Posted on 11/07/2006 5:39:16 AM PST by yoe
PHOENIX — Until recently, this fast-growing area was a paradise on earth for home builders. Fulton Homes’ developments, for example, were so popular last year that it was able to raise prices on its new homes by $1,000 to $10,000 almost every week.
“People were standing in line for lotteries,” recalled Douglas S. Fulton, president of the company, one of the largest private builders in the Phoenix area. And they were “camping overnight begging to be the next number in the next lot in the next house.”
No more.
Today, it is the company’s sales agents that do most of the waiting. Not only are there few new customers to talk to, but many buyers who put down a deposit are not even bothering to come back for the walk-through.
“All of a sudden, they just don’t show up,” Mr. Fulton said, noting that such cancellations often mean the buyers forfeit as much as 5 percent of the price. The reason? The prospective buyers got cold feet or simply could not sell their old home.
The striking contrast tells the tale of a housing bonanza turned bust. Today, the number of unsold homes in the area has soared to almost 46,000 from just a few thousand in early 2005. And builders are pulling back as fast as they can.
They have little choice. Sales cancellations among big builders, not just here but around the country are running as high as 40 percent, double the rate a year ago.
[snip] Local officials issued 60,000 single-family permits in the metropolitan area in 2005, twice the number issued in 2000.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
A friend in HI (not the realtor/farmer) who does mortgages, told me recently he's not getting that many people who buy, mostly refi's, as he called them. He's still getting by, he's got three kids. But now I learn his wife got a job too. Guess it's getting a little harder to make ends meet.
You can change the "heard" to CONFIRMED!
And not just construction, many other industries as well, and even towns when they can get away with it.
I was going to open a Block-Buster account today, but turned around when the Spanglish sign on the door was as large as the "Welcome" in English.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.