[GlockThe Vote]

I agree with Schiff 10000000%

[screaminsunshine]

Obama and Bernake should just print up a fresh 120 Trillion and be done with it.

[umgud]

Housing prices aren’t the problem. It’s how much people owe on the inflated products they bought that is the problem. Now we have this huge oversupply that’s hurting everyone.

[Lazlo in PA]

I’m in Real Estate. We are hoping it only goes down 20% more. There are so many bank owned out there that one has a hard time seeing an end to this in the next couple years. We also have the added benefit of interest rate going up dramatically any minute.

[Oberon]

House prices have to decline at least another 20.3% to come back to the historical trend and may have much further to fall, according to Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital.

Karl Denninger (Market-Ticker.org) agrees.

[forgotten man]

Has Schiff ever been wrong? I remember when he was ridiculed about five years ago for predicting that real estate prices were going to crash and burn.

[Las Vegas Ron]

There is a house across the street here where I live on .56 acres, pool and 2,200 square feet going for 140k.

The house I'm in now I rent from a friend of mine, is a little bit smaller, but he paid 190k cash for it 11 years ago.

[dk88]

The problem is also the lending.

Banks have raised the bar so high that no one except cash buyers can qualify for the credit requirements.

A realtor friend said she couldn’t complete a sale for a couple with something like 30% down and a high 700s credit score.

[Jack Hydrazine]

How much did housing prices drop across the whole nation during 2010? Does anyone know? There were expectations at the beginning of the year that the drop would be 12%.

[Moleman]

May just be time to walk from my house (100k upside down), save money for a year while being foreclosed on and rent / buy another house at a deep discount. Sounds moraly questionable but the banks dont exactly apply morals to what they do now do they?

[Paul Ross]

And of course the AP and Fox News (who are infiltrated by a number of liberals) reported this morning on the their radio how the housing market had upward signs with sales and increased interest rates...and never mentioned any of this.

[The Comedian]

Habitative-easing ping.

"Economic Holocaust" ping.

Increasing volume ping list watching the slow motion Economic Holocaust.

FReepmail me if you want on or off
The Comedian's "Economic Holocaust" ping list...

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[Zakeet]

Schiff is an optimist!

Based on the experience of other countries who have undergone similar economic circumstances, housing prices will fall 90 percent or more in real terms when we begin to experience more of the effects of serious inflation / hyperinflation. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Few buyers. Massive unemployment (much greater than today's), plummeting real incomes, and soaring taxes will greatly diminish the ranks of those who can afford to purchase housing.

• Exploding number of units for sale. Many individuals, especially those on fixed incomes and those who have lost their jobs, those whose incomes are falling in real terms, will be forced to place their homes on the market. ARM's (adjustable rate mortgages) will reset with greatly increased payments causing many to default. Many more will simply walk away from their dwellings for some of the many reasons listed below.

• No financing. There will be no money with which to buy housing. Few, if any, lenders will be willing to make long term fixed rate mortgages. Those who do will demand extraordinarily high down payments, short loan terms, and huge interest rates. In jurisdictions where they exist (or where lenders anticipate they may be enacted), usury laws will kill the mortgage lending business altogether.

  Fannie, Freddie, FHA and other government programs and guarantees will become worthless and thus ineffective. The Feds simply cannot afford to pay off in the event of default.

• Soaring ownership costs. Real estate taxes will undergo staggering increases. Local governments will face enormous cost hikes and will simply have no means of raising money. Additionally, as more and more people walk away from homes they own and into rent subsidized units, the number of persons paying taxes will plummet. Expect a double hit for people who must also pay neighborhood association fees.

• Rapidly depreciating investments. Vacant homes quickly deteriorate in value. The quality of neighborhoods diminish as home owners are replaced by renters (especially those living on government subsidies). Crime soars as local governments scale back essential police services. Local areas frequently become war zones with the only real protection coming from gangs who collect protection money.

• Limited returns on investment. Rent controls and a crashed real estate market limit the upside potential. Meanwhile investments in commodities will realize enormous real gains. And commodities are liquid assets that can be stored overseas. Dirt simply can't compete.

Vastly increased supply. Vastly decreased demand. You do the math.

[familyop]

I agree with his partial analysis, but there’s more to be considered. It appears that commodities—especially fuel—will be going up over the next year and a half. Imagine retirees with mortgages, after heating fuel (propane, coal-fired electricity, natural gas, etc.), vehicle fuel and food go up another 25% or so. Many unforeseen foreclosures result—not just the ARMs coming home to roost next year.

[Chickensoup]

does that include residential apartment buildings?

[SeeSac]

House prices have to decline at least another 20.3% to come back to the historical trend and may have much further to fall, according to Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital.

His analysis is too simple. It would be more appropriate to see regional numbers. Plus, houses now are not the same as houses 100 years ago or even twenty years ago.

[Georgia Girl 2]

“I agree with Schiff 10000000%”

Ditto. Its not going to get better for a long time.

[surfer]

Average median home price historically adjusted for inflation is 100k...we are still about 170-180k average...has to drop below 100k before rising to equalize at the historical average...watching this metric is key it will be the best indicator on when to buy!

There will be huge opportunities for those that are patient and watch the market closely.

[paul51]

Bump for when I need a dose of reality

[blam]

‘Unexpected’ U.S. Home Price Decline Is A Serious Reason To Worry About Economy