A general observation regarding real estate at-large (nationally, not locally).
There are many (upwards of one million) mortgages that are in default and that SHOULD be foreclosed upon. However, the banks categorize these mortgages as assets. As soon as they foreclose, they right that “asset” off their balance sheet. The short of it is that many banks would suddenly be insolvent if they were forced to foreclose on defaulted mortgages. They are using every trick in the book to prevent foreclosure...not to be “nice” and “caring,” but to save their skin. We also found out that the FDIC is basically broke ($800 million or so). So maybe there is some collusion among the federal government, the “central bank” we call the Federal Reserve, and FDIC to allow these banks to cook their books like this.
All this to say, the real-estate market (and the finances behind it) is not what it appears.
All very true. I’ve read that if ‘Mark-To-Market’ were to be reinstated, many many banks would be instantly insolvent. The same with foreclosures. Many banks are just sitting on their defaulted mortgages, often letting the people live in the property for free for a year or more before foreclosing. If the banks were forced to assume their losses, they would be insolvent. What’s funny is how, due to ‘accounting rules’, they appear to be profitable on paper.