to get my two cents in (which is worth a lot more than yours BTW).
I live in a rural town. We are no better, nor worse, than anyone else on God’s green earth. If you don’t like our lifestyle, come here and confront me to my face. I’ll see to it that you see the light in a very little space of time.
This is one of the better ZOTS I’ve seen lately. What an arrogant, self-centered, screwed up, dumb POS.
(Chuckles)
Yes, and we used to have to get up half an hour before we went to bed in the shoebox on top of the trash heap and lick the road clean...
...and you tell it to the young people of today, an’ they’ll not believe you...
Nope
Nope
Nope
[Hat tip to Monty Python....]
Anybody pushing for public trans is or has to be kin to Willie.
You don’t have to tell me; you’re talking to someone who hounded Willie to the gates of Zot.
;-)
This jerk has an interesting, though short, posting history. Lots of talk about killing people who’d be dumb enough breaking into his home, stating he’s been in jail before (yet claims never to have being convicted...). He wears it on his sleeve. That tells me he has serious confidence issues, and is overly arrogant and in-your-face to hide his personality disorders.
Oh, boy, a KOOK!
Yes, they are talking about the future of the global serf housing. Not the globe’s royality housing.
I have a goal of never living anywhere that has a homeowners association. So far so good (but getting more difficult as time goes on).
Dude. You are clueless. Please don’t stand on you head and accuse the world of being upside down. IATZ. I don’t think it really is a question whether you are on the right board. I think it is a question of whether you existence is grounded in reality.
“Only for child molesters like you.”
Wow. You’re a real idiot. IBTZ.
Wow, I was so in after the Zot. Ooops...
Please keep just barely skirting the ZOT. I’d hate to lose you and your attitude.
You’re insane — period.
Yep, Willie just decided to ignore the owner of the web site and ZOT.
The 'screwing' is due more to corrupt politicians than interest rates. If the original stated plan had been followed honorably, the money in the trust at this point would probably be incalculable.
But that's water under the bridge. The money's gone. So what do we do now??
For the sake of the argument, I'll agree with you.
The politicians mismanaged the SS trust fund, and they should be held accountable. But all we can do to make them accountable is impeach or prosecute them.
That won't bring the money back. It's gone!!
So going forward, we have to either (1) cut benefits in the 20% range, (2) impose a huge SS tax increase on our kids and grandkids, (3) do some of both. or (4) let the system run until it's busted.
I can easily see why many people think they'll die before (4) comes to pass and so prefer that non-choice.
For me, option 2 (and therefore 3) are non-starters; I can't figure out how it's more moral to sign my as-yet unborn grandchildren up for a lifetime of paying off debt so that the demographically wealthiest segment of our society can continue to get monthly checks. The future generations had no say as to how the system should work, but those of us here now do, so it is us who should shoulder the burden.
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