Posted on 12/19/2013 7:52:36 AM PST by John W
U.S. home resales fell sharply in November to their lowest level in nearly a year, hurt by a rise in interest rates since the spring and ongoing price increases that have shut some home buyers out of the market.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday that sales of previously owned homes dropped 4.3 percent last month, the third monthly fall in a row, to an annual rate of 4.90 million units.
That was the lowest annual rate since December 2012, and well below the median forecast in a Reuters poll of a 5.03 million unit pace.
"It is a clear loss in momentum for home sales," NAR economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Could we be heading for crippling inflation? I’m in cash so it would actually help me as long as I don’t spend much. And I don’t.
The government is manipulating the inflation numbers to make their policies look better. However, I think most people see plenty of evidence of it rising in their daily lives.
Are you saying that by being in cash you’ll ride the interest rate escalator up? Back in the 70’s era (with high inflation) money market rates did rise dramatically. But interest is taxed as ordinary income. Dividends still get favorable tax treatment. Just something to consider.
The rules for mortgages will become much tighter. Many people won’t be able to qualify.
“The rules for mortgages will become much tighter. Many people won’t be able to qualify.”
A friend described to me how the detached single-family home was a thing of the past; at least in our area (northern NJ) that certainly seems to be the case. He didn’t relate it to the declining standard of living, but I certainly would. Americans who don’t breed, working low-paying jobs, won’t be buying homes (and this is hurting any “housing recovery”); they are retaining their mobility so they can follow jobs to different regions of the country, and will probably never commit to paying high property taxes for the duration of a 30-year mortgage. The foreclosure/employment crisis will scar generations to come, or prevent future generations from coming about altogether.
In my area the few new constructions seem to be apartment buildings, and when you couple it with the increasing numbers of Hispanics cycling to their low-paying each day you could believe you were living in some Red Chinese planned development.
“Or wait until people see their premiums and deductibles under their new health insurance. Who would move, not knowing if you have to come up with another $20,000 for the year, just for the premium and deductible?”
For many people (besides government workers and the wealthy), spending on anything other than essentials is over. The country is being “fundamentally transformed” in more ways than the social engineering being pushed; the wealth re-distribution is in full swing, though some don’t see it. For every family struggling to pay their bills there is a welfare queen with her brood living large (literally, complete with obesity & diabetes) who haven’t worked in generations.
I know. You are exactly correct. I think 2014 is going to plunge us into unemployment/recession like we have not seen in our lifetime, due to no one will have any discretionary money, and the domino effect will be catastrophic. Sadly, the result will be more millions of people who think only the government can save them. We might end up in those ranks, given enough economic devastation.
In my area we are already there; many restaurants/bars are empty, and when I occasionally bring the kids to a pizzeria the places are empty with a few delivery guys sitting around.
Last year I was in a mall with my wife, and I pointed out that not only were most of the people there foreigners, but nobody was carrying any bags (they weren’t buying). A few miles from my house, the brand-new Xanadu Mall was completed years ago and never opened. The world will see this in a few weeks during the Super Bowl; it is next to Giants Stadium, and you can’t miss it because of this enormous indoor ski slope attached. Again, it NEVER OPENED; it is eerie to stand outside it. I’ve been there because the Meadowlands Flea Market is held every week in the stadium parking lot; that is also creepy because Americans are selling their tools and household items to the foreigners that have taken their jobs and moved into the area. They even sell toothpaste, food, etc., there; the “new normal”...
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