Posted on 10/08/2005 2:35:32 PM PDT by wagglebee
"you still own something of value as opposed to worthless stock in some defunct dot.com start-up."
Don't remind me!!!! ARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!
60 % don't live in california, new york or florida
Bubble? You mean the MSM/Dem "Hate Bubble" concocted to discredit the Bush regime?
Well, that makes sense. Once homeowners believe in a real estate bubble it's no longer a real estate bubble, rather it's a real estate bust.
Hell, I lost a boatload of money when the Nasdaq tanked. My house has more than doubled in the last four years, even if there is a 20% dip, I'll still be way ahead.
Well, if you bought a house last year for $600,000 and in another two years it's only $400,000, you've still lost $200,000 no matter how you look at it. Is my math 101 wrong here?
My wife and I sold our house in S. Calif. recently and moved out of the state. Why? Becuase the equity isn't real unless you take it, and I didn't believe it would be there forever. When I left, only 11% of the people could afford a home in California.
As inflation and interest rises, housing prices will come down. And they will rise, and are rising.
Yep. The same group that was telling us back in the late 90's that it was a great idea to pour money into internet start-ups that had no profits because they had no revenue and they didn't even have a business model that ever projected profitability. But hey, BJ Klintoon and Robert Rubin were telling us that they had "overcome the business cycle" and we may never have another recession.
By the way, there's no bubble where I am now. We took our equity and paid cash for a home in another state: New 3 br 2 ba - $129,000. California housing prices are insane and unsustainable - no other word to describe it. It's so crowded there, it is no longer even a nice place to live. They can have their rat race, and inaffordable housing and gay marriage. Color me gone!
It's alway good to have a roof over your head. Maakes you feel better about yourselve.
Even the times when there have been nationwide dips in real estate, it has always been a relatively small percentage and it has always come back. When the Nasdaq collapsed, many people wound up holding worthless stock in companies that no longer existed, that is simply not the case with real estate.
If we'd all just go out and buy a house, using an interest-only negative amortizing loan if you have to, we'll all be rich someday.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Throughout human history, houses have always been a negatively depreciating asset. Houses wear out, need maintainance, and fixing, just like a car would.
It's no different today. To the extent that they go up in an area, it's because of market forces-desirability, job growth, income growth, population growth, immigration, inflation, or most importantly, SPECULATION.
Stocks in general are not worthless. They are shares in the real and intangible assets of a corporation. If you are a "homeowner" you're really not one until you pay the mortgage off. With stocks, unlike houses, you cannot lose more than you invested. With a house, you can end up losing all of your investment (down payment) and then some. If you put 5% down, and the house falls 20% in value and you need to sell, you still will owe the remaining balance to the mortgage company.
I heard that the cycle was inevitable because of the way the central banks manipulate the money supply. With a solid currency the cycle would fail to materialize. I cant explain it very well, but that what I picked up from some gurus at a Walsh College get together.
no one is truly a homeowner anyways since the govt. can take it away from you at any time, for practically any reason. If person "B" will pay higher property taxes than person "A" that govt. can take it from "A" and give it to "B." Go ahead and stop paying your property taxes, i.e., your rent to the govt. You'll find out who really owns that property
So what do you suggest people do? Never buy homes?
If you paid half a million for a 500-square-foot condo with the idea of flipping it in a year or two, then you might nto actually own something of value.
Add Connecticut, Massachusetts and a couple of other states to your list.
In Boston/Cambridge prices for real estate are insane. No sane person would pay $325,000 for a 600 sq.ft. condominium with TWO windows and 30 year old harvest gold appliances. That unit went in one day!
The roller coaster can't keep going up.
I don't know when you left, but the affordability index has gone down from 20 to 16% this year so far. Not 11%, but not so good.
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