Posted on 07/31/2011 6:15:31 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Call it a stimulus hangover.
In 2010, Lawrence’s real estate market started to show signs of life as tax credits for first-time homebuyers — part of the federal stimulus package — did boost sales.
But now as numbers for the first half of 2011 are released, it is clear that Lawrence’s real estate market is no longer stimulated.
“The stimulus created an artificial boost for awhile,” said Gary Nuzum, senior vice president of McGrew Real Estate. “We knew it would help us last year, but we also knew it was stealing buyers from us in future years. And it has. It is killing us right now. I never thought it would hurt us this much but it has.”
Home sales down 25 percent compared with last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.ljworld.com ...
Well you're an idiot.
Stimulus, incentives, tax breaks, they all serve to distort the market by manipulating supply and demand. When you have a market made up of over 300 million individuals making individual decisions, the market will inevitably right itself. This will negate the "gains" that were achieved through the use of "stimulus" or "incentives".
No argument there.
I read an analysis that found that even though first time home buyers got those tax credits, they actually lost out because house prices were higher due to demand.
They would have spent less for the same house had they waited until the program expired.
So the very people the program was designed to help were hurt.
They only people who benefited from the first time home buyers credit were those who sold their homes during that time and got more than fair market value for it.
Wish we’d sold ours then. It’s slipped in value by about 10% since spring of 2010 and about 25% from its high in 2009. Shouldn’t be complaining because that’s actually not as bad as many regions in the U.S.
It is really worse than that, the homes bought are worthless today, but the nut, still has to repay that tax credit over fifteen years.
Since achieving this requires a vast reordering of government, I don't think it will happen. You have to close a Department of Education that does not educate. You have to close a Department of Energy that does not create energy. You have to close a Department of Agriculture that doesn't grow any food. You cannot borrow 43 cents of every dollar you spend to finance PBS and NPR and the NEA and the Smithsonian.
You have to get rid of a huge swath of alphabet agencies, programs, and departments. The US may have reached a tipping point where it will not happen. There are too many people feeding at the trough of government.
Don't forget the idiots who voted for Bambi.
53% of our countrymen are IDIOTS.....that’s why thy elect OTHER IDIOTS!
But... but don't they advertise themselves as the best and brightest while they are running for office?
If people running the country are idiots, what are the people who elected them?
For the most part, I agree with you.
What may change the course of history is a strong leader (NOT A PRESUMED MESSIAH!) who clearly, succinctly, and honestly lays out the situation to the nation AND offers concrete solutions to fix things over time.
Democrats will do nothing but pit groups of people against each other as the economy continues to circle down the toilet bowl. They have NO solution except for taking more money from producers and doling it out to non-producers. After a while, the producers stop producing or else get tapped out.
Anecdote. I was having a superficial discussion about the state of the economy with the grocery cashier (started with my comments about food prices skyrocketing). She is on SS but says she’s going to have to work until she drops dead while all the “rich” people don’t pay their fair share. Then she said that they hide all their money via loopholes and shelters. I commented that rich people don’t get rich being stupid but I think that went over her head.
That’s the mindset we’re facing and the mindset that Obama taps into.
Envy of success is quite a strong emotion.
People get the kind of government they deserve, unfortunately.
As many economists, and well-informed others, said at the time. The program would make sooner the point in time when many houses would be sold, but that would happen at the expense of houses that would not be sold later on.
I’m ALMOST happy about this.
There is no group of people, more short term thinking self-servers and more piggy at the trough of government than the Real Estate and Construction industry. (Along with their atendantn finance wing).
They lapped up that federal home subsidy, and even admit in the article they knew it wouldn’t really help their maket (not what they were saying at the time).
They lie and lobby constantly for more goverment handouts.
Same here. We would like to move, but houses are not selling. There’s no point in even trying.
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